Christian Sentiment for You Are Your Own Work of Art

How should Christians glorify God in the means we interact with the arts and express our artistic bent?

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Is in that location a legitimate identify for the appreciation of art and beauty in our lives? What is the relationship of culture to our spiritual life? Are not art and the development of aesthetic tastes actually a waste of time in the low-cal of eternity? These are questions Christians often enquire about the fine arts.

Unfortunately, the answers nosotros frequently hear to such questions imply that Christianity tin can function quite nicely without an aesthetic dimension. At the heart of this mentality is Tertullian's (160-220 A.D.) classic argument, "What has Athens to do with Jerusalem? The Academy with the Church? Nosotros have no need for curiosity since Jesus Christ, nor inquiry since the evangel."

This bold exclamation has led many to argue that the spiritual life is essential, but the cultural inconsequential. And today much of the Christian community seems inclined to approach aesthetics in the same hurried and superficial manner with which we live most of our lives. This attitude was vividly expressed recently in a cartoon portraying an American rushing into the Louvre in Paris. The caption read, "Where'southward the Mona Lisa? I'yard double parked!"

Art and Aesthetics

What is aesthetics? Let u.s. begin with a definition. Aesthetics is "The philosophy of dazzler and art. It studies the nature of beauty and laws governing its expression, as in the fine arts, every bit well as principles of art criticism"{i}. Formally, aesthetics is thus included in the study of philosophy. Ethical considerations to decide "good" and "bad" include the aesthetic dimension.

Thus, dazzler can be contemplated, defined, and understood for itself. This disquisitional process results in explaining why some artists, authors, and composers are not bad, some merely practiced, and others not worthwhile. Aesthetics therefore

". . .aims to solve the problem of beauty on a universal basis. If successful, it would soon furnish us with an explanation of the quality common to Greek temples, Gothic cathedrals, Renaissance paintings, and all expert art from whatever place or time."{ii}

At the heart of aesthetics, and then, is homo creativity and its various cultural expressions. H. Richard Neibuhr has defined it as "the piece of work of men's minds and easily." While nature (as God'southward souvenir) provides the raw materials for human being expression, culture is that which human being produces in his earthly setting. It . . . "includes the totality and the life design–language, religion, literature (if any), machines and inventions, arts and crafts, architecture and decor, dress, laws, customs, marriage and family unit structures, government and institutions, plus the peculiar and characteristic ways of thinking and interim."{three}

Aesthetic sense of taste is interwoven all through the cultural fabric of a society and thus cannot be ignored. It is therefore inescapable—for gild and for the individual. Homo inventiveness will inevitably express itself and the results (works of art) volition tell u.s. something almost its creators and the society from which they came. "Through fine art, we can know some other's view of the universe."{4}

"As such, works of art are ofttimes more authentic than whatsoever other indication near the state of affairs at some remote but crucial juncture in the progress of humanity. . . . By studying the visual arts from whatever social club, we tin usually tell what the people lived for and for what they might be willing to die."{5}

The term art can hateful many different things. In the broadest sense, everything created past man is art and everything else is nature, created by God. However, art commonly denotes skillful and cute things created by mankind (Note: A major point of debate in the field of aesthetics centers around the definition of these ii terms). Even crafts and skills, such as carpentry or metallic working have been considered by many every bit arts.

While the works of artisans of earlier eras accept come to be viewed like fine fine art, the term the arts, notwithstanding, has a narrower focus in this outline. Nosotros are here particularly concerned with those activities of mankind which are motivated by the creative urge, which go beyond immediate cloth usefulness in their purpose, and which express the uniqueness of existence human. This more express use of the term art includes music, dance, painting, sculpture, architecture, drama and literature. The fine arts is the written report of those human activities and acts which produce and are considered works of art.

Aesthetics and then is the study of homo responses to things considered beautiful and meaningful. The arts is the study of human actions which attempt to arouse an aesthetic experience in others. A sunset over the mountains may evoke aesthetic response, but information technology is not considered a piece of art, considering it is nature. A row of telephone poles with connecting ability lines may have a beautiful advent, but they are non art considering they were not created with an artistic purpose in mind. It must be noted, still, that even those things originally fabricated for non-artistic purposes tin and take later come to be viewed equally art objects (i.e., antiques).

While art may have the secondary outcome of earning a living for the artist, it always has the primary purpose of creative expression for describably and indescribably human experiences and urges. The artist'south purpose is to create a special kind of honesty and openness which springs from the soul and is hopefully understood by others in their inner being.

Aesthetics and the Bible

What does the Bible have to say well-nigh the arts? Happily, the Bible does not call upon Christians to stultify or look down upon the arts. In fact, the arts are imperative when considered from the biblical perspective. At the heart of this is the full general mandate that whatsoever we practice should be done to the glory of God. We are to offer Him the best that we have–intellectually, artistically, and spiritually.

Further, at the very heart of Christianity stands the Incarnation ("the Discussion made flesh"), an event which identified God with the concrete world and gave nobility to it. A real human being died on a real cross and was laid in a existent, rock-hard tomb. The Greek ideas of "other-worldly-ness" that fostered a tainted and debased view of nature (and hence aesthetics) discover no place in biblical Christianity. The dichotomy between sacred and secular is thus an alien one to biblical faith. Paul's statement, "Unto the pure, all things are pure," (Tit. one:fifteen) includes the arts. While we may recognize that man inventiveness, like all other gifts bestowed upon u.s. past god, may exist misused, there is nothing inherently or more sinful about the arts than other areas of human action.

The Erstwhile Testament

The One-time Testament is rich with examples which confirm the artful dimension. In Exodus 20:4-5 and Leviticus 26:1, God makes information technology clear that He does non foreclose the making of art, but the worshipping of art. Consider the use of these vehicles of creative expression found throughout:

Architecture. God is concerned with architecture. In fact, Exodus 25 shows that God commanded beautiful architecture, along with other forms of art (metalwork, vesture design, tapestry, etc.) in the building of the Tabernacle. Similar instructions were given for the temple later on synthetic by King Solomon. Here we detect something unique in history–art works designed and conceived by the space God, so transmitted to and executed by His homo apprentices!

Patently He delights in color, texture, and course. (We also see this vividly displayed in nature). The bespeak is that God did not instruct men to build a purely utilitarian place where His chosen people could worship Him. As Francis Schaeffer said, "God but wanted beauty in the Temple. God is interested in beauty."{6} And in Exodus 31, God even names the artists He wants to create this beauty, commissioning them to their arts and crafts for His glory.

Poetry is some other bear witness of God's love for dazzler. A big portion of the Sometime Testament is verse, and since God inspired the very words of Scripture, it logically follows that He inspired the poetical course in such passages. David, the man after God'south own eye, equanimous many poems of praise to God, while nether the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Amidst the most prominent poetical books are: Psalms. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. Verse is also a significant element in the prophets and Task.

The genre of poetry varies with each author's intent. For example, the Song of Solomon is showtime and foremost a love verse form picturing the beauty and glory of romantic, homo beloved between a man and his mate. It is written in the class of lyric idyll, a pop literary device in the Ancient Nigh East. The fact that this story is often interpreted symbolically to reflect the love between Christ and His Church, or Jehovah and Israel, does not weaken the celebration of physical love recorded in the verse form, nor destroy its literary form.

Drama was also used in Scripture at God'south control. The Lord told Ezekiel to get a brick and depict a representation of Jerusalem on it. The Ezekiel "acted out" a siege of the urban center as a warning to the people. He had to prophesy against the house of State of israel while lying on his left side. This went on for 390 days. And then he had to lie on his correct side, and he carried out this drama past the express control of God to teach the people a lesson (Ezek. 4:1-6). The dramatic chemical element is vivid in much of Christ's ministry besides. Cursing the fig tree, writing in the dirt with His finger, washing the feet of the disciples are dramatic deportment which enhanced His spoken give-and-take.

Music and Trip the light fantastic toe are often plant in the Bible in the context of rejoicing before God. In Exodus fifteen, the children of Israel historic God'south Red Body of water victory over the Egyptians with singing, dancing, and the playing of instruments. In 1 Chronicles 23:5, we notice musicians in the temple, their instruments specifically made by King David for praising God. 2 Chronicles 29:25-26 says that David's command to have music in the temple was from God, "for the command was from the Lord through His prophets." And nosotros must non forget that all of the lyrical poetry of the Psalms was first intended to be sung.

The New Attestation

The New Testament abounds likewise with evidence underscoring artistic imperatives. The near obvious is the instance of Jesus Himself. First of all, He was by merchandise a carpenter, a skilled craftsman (Marking vi:3). Secondly, we encounter in Jesus a person who loved to be outdoors and one who was extremely attentive to His surroundings. His teachings are full of examples which reveal His sensitivity to the beauty all around: the fox, the bird nest, the lily, the sparrow and dove, the glowering skies, a bruised reed, a vine, a mustard seed. Jesus was as well a main storyteller. He readily made utilise of his own culture setting to impart his message, and sometimes quite dramatically. Many of the parables were fictional stories abut they were nevertheless used as vehicles of communication to teach spiritual truths. And certainly the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 includes the artistic gifts.

The campaigner Paul also alludes to aesthetics in Philippians 4:8 when he exhorts believers to meditate and reflect upon pure, honest, lovely, good, virtuous and praiseworthy things. Nosotros are further told in Revelation 15:two-3 that art forms will even be nowadays in heaven. So the arts take a identify in both the earthly and heavenly spheres!

We should also recollect that the entire Bible is not simply revelation, it also is itself a work of fine art. In fact, it is many works of art–a veritable library of swell literature. We accept already mentioned poetry, simply the Bible includes other literary forms likewise. For example, large portions of it are narrative in mode. Most of the One-time Testament is either historical narrative or prophetic narrative. And the Gospels, (which recount the birth, life, teachings, expiry and resurrection of Christ), are biographical narrative. Fifty-fifty the personal letters of Paul and the other New Testament authors can quite properly be considered epistolary literature.

Aesthetics and Nature

The Bible makes information technology very clear that a companion volume, the book of Nature, has a distinct aesthetic dimension. Torrential waterfalls, imperial mountains, and blazing sunsets routinely evoke human aesthetic response as easily every bit can a vibrant symphony or a dazzling painting. The very fabric of the universe expresses God's presence with imperial beauty and grandeur. Psalm nineteen:1 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows forth his handiwork." In fact, nature has been called the "aesthetics of the Infinite."

The bright photography of the twentieth century has revealed the limitless depths of dazzler in nature. Through telescope or microscope, one can devote a lifetime to the report of some part of the universe–the peel, the heart, the sea, the flora and creature, the stars, the climate.

And since God'southward creation is multi-dimensional, an apple tree, for instance, tin can be viewed in different ways. It tin exist considered economically (how much it costs), nutritionally (its food value), chemically (what it'south made of), or physically (its shape). But it may also exist examined aesthetically: its sense of taste, color, texture, smell, size, and shape. All of nature tin be appreciated for its aesthetic qualities which find their source in God, their Creator.

Human Inventiveness

Wherever human being culture is plant, creative expression of some form is also found. The painting on the wall of an ancient cave, or a medieval cathedral, or a modern dramatic production are all expressions of human creativity, given past God, the Creator.

Human being in God'south Epitome

In Genesis 1:26-27, for example, we read: "Then God said, Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness; and allow them rule over . . . all the world, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the world.' And God created homo in His own prototype, in the image of God He created him male and female He created them" (Italics mine).

After creating man, God told man to subdue the earth and to rule over information technology. Adam was to cultivate and continue the garden (Gen. 2:xv) which was described by God as "very good" (Gen. ane:31). The implication of this is very of import. God, the Creator, a lover of the beauty in His created world, invited Adam, ane of His creatures, to share in the process of "creation" with Him. He has permitted humans to have the elements of His cosmos and create new arrangements with them. Peradventure this explains the reason why creating annihilation is so fulfilling to united states. We tin limited a bulldoze within which allows us to exercise something all humans uniquely share with their Creator.

God has thus placed before the human being race a banquet table rich with aesthetic delicacies. He has supplied the basic ingredients, inviting those made in His image to exercise their artistic capacities to the fullest extent possible. We are privileged equally no other creature to make and enjoy art.

It should be farther noted that fine art of all kinds is restricted to a distinctively human being practice. No fauna practices art. It is true that instinctively or accidentally beautiful patterns are formed and observed throughout nature. Just the spider'southward spider web, the honeycomb, the coral reef are not conscious attempts of animals to express their aesthetic inclinations. To the Christian, however, they surely correspond God's efforts to express. Dissimilar the animals, human consciously creates. Francis Schaeffer has said of man:

"[A]n fine art work has value every bit a creation because homo is fabricated in the image of God, and therefore man not but can beloved and recall and feel emotion, but as well has the capacity to create. Being in the image of the Creator, we are called upon to have creativity. We never detect an animal, non-human being, making a work of art. On the other paw, nosotros never detect men anywhere in the world or in any culture in the world who practice not produce art. Creativity is a part of the stardom betwixt human being and non-man. All people are to some caste creative. Creativity is intrinsic to our mannishness."{7}

