The Arts II

"The passion for encouraging the arts is understandable and in large part commendable. Not only does the Church have a long history of commissioning art, but the Bible speaks highly of those with gifts of artistry and craftsmanship... And let’s be honest, many of our churches are not exactly a haven for the artsy crowd... I think a renewed emphasis on the arts in our churches can be a very good thing or a very bad thing. It all depends on whether the 'art is the answer' crowd and the 'art is weird' crowd can find some common ground around some common sense." ~ Kevin DeYoung, "The Church and the Arts: Some Common Ground and Some Common Sense"

This article showed up on my Google Reader today (thanks Nathan for sharing it). I have written about the arts before because I think it is an important issue that the modern Church needs to think about more. I think the Church today (as a general rule) has done a poor job of supporting, contributing to, and critically thinking about the arts. By doing so it has lost touch with much of the postmodern culture and does not know how to express the truth it bears to said culture. DeYoung gives several good theses in the above article about Church-artists relations:

1. Allow art to be art and see the value it has in its beauty and ability to display different areas of truth (not just gospel truth).
   
2. Art is valuable but do not overstate the matter and try to make it the most valuable avenue of truth.
3. Do not try to make art do more than it can.
   
4. Worship should strive for artistic excellence, but never forget that the goal of worship is to edify the congregation and magnify God in our hearts.
   
5. Churches should learn to welcome artists, but artists should not expect the church to be an art gallery.
6. Artists can help us see our idols through their art, but artistic expression can be an idol too.

I would recommend the book Eyes Wide Open by Bill Romanowski for anyone wanting to get a good (in my opinion) biblical perspective on thoughtfully engaging the artistic part of popular culture. In it he wisely states, "The absence of a critical perspective makes people more vulnerable to the effects of the popular arts. The critic’s quest is to arrive at a 'place of wakefulness and clarity'... a place in which perspective can be applied to understanding and evaluating the popular artwork." (138)

By His Grace,
Taylor

The Arts

"Christians cannot abdicate the arts to secular society. We must consume, study, and participate in the arts if we are to have a seat at the table. Whether it has a religious theme or strikes us as irreligious, we must be patrons if we are to have an impact on how the world interprets and responds to the arts. We cannot be wary, we cannot be afraid, we cannot be self-righteous. Christians must look, listen, read, and experience the arts if we are to lead our culture to renewal." ~ Tim Keller

I wholeheartedly agree with Dr. Keller's statement (found in sermon "Engaging The Renewed Imagination"). I think the Church today as a whole has done a poor job of supporting and contributing to the arts. By doing so it has lost touch with much of the postmodern culture and does not know how to express the truth it bears to said culture.

Contrary to the more liberal view of art, it cannot solve the deepest problems of the human race, only Christ can. However, contrary to conservative view of art, it is not merely a luxury. Art is a great representation of the culture it is produced in. It should therefore be especially important to Christians because of the postmodern direction of culture. When we understand what postmodern artists are producing we can better understand the direction of postmodern culture and how to interact with it effectively. One thing that art shows us is that postmoderns doubt the possibility of truth and instead desire to bring significance to the personal stories they find themselves living in. There is a great story, a true story, that Christians have to tell, which can bring context and significance to the human race. With much of postmodern society this story will be most readily received and understood through artistic expression.

If we truly believe that we are made in the image of the Creator, then we human beings are to be creative ourselves. It will bring us joy just as it brought the Creator joy. Why not join the culture in its creativity? Perhaps through this we can express more clearly the beauty of Christ to a culture in need of His grace and to ourselves by seeing His beauty in a whole new way.

By His Grace,
Taylor