Landscapes of the Sacred #2

In Landscapes of the Sacred, Ch. 10 discusses the tension between place and placelessness is Christian Spirituality. It discusses the two approaches to sacred place: kataphatic and apophatic. Kataphatic rejoices in discerning the presence of God in the “thisness” of various places [place] while apophatic: skeptical of an image’s ability to contain the mystery of the Holy [placelessness]. In one specific section, The Christian Imagination and a Theology of Place, Lane discusses how God is here, but not only here. He writes, “A theology of transcendance will never be comfortable with place.” He goes on to describe 5 “motifs by which the religious imagination is able to ‘create’ places or landscapes that become embodied means of experiencing the divine presence.” The first comes from John Calvin, he “spoke of the natural world as a theater full of wonders in which God’s glory becomes apparent..” The second is nature as a ‘second book’ alongside scripture as a way to read the presence of the Holy. The third is “The dignity granted to matter in general as a result of the doctrine of the incarnation... all aspects of the material world are seen to shine in the glow of the Cosmic Christ.” The fourth is “A deep respect for place, in all of its various aspects, undergirds the wholeness of the Christian revelation.” And finally, the specificity and intricacy of creation shows God’s glory.