William Dyrness: Protestant Aesthetics, Modernism, and Theopoetics

William is Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary, where from 1990 to 2000 he served as Dean of the School of Theology. His teaching and research interests focus on the relation of the Christian Faith to culture, especially to the visual arts and on missions and global theology. In addition to many articles and reviews, he has published several books including “Rouault: A Vision of Suffering and Salvation” and “Visual Faith: Art, Theology and Worship in Dialogue.”   ​

This episode begins with Bill sharing his thoughts on the importance of art to spirituality and the historical and theological reasons behind different ideas about images found in Protestantism versus Catholicism. We also talked about the often unseen but fascinating centrality of Christianity within Modern art. Then we unpacked the subject of theopoetics, with Bill distinguishing its primary traits and how it connects art to daily life.