"What a rich and vibrant colloquy on the visual arts and theology! I can hear the voices behind the words—multivalent, wise, contemporary, galvanizing. They offer a comprehensive understanding of CIVA, the growing movement that partners faith with contemporary art."

"For nearly eighteen hundred years, the Christian church was one of the prime patrons of art, allowing a pivotal role for art and artist. Yet for the past two centuries, artists have been largely estranged from their old patron for many reasons, not in the least due to a sea-change in art's self-understanding. Contemporary Art and the Church explores a new basis for that old relationship, functioning like a generous invitation to join an ongoing conversation between experts who are surprisingly interested in the layperson's role in this important project: reenvisioning a role for art and artist in the church in this still-new century."

"In the art world, it's always October (October being the name of the Marxist journal that has long dominated the field). This essay collection shows that many are ready to flip the calendar to see what a new season will bring. Contemporary Art and the Church affords further evidence that glasnost ('openness') and perestroika ('restructuring') are challenging the enduring Cold War between art and religion, which requires rethinking from both sides of the divide. The authors shout in unison, 'Tear down this wall,' and it finally feels like 1989."

"This volume stems from the 2015 biennial conference of CIVA (Christians in the Visual Arts), an organisation founded in the late 1970s to encourage dialogue between the church and visual arts. How different the situation is between now and then is well illustrated by this remarkably fine collection of essays. Those present at the society's inception provide a short section that surveys the dire situation then and the transformation since. Without abandoning evangelical and biblical roots, a new confidence and maturity has been achieved among both the practicing artists and art theorists represented, demonstrated, among other ways, in creative engagement with a wide range of contemporary art, including perhaps unexpected figures such as Emin, Klein, Hamilton, and Warhol. Whatever their theological perspective, readers will gain much from these at times profound reflections of how and where the Spirit's address to Christians can sometimes be found."

"This text is highly recommended as a valuable resource in both theology and art libraries, and as advanced reading for those engaged in similar conversations."