God and Enchantment of place deals with the interplay between philosophy and Christianity from a theological, philosophical, and historical perspective. David Brown sees an unfortunate disparity between the church's value for a variety of artistic expressions historically and today's church which is distances itself from most artistic expressions. Increasingly, Brown argues, the church views the arts, and even worship, in light of utilitarian values. Instead of worshipping, or tending a garden, or making beautiful cathedrals, every decision is measured by what it offers the body, whether this be quality fellowship or a chance to increase our value of the sacrements. Art is no longer something that is enjoyable or done purely for the sake of adoration, but something that has to be done unto some tangible result. This mindset has stifled creative expression in the church and distanced Christianity from modern creative expression.
This idea that beauty is no longer valued for the sake of appreciating beauty is disappointing, but not surprising. Beauty is confined to art museums and stereotyped in sunsets. In fact, many people even lack the patience and the general knowledge to begin to appreciate any form of artistic expression beyond vulgar images appearing on a TV screen. Alluding to the title, if a place, if our minds are to be transformed by being enchanted by beauty or the divine, it requires space. It is dry to sing a hymn just to become closer to those around me. We become transformed when we give ourselves to that which we want to be transformed by. How can we be enchanted while we are pouting with our eyes shut?
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