Meylahn, Johann-Albrecht2020-02-142020-02-142019Meylahn, J.-A. 2019, 'The duty to create un beau vivant', Stellenbosch Theological Journal, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 347-368.24139459 (print)2413-9467 (online)10.17570/stj.Supp. 2019.v5n2.a18http://hdl.handle.net/2263/73258This chapter, in honour of Johan Cilliers, will not seek to engage his extensive oeuvre, but rather focus on a single text (2011), Fides Quaerens pulchrum: Practical theological perspectives on the desire for beauty, which I believe encapsulates something of Johan Cilliers’ passion as well as fits into the theme of this volume. From his article certain key terms or even themes can be identified. I will engage these key themes by bringing them into conversation with the thoughts of Lacan and Hegel, and thereby enter into a conversation with his article and honour his thought. The key themes that I have identified from this article are the following: beauty, imagination, art, art theory, aesthetics, Ästhetik des Hässlichen, Negativschönen, desire, the good, and lastly the consequences of these various concepts for practical theology.en© Pieter de Waal Neethling TrustBeautyImaginationArtArt theoryAestheticsAsthetik des HasslichenNegativschonenDesireThe goodTheology articles SDG-03SDG-03: Good health and well-beingTheology articles SDG-04SDG-04: Quality educationTheology articles SDG-16SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutionsArticle