This issue is published at a time when individuals, families, and communities are experiencing the upending of daily life. COVID-19 dominates our consciousness as we grapple with its implications for health, economics and social relations. These book reviews may offer a brief respite. They consider big picture theological questions of beauty and creation. Diane Yeager reviews Martin Luther’s Theology of Beauty: A Reappraisal and Randy Nelson reviews Christ of the Celts: The Healing of Creation. The first is a long academic book, the second, a shorter book for larger audiences. The first is very Lutheran, the second is immersed in Celtic Christianity. They provide fascinating points of divergence and occasional moments of complementarity. Each offers perspectives that can challenge, inform, and deepen the ways we think about creation and aesthetics in our own faith traditions. Enjoy and be well.
Nancy Arnison is a lawyer, theologian and nonprofit executive and serves as the Book Review Editor for the Journal of Lutheran Ethics.