The Autumn of Human

There is a dark side to this, notwithstanding, because sin entered and afflicted all of human life. A bent and twisted nature has emerged, tainting every field of human endeavor or expression and consistently marring all results. The unfortunate truth is that divinely endowed inventiveness will e'er be accompanied in earthly life by the reality and presence of sin expressed through a fallen race. Man is Jekyl and Hyde: noble image-bearer and morally crippled animal. His works of art are therefore bittersweet. Calvin acknowledged this tension when he said:

"The human mind, however much fallen and perverted from its original integrity, is still adorned and invested with admirable gifts from its creator. If nosotros reflect that the Spirit of God is the merely foundation of truth, we will be careful, every bit we would avoid offering insult to Him, not to decline or condemn truth wherever information technology appears. In despising the gifts, nosotros insult the Giver."{8}

Understanding this dichotomy allows Christians genuinely to appreciate something of the contribution of every artist, composer, or author. God is sovereign and dispenses artistic talents upon whom He will. While Scripture keeps united states from emulating certain lifestyles of artists or condoning some of their ideological perspectives, we tin still admire and capeesh their talent, which ultimately finds its source in God. This should and can exist done without compromise and without hesitation.

The fact is that if God can speak through a burning bush or Baalam's ass, He can speak it through a hedonistic artist! The question tin can never be how worthy is the vessel, but rather, Has truth been expressed? God'south truth is still sounding forth today–from the Bible, from nature, and fifty-fifty from a fallen humanity.

Considering of the Autumn, absolute beauty in the earth is gone. But participation in the aesthetic dimension reminds u.s.a. of the beauty that one time was, and anticipates its futurity luster. With such beauty present today that can take i's breath abroad, even in this unredeemed earth, 1 can past speculate nearly what likes ahead for those who beloved Him!

Characteristics of Expert Art

Nosotros now turn to the question of the important ingredients of various art forms.

First, artistic truth includes non simply the tangible, just too the realm of the imaginative, the intangible. Art therefore may or may not include the cerebral, the objective. Someone asked a Russian ballerina who had but finished an interpretive dance, "What did it mean? What were you trying to say?" The ballerina replied, "If I could have said it, I wouldn't have danced it!" In that location is and so a communication of truth in fine art which is real, but may not be able to be reduced to and put neatly into words.

Great fine art is also always coupled with the hard field of study of continual do. Great artist are the ones who, when observed in the practice of their art announced to exist doing something simple and effortless. What is not visible are the bone weary hours of committed practice that preceding such creative spontaneity and deftness.

All art has intrinsic value. It doesn't take to do anything to have value. Once created, it has already "done" something. Information technology does not take to be a means to an cease, nor accept whatsoever utilitarian benefit whatsoever. Even bad fine art has some value because as a artistic work, it is still linked to God Himself, the Fountain of all creativity. The creative process, nonetheless expressed, is good because it is linked to the Imago Dei and shows that man, unique among God's creatures, has this gift. This is true even when the results of the creative gift (specific works of fine art) may exist aesthetically poor or nowadays the observer with unwholesome content and compromising situations.

But we would practice well to remind ourselves at this point that God does not conscience out all of the things in the Bible which are wrong or immoral. He "tells it similar it is," including some pretty detailed and sordid affairs! The discriminating Christian should therefore develop the chapters to distinguish poor aesthetics and immoral artistic statements from truthful creativity and craftsmanship¾dismissing and repudiating the old while fully affectionate and enjoying the latter. Christians, beyond all others, posses the proper framework to sympathise and appreciate all art in the right perspective. It is a pity that many have deprived themselves of the arts then severely from much that they could enjoy nether the approving and grace of God.

Artistic expression always makes a statement. It may exist either explicitly or implicitly stated. Some artists explicitly admit their intent is to say something, to convey a bulletin. Other artists resist, or fifty-fifty deny they are making a argument. But consciously or not, a argument is always beingness made, because each creative person is subjectively involved and greatly influenced by his/her cultural experience. Consciously or unconsciously, the cultural setting permeates every artistic contribution and each work tells us something most the creative person and his era.

An unfortunate trend in contempo years has been the increase in the number of artists who admit their primary want is to say something. Art is non all-time served by an farthermost focus on making a statement. The huge murals prominent in old communist lands were no doubt helpful politically, merely they probably did non contribute much aesthetically. Even some Christian art falls into this trap. Long on statement, morality, and piety, it often falls short artistically (though sincerely offered and theologically sound), because information technology is cheaply and poorly done. Poetry and propaganda are non the same, from communist or Christian zealot.

