Review by Choice Review
Jensen (Univ. of Notre Dame) has produced a fantastic historical study of the cross. She takes the reader on an immersive journey through the many controversies, transformations, and questions surrounding the cross as a religious symbol. However, her book is more than a history. It is a quest for understanding the role and purpose of the cross in religious and public life. Jensen tracks the evolution of the cross, from its first use by Christians to its role in the modern era, offering what is perhaps the most comprehensive history to date of Christianity's most important symbol. Jensen explores the cross from multiple viewpoints, including of course those of both Catholics and Protestants. Furthermore, she explores the cross from the perspectives of both Muslims and Jews, framing the cross's impact across history. Jensen's scholarship is impeccable, blending theology, history, and art seamlessly, and the book is sure to satisfy the curiosity of any religious scholar. The book also includes many beautiful color images, adding to its magnificence. This excellent book will undoubtedly become a classic. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers. --Jonathan L. Best, St. Thomas University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Jensen (theology, Univ. of Notre Dame) follows the cross from its ignoble Christian beginnings through its manifestations as a focus of art, poetry, and theater, into its reevaluation during the Protestant Reformation and up to modern perspectives from non-Christian groups. The cross has served as "artifact, religious symbol, miraculous agent, devotional object and mass-produced collectible," resulting in a fascinating metaphor for the changing dynamics of faith and culture. For instance, in the seventh century, as emphasis on Christ's physical agony on the cross grew, iconoclasm clashed with religious iconography of the crucifix, with the unadorned cross emerging as an acceptable image: "an abstract symbol, the simple cross is deemed acceptable for both liturgical as well as decorative purposes." Rich in artistic imagery and well researched in both Western as well as Eastern Christian traditions, Jensen might be faulted for offering only a single chapter covering the New World as well as Islam and the modern era, each of which could have been an entire chapter. VERDICT This erudite history illuminates the social, cultural, as well as theological developments of the cross over time.-SC © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
