Wonder Beyond Belief – On Christianity

By (author) Kermani, N
Description

What happens when one of Germany’s most important writers, himself a Muslim, immerses himself in the world of Christian art? In this book, Navid Kermani is awestruck by a religion full of sacrifice and lamentation, love and wonder, the irrational and the unfathomable, the deeply human and the divine – a Christianity that today’s Christians rarely speak of so earnestly, boldly and enthusiastically.

With the open-minded curiosity of a non-believer – or rather a believer in another faith – Kermani engages with Christian art in its great richness and diversity. The result is an enchanting reflection which reinvests in Christianity both its spectacular beauty and its terror. Kermani struggles with the cross, falls in love at the sight of Mary, experiences the Orthodox Mass and appreciates the greatness of St Francis. He teaches us to see the questions of our present-day lives in the pictures of old masters such as Botticelli, Caravaggio and Rembrandt – not with lectures on art history or theology, but with an intelligent eye for the essential details and the underlying relations to seemingly remote worlds, to literature and to mystical Islam.

Kermani’s poetic school of seeing draws us in as we are carried along by his unique perspective on Christianity, rekindling our interest in great art at the same time. We are captivated by his unique and brilliant Islamic reading of the West.

Table of contents
I. MOTHER AND SON    
MOTHER    
SON 
MISSION   
LOVE I    
LOVE II   
HUMILIATION    
BEAUTY    
CROSS
LAMENTATION    
RESURRECTION   
TRANSFORMATION 
DEATH
GOD I
GOD II    
II. WITNESS    
CAIN
JOB 
JUDITH    
ELIZABETH 
PETER
JEROME    
URSULA I  
URSULA II 
BERNARD   
FRANCIS   
PETER NOLASCO  
SIMONIDA  
PAOLO DALL’OGLIO
III. INVOCATION
VOCATION  
PRAYER    
SACRIFICE 
CHURCH    
PLAY
KNOWLEDGE 
TRADITION 
LIGHT
LUST I    
LUST II   
RECESSIONAL    
ART 
FRIENDSHIP

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
BIBLIOGRAPHY   
ILLUSTRATION CREDITS
Review quote
‘An astonishing, deeply sympathetic, constantly surprising meditation on Christianity from one of the greatest Muslim writers and thinkers in the Western world. Kermani writes perceptively about individual works of art and particular places, about the New Testament, and about the rich traditions of Christian theology and practice. Still more important, he articulates a vision of Islamic–Christian friendship that is, in our vexed world, a human gift of rare importance.’
Stephen Greenblatt, Cogan University Professor of the Humanities, Harvard University

‘In this beautifully written book, Navid Kermani performs something which, if not unprecedented, is still highly unusual, as he considers Christianity from the distance of a different faith. He does not claim any superiority here, quite the opposite. Unencumbered by the need to accept or reject, he explores the Christian faith with an alert interest and consuming curiosity. Through his keen gaze, coupled with a profound knowledge of theology and art history, Kermani captivates readers with the marvels of artworks that they might otherwise never really notice. The anglophone world needs and deserves this gem of a book.’
Daniel Boyarin, University of California, Berkeley

‘In this book Navid Kermani draws on his unique perspectives as a Muslim intellectual to offer thoughtful reflections on the complex divine ideas underlying Christian art and the deep parallels that can be drawn between it and other traditions, including mystical Islam. As an outside observer of Christianity, Ke