Another characterization of modern statements is the obsession of self. Since the world has little meaning to many moderns, the narcissistic retreat into self is all that remains to exist expressed. Thus the public is confronted today with many artists who only portray their own personal psychological and spiritual wanderings. In art of this blazon, extreme subjectivism is considered virtue rather than vice. The statement (personal to the extreme) overwhelms the art. Many of these statements seem to imply a desperate weep for help, for significance, for love. In such art feelings overwhelm for; confessional outpourings bring personal relief, but little endeavour is put along or the thought necessary for the rigid mastery of technique and form. Perhaps that is why there is such a glut of mediocre art today! It but doesn't take as much or as long to produce it.

Just consider artists of before centuries, those who never even signed their names to their work. This was not because they were embarrassed by it. They simply lived in a civilization where the art was more of import than the artist. Today we are awed more by the artist or the virtuoso performer than we are by the art expressed. Much of the earlier work was dedicated to God; ours is by and large dedicated to the celebration of the artist. Critic Chad Walsh alludes to a modernistic exception in the writings of C. S. Lewis when he says that Mere Christianity "transcends itself and its author . . . it is equally though all the brilliant writing is designed to create clear windows of perception, and so that the reader will look through the language and not at it."{9} Great art possesses this transcendent immovability.

Fine art forms and styles are constantly irresolute through cultural influences. The common mistake of many Christians today is to consider one form "godly" and another "ungodly." Many would dismiss the cubism of Duchamp or the surrealism of Dali as worthless, while holding everything from the brush of Rembrandt to be inspired. This attitude reveals cypher more than than the personal aesthetic tastes of the i doing the evaluating.

Form and style must be considered in their historical and cultural contexts. A westerner would be hard pressed, if totally unfamiliar with the music of Japan, to distinguish betwixt a devout Buddhist hymn, a sensual love song, and a patriotic melody, even if he heard them in rapid sequence. But every Japanese could do then immediately because of familiarity with their own culture.

Artful sense is therefore greatly conditioned by personal cultural feel. Merely as a each kid is born with the capacity to learn language, so each of us is born with an aesthetic sensibility which is influenced by the culture which surrounds us. To gauge the art or music of Japan as junior to American art or music is as senseless as suggesting the Japanese language is inferior to the English linguistic communication. Deviation or remoteness practise not imply inferiority!

Truth can exist expressed by non-believers, and error may be expressed by believers. When Paul delivered his famous Mars Colina address in Athens, he quoted from a pagan poet (Acts 17:28) to communicate a biblical truth. In this case, Paul used a secular source to communicate biblical truth considering the statement affirmed the truth of revelation. On the other mitt, error can be communicated in a biblical context. For example, in Exodus 32:ii-iv nosotros from Aaron fashioning a gold calf for the children of Israel to worship. This was a incorrect use of art because information technology directly disobeyed God's command non to worship whatever paradigm.

Evaluating Art

How should a Christian arroyo art in guild to evaluate it? Is beauty simply "in the eye of the beholder?" Or are there guidelines from Scripture which volition provide a framework for the evaluation and enjoyment of art?

Earlier, nosotros mentioned a argument by Paul from Philippians 4. While the biblical context of this passage looks beyond aesthetics, in a categorical way we are given in the passage (past way of application) some criteria necessary for creative analysis. Each concept Paul mentions in verse 8 can exist used as sort of a "key" to unlock the significance of the art we encounter and to genuinely appreciate it.

Truth. Information technology is probably non by blow that Paul begins with truth. Obviously not every work of art contains a truth statement. Simply wherever and to what extent such a statement is being made, the Christian is compelled to inquire, "Is this really truthful?" Does life genuinely operate in this style in the light of God's revelation? And Christians must remember that truth is honestly facing the negatives too equally the positives of reality. Negative content has its place, even in a Christian approach to art. But Christian hope allows us to view these works in a different light. Nosotros sorrow, just non like those who have no hope. Ours is a sorrow of expectancy and ultimate triumph; there is one of full pessimism and despair.

Honor. A 2d aesthetic key has to practise with the concept of honour and dignity. This can be tied back to what was said earlier about the nature of human created in God'south image. This gives a basis, for case, to turn down the statement existence made in the full life work of Francis Bacon (d. 1993). In many of his paintings this contemporary British artist presents us with solitary, decaying humans on big, depressing canvasses. Deterioration and hopeless despair are the hallmarks of his artistic expression. But if Christianity is truthful, these are inaccurate portrayals of human being. They are half-truths. They get out out completely a dimension which is actually true of him. Created in God's image, he has award and dignity–even though absolutely he is in the process of dying, aging, wasting abroad. The Christian is the only ane capable of truly comprehending what is missing in Salary's piece of work. Without a Christian base of operations, we would have to wait at the paintings and admit man's "truthful" destiny, i.e., extinction, along with the residue of the cosmos. But every bit Christians nosotros can and must resist this message, considering it is a lie. The gospel gives real hope–to individuals and to history. These are missing from Bacon'due south work and are the straight result of his distorted worldview.

