The Eternal Present Of The Past

Drawing together illustration, theater, and literature, this study examines a late Ming conception of the stage as a mystical space for temporal conflation that allowed the past to be reborn in the present and to uphold the continuity of the cultural tradition

Drawing together illustration, theater, and literature, this study examines a late Ming conception of the stage as a mystical space for temporal conflation that allowed the past to be reborn in the present and to uphold the continuity of the cultural tradition

Music is played and heard in time, yet it is also embodied in space by musical scores. The observation of a musical score turns time into space and allows musicians to embrace the flow of time in a single glance. This experience constitutes a symbol for the Eternal Present, the simultaneous knowledge of all time outside time. This book analyzes the implications of this view through a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives, linking theology, philosophy, literature, and music. It also studies how this theme has been foreshadowed in the writings of Dante and J. R. R. Tolkien, demonstrating the connections between their masterpieces and the aesthetics of their times. The result is a fascinating itinerary through the history of culture, thought, and music, but also a deeply theological and spiritual experience.

"This publication accompanies the exhibition Everywhen: The Eternal Present in Indigenous Art from Australia, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, Massachusetts, February 5 through September 18, 2016."

A groundbreaking reevaluation of paleolithic art through the lens of modernism, from the acclaimed historian of art and architecture In The Beginnings of Art, Sigfried Giedion, best known as a historian of architecture, shifts his attention to art and its very origins. Breaking with an earlier, materialistic approach, he explores paleolithic art by bringing abstraction, transparency, and simultaneity into play as modern art has revealed them anew. Focusing on the dual concepts of constancy and change, he examines paleolithic paintings, engravings, and sculpture, as well as modern art and recent examples of “primitive art.” He argues that the two keys to the meaning of prehistoric art are the symbol, portraying reality before reality exists, and the animal as humankind’s superior in the unified primordial world in which both human and animal were embedded. The result is a highly original and important study of prehistoric art.

Somewhat controversial, The Power of the Eternal Now opens Christians’ minds in a unique way to the truth of God outside of time. Prophet Jeremy Lopez calls believers to live in the now reality, putting aside inaction and passivity and truly grasping hold of the truth that God speaks about their lives. God exists in the eternals, which is exactly where you are called to live as well. “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6 NIV). Time is an illusion when it comes to our nature as children of God. The reality of our true identity in Christ is found in the now. But often we don’t want to deal with our many problems, so we look at the clock and “invent time” as a way to avoiding them. We are more than conquerors—now! We are holy, chosen, beloved, accepted, redeemed, justified, and cleansed—now! These are not future wishes and dreams. These are not time-based actions. These are realities of our true identity in Christ and they are found in the now.

(Peeters 1996)