Abundantly More

“As only Jeremy Begbie can do, this book weaves theology and music, philosophy and poetry, science and Scripture to explore and celebrate the uncontainability of the triune God and the irreducible complexity of creation. Beginning with an astute analysis of our modern tendency to reduce, flatten, and de-complexify the beautiful, swirling kaleidoscope of divine and created reality, Begbie articulates a creative, constructive pneumatology that deepens our understanding of the resonance between theology and the arts. A remarkable achievement that breaks new ground.”

“Abundantly More is not simply a justification of the literary, visual, and musical arts. Begbie insists that the arts do far more than give us delight. They also undermine the idea that human reason alone is capable of understanding our universe and invite us to encounter and engage the inexhaustible beauty and incomprehensible mystery of what cannot be defined.”

“Over against modernity’s reductionistic impulses—to view human life as ‘nothing more than,’ human work as ‘nothing but,’ and human relations as mere power struggles and ‘nothing besides’—Jeremy Begbie shows how Christ’s resurrection, as the uncontainable ‘moreness’ of God’s love-in-action par excellence, serves to rupture this pathologically miserly vision of life and how the arts can function as graced partners in the ongoing ‘opening up and out’ work of the triune God. This book is a must-read for theologians and church leaders.”

“In this book, Jeremy Begbie achieves a remarkable double feat: a quietly devastating critique of the engrained reductionist tendencies in Western modernity and, in dialogue with his profoundly humane theological insight, an inspiring manifesto for the fundamental value of the arts as part of what makes us human.”

“As a composer I’ve always resisted reductionist tendencies in culture, academia, and the arts. The numinous power of music has always felt uncontrollable and explosive. Restrictive philosophical impulses in the modern world also seem hand in glove with the obsession of writing God out of the equation. Here we have a powerful critique of these denialist and limiting instincts—the arts need theology, and Begbie opens up necessary vistas on this vital discussion.”

“If you worry about our modern world squeezing you into its own little mold, then Jeremy Begbie’s book is a must read. While masterfully showing the possible role of making and receiving art in God’s renewing work, he enlarges our view of God’s own abundant love for the world.”