But. The third key to aesthetic comprehension has to do with the moral dimension. Not all fine art makes a moral statement. A Haydn symphony does not, nor does a portrait by Renoir. Just where such a statement is beingness made, Christians must deal with it, not ignore it. We will also do well to remember that moral statements can oft be stated powerfully in negative ways, likewise. Picasso'south Guernica comes to mind. He was protesting the bombing by the Germans of a town by that name but prior to Earth War II. Protesting injustice is a cry for justice. Only the Christian is aware and certain of where information technology can ultimately be found.

Pure. This fourth primal as well touches on the moral–past contrasting that which is innocent, chaste, and pure from that which is sordid, impure, and worldly. An accurate awarding of the principle will help distinguish the one from the other. For example, one need not be a professional drama critic to identify and capeesh the fresh, innocent honey of Romeo and Juliet, nor to distinguish information technology from the erotic escapades of a Tom Jones. The same dynamic is at work when comparing Greek nudes and Playboy centerfolds. One is lofty, the other cheap. The difference is this concept of purity. It allows the Christian to wait at two nudes and quite properly designate one "art" and the other "pornography." Possessing the heed of Christ, we have the equipment for identifying purity and impurity to a high degree.

Lovely. While the first iv concepts take dealt with facets of artistic statements, the 5th focuses on sheer aesthetic dazzler. "Whatsoever things are lovely," Paul says. A landscape makes no moral statement, merely information technology tin showroom great beauty. The geometric designs of Mondrian may say aught about justice, but they can definitely engage us aesthetically. The immensity and grandeur of a Gothic cathedral volition inspire creative awe in whatever sensitive chest, only they may do little else. Again, the Christian is equipped to appreciate a broad range of creative mediums and expressions. If there is little to evaluate morally and rationally, nosotros are still free to appreciate what is beautiful in the art.

Good Report. In this concept, we have the opportunity to evaluate the life and character of the creative person. What kind of a person is he? If a statement is being made, does the artist, composer, or author believe in that argument? Or was it to please a patron, a colleague, or a critic? Is there a aperture betwixt the argument of the work and the statement being made through the personal life of its creator? For example, Handel's Messiah is a musical masterpiece, but he was no saint! Filippo Lippi used his own mistress every bit a model for Mary in this Madonna paintings. The "less than exemplary" lifestyle of a creative person may somewhat tarnish his artistic contribution, but it does not necessarily or totally obliterate it. Something of God'south image always shines through in the creative process. The Christian can ever requite glory to God for that, even if a work of are has little else going for it. The greatest fine art is truthful, skillfully expressed, imaginative, and unencumbered by the personal and emotional hang-ups of its originators.

Excellence. This is a comparative term. It speaks of degrees, bold that something else is non excellent. The focus is on quality. Quality can hateful many things in the realm of fine art, but one sure sign of it is craftsmanship. Technical mastery is one of the essential ingredients which separates the great artist from the rank amateur. Obviously, the more one knows near technique and artistic skill, the better ane is able to appreciate whether an private artist, author, composer, or performer has what is necessary to produce not bad art. Many Christians have made unfortunate value judgments about art of all kinds. Through ignorance and naivete, superficial agreement of technique has been followed by smug rejection. This has erected barriers instead of bridges congenital to the artistic community, thus hindering a vital witness. Nosotros need to know what is bang-up fine art and why it is considered such.

Excellence is besides constitute in the immovability of fine art. Great art lasts. If information technology has been around several hundred years, it probably has something going for it. It has "staying ability." Christians should realize that some of the art of this century will not be around in the next. Much of it will pass off the scene. This is a proficient indication that it does non possess peachy aesthetic value; it is not splendid.

Praise. Hither we are concerned with the touch or the effect of the art. Is anything praiseworthy? The crayola scribblings of a toddler are praiseworthy to some extent, but it does not arm-twist a strong aesthetic response. We are not gripped or overpowered by it. Only great fine art has power and is therefore a forceful tool of communication. Francis Schaeffer has mentioned that the greater the art, the greater the impact. Does it please or displease? Inspire or depress? Does it influence thinking and behavior? Would information technology change a person? Would it alter you. Herein lies the "two-edged-swordness" of art. It tin drag a culture to lofty heights and it can assistance bring a social club to ruin. It is the result of civilization, simply it tin can also influence culture.

Determination

Paul undergirds this compact verse with the final command, call back on these things. Two very important propositions come along with which we can conclude this section. First, he reminds us that Christianity thrives on intelligence, not ignorance—even in the aesthetic realm. Christians demand their minds when confronting the artistic expressions of a culture. To the existentialist and the nihilist, the heed is an enemy, just to the Christian, information technology is a friend. 2nd, it is noteworthy that Paul has suggested such a positive approach to life and, by awarding, to art. He doesn't tell us that any things are fake, dishonorable, unjust impure, ugly, of bad report, poorly crafted, and mediocre are to take the focus of our attention. Here once again the hope of the Christian's arroyo to life in general rings conspicuously through. Our lives are not to be lived in the minor cardinal. We discover the despair, but we can see something more. God has made the states more than conquerors!

Arts, Culture and the Christian

We at present turn to two final areas of consideration in the fashion of suggested applications of what has been discussed.

Christ and Culture

At the beginning, we mentioned that aesthetics is related to culture, because in culture we notice the expressions of human creativity. In his very fine book, A Return to Christian Civilization, Richard Taylor points out that each of us is related to civilisation in two ways: we find ourselves within a cultural setting and we each possess a culture personally. That is, society has sure acceptable patterns to which individuals are expected to conform. When one does so, ane is considered "cultured."

In the light of Romans 12:2 and other biblical passages, the challenge for the Christian is to resist being "poured into the mold of the world" without also throwing out legitimate aesthetic interests. At the individual level, a Christian should seek to bring his maximum efforts toward the ". . .development of the person, intellectually, aesthetically, socially to the total apply of his powers, in compatibility with the recognized standards of excellence of his club."{10}

Culturally speaking, the same goal could be stated for Christian and non-Christian alike, but the Christian who wants to reflect the best in culture has his/her different motives. And some Christians can display the fruit of the Spirit, but be largely bereft of cultural and aesthetic sensibilities. D. L. Moody is said to have "butchered the King's English," just he was used mightily past God on two continents. This would propose that cultural composure is not admittedly necessary for God to use a person for spiritual purposes, just one could well ponder how many opportunities to government minister accept been lost because an individual has fabricated a cultural "false pas." The other side of the money is that a person may accept reached the top of social and aesthetic acceptability but take no spiritual touch on his surroundings whatsoever.

Iii words are of import to proceed in listen while defining Christian responsibleness in any culture. The first is cooperation with civilisation. The reason for this cooperation is that nosotros might identify with our culture so information technology may exist influenced for Jesus Christ. Jesus is a model for us here. He was non more often than not a non-conformist. He attended weddings and funerals, synagogues and feast. He was a practicing Jew. He generally did the culturally adequate things. When He did not, it was for clear spiritual principles.

A second word is persuasion. The Bible portrays Christians equally salt and light, the penetrating and purifying elements within a culture. Christianity is intended to have a sanctify influence on a civilization, not be swallowed upwards by information technology in one compromise after another.

A tertiary concept is confrontation. By carefully using Scripture, Christians tin challenge and reject those elements and practices within a culture that are incompatible with biblical truth. There are times when Christians must face up club. Things such as polygamy, idolatry, sexual immorality, and racism should exist challenged head-on by Christians.

How tin accomplish this kind of impact? Outset by the development of high personal, cultural, and aesthetic standards. These include tact, courtesy, dress, and speech. In doing this, Christians demand to avoid two extremes. The first is the tendency to endeavor to "proceed up with the Joneses." This becomes the "Cult of the Snob." A second extreme is to react confronting the Joneses and join the "Cult of the Slobs."

Second, Christians must employ all of life to proclaim a Christian worldview. In a century dominated past darkness, despair, and racket, Christians can still offer a message and demeanor of hope. If being a Christian is a superior way of living, its benefits should be apparent to all.

Finally, Christians should be encouraged to become involved in the arts. This can be done showtime of all by learning to evaluate and appreciate the arts with greater skill. Generally, Christians can become involved in the arts in one of three ways.

Involvement in the Arts

One of the deep hopes for this paper is that it might instill in the reader a healthy desire to plunge more deeply into the arts and savor what is there with the freedom Christ has given. It might encourage united states to remind ourselves that Paul lived in a X-rated culture similar to our own. Still he and most of the other believers kept their spiritual equilibrium in such a setting and were used mightily by God in their civilisation.

Likewise frequently today Christians, similar the Pharisees of old, are seeking to eliminate the leprous elements which affect their lives. With increasing isolation, they are focused more than on what the diseases of lodge tin exercise to them than how they might touch the diseased! Nowhere is this more than critically experienced than in the arts. We mostly shy away from those contexts which disturb us. And there is today much in the arts to disturb us–be we creator, spectator (a form of participation) or performer.

Ugliness and decadence abound in every culture and generation. From this we cannot escape. But Jesus touched the leper. He made contact with the diseased one in need. As Christians, our focus should exist not on what art brings to the states, merely rather what we tin bring to the art! Therefore the development of imagination and a wholesome, expanded analysis of fifty-fifty the many negative contemporary works is possible when viewed in the broad themes of humanity, life, and feel of a truly Christian worldview. Great fine art is more a smiling mural. Beauty and truth include terrible and ominous aspects also, like a storm on the ocean, or the torn life of a prostitute.

Christians can also experience the arts every bit participators and performers. If each person is created in the image of God, some creativity is there to be personally expressed in every one of us. Learn what artistic talents you have. Discover how y'all tin can best limited your creativity and then do and so. Learn an musical instrument, write some poetry. Take part in a stage product. Your Christianity will not mean less, but more to yous if you lot do.

A third area often overlooked must besides be mentioned. I refer to those profoundly gifted and talented Christians among us who should exist encouraged to consider the arts every bit a career. A Christian influence in the arts is sorely needed today, and things will not ameliorate as long as Christians are happy to let the bulk of contemporary artistry to flow along from those who have no personal relationship with the One who gave them their talents. The artistic surround is a tough place to live out your Christian religion, and the dangers are great, only to do so successfully will bring rich rewards and lasting fruit.

Gini Andrews, an acclaimed concert pianist and author, writes of the peachy need for Christians to excel in all the artistic fields and sounds a challenge for them to develop their gifts:

"All the disciplines, music, painting, sculpture, theater, and writing, are in need of pioneers who seek a way to perform in a twentieth century fashion; to show with quality work that there is an answer to the applesauce of life, to the threat of annihilation, to the mechanization of man, the message being sounded loud and clear by the non-Christian creative person. . . . "If we are to present God'south bulletin to disillusioned, frenetic twentieth century people, information technology'due south going to have His creativity expressed in special means. I hope that some of you in the creative fields will be challenged by the Almightiness of our Creator-God and will spend long hours before Him, proverb, like Jacob, 'I will not go unless you bless me, until you bear witness me how to speak out your wonder to the contemporary mind.'"{11}"

Here is expressed the unprecedented challenge and opportunity before the trunk of Christ today. May God enable us to seize it.

Notes

1. William Bridgewater, ed. The Columbia-Viking Desk-bound Encyclopedia, Vol. I (New York: Viking Press, 1953), p. 16.

2. John I. Sewall, A History of Western Art. (New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1953), p. i.

iii. Richard S. Taylor, A Return to Christian Culture. (Minneapolis: Dimension Books, 1975), p. 12.

four. Marcel Proust. Maximus.

5. Sewall, Ibid.

6. Francis Schaeffer, Fine art & the Bible. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1976), p. xv.

vii. Ibid., p. 34.

eight. John Calvin. Institutes of the Christian Organized religion, Vol. 1. (K Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1957), p. 236.

9. Chad Walsh. "The Literary Stature of C. S. Lewis," Christianity Today, June 8, 1979) p.22.

10. Taylor, p. 33.

xi. Gini Andrews, Your Half of the Apple (Yard Rapids, MI:, Zondervan, 1972) pp. 64-65.

©2000 Probe Ministries.

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Jimmy Williams

James F. Williams was the founder and past president of Probe Ministries International. He held degrees from Southern Methodist University (B.A.) and Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M.). He also pursued inter-disciplinary doctoral studies (a.b.d.) in the humanities at the University of Texas at Dallas. Over a thirty-five year menstruum, he visited, lectured, and counseled on more 180 university campuses in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the former Soviet Union. He also served on the faculties of the American, Latin American, and European Institutes of Biblical Studies. Jimmy won his (and his family unit's) 14-twelvemonth boxing with Alzheimer's when he graduated to sky in September 2019.

What is Probe?

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Further information about Probe'southward materials and ministry may be obtained by contacting us at:

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