Great thoughts! Beauty and art have unfortunately been under-emphasized aspects of Christian theology in most Protestant/Evangelical circles over the past several years.
Yes, it is true. And it is to our detriment! I am currently reading Makoto Fujimura's recent book Art+Faith: A Theology of Making, which dives more deeply into this intersectionality, and he really shows how it has crippled the Church that we do not view God's Word through the lens of creativity and the arts. The Bible is essentially Art in of itself. It is incredible stuff. I would highly recommend!
There is an interesting relationship between Christianity and Art. While I agree that there is an issue with Christians being dismissive of Art and/or compartmentalizing it, I think there is also a serious issue with those who profess Christianity and yet do not see Art through the lens of Scripture and do not subordinate Art to it. It's crucial for a believer to begin with Scripture as the ultimate standard for all maters of faith and practice, and only then are they in position to properly honor God with Art.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.- Deuteronomy 6:5 (ESV)
But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.- Romans 14:23 (ESV)
To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.- Titus 1:15 (ESV)
Cross Processing is a great idea, I'm enjoying it and looking forward to more!
Thanks so much, Philip! ^_^ We appreciate your reading and encouraging us in this endeavor! We are pretty excited about it. And yes! I completely agree about there being a critical issue about those who profess Christianity that do no subject themselves or their Art to the truth of the Scripture and the sovereignty of God. The Titus verse is so very true. However, I would say that the professing Christian who tries to compartmentalize Scripture and the one who does not subject himself to it are both operating under the same essential problem, which is they are not allowing the beholding of this Beauty, i.e. God's glory, to transform them.
"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another." - 2 Cor 3:18
In the Deuteronomy verse, about us loving the Lord with all our hearts, souls, and might - we can ask, what does that look like? We can read the verse and we know it to be true, but even Satan knows what is true about God. There is a deeper reality at work, which is namely the awakening of affection for God. It makes me think of the parable of the man finding the treasure in the field.
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." - Matt 13:44
If we note in this story, it says "then in his joy..." The man finds a treasure so wonderful, so beautiful, so incomparable that he so easily sells everything he has because the worth of having this treasure surpasses all. It is spontaneous, free, and joyful. That is how I see what it means to love our Lord with all our hearts, souls, and might - because when you behold Him, know Him, why would you want to do anything else? If any professing Christian isn't subjecting himself to the Truth, then he is not allowing his heart's affections to be transformed by the Spirit.
That is why I am so focused on Art and Beauty as being a powerful means of showcasing the glory of God because as human beings, and especially our entertainment saturated culture of America, we understand that desire almost instinctively as we glut ourselves on our stories. Why do we binge watch? Why do we have fandoms? Why do we enjoy spending hours upon hours of our day absorbing media? We are a people of passions, but as C.S. Lewis said, it isn't that our passions are too great, but it is that they are too small. We fill ourselves with food, drink, drugs, sex - and I could continue from his quote - with movies, tv shows, and media - but none of these things will satisfy. Lewis said it is like children who are playing with mud pies, because they cannot imagine what it is like to have a holiday on the beach. If we could show our fellow Christians and unbelievers alike that these "bits of Beauty" are merely part of a Greater Whole - that God Himself is profoundly worthy of all our affections, and that it is this enjoyment of Him that truly satisfies our hearts, there would be a radical transformation of people and our culture.
So we know that Art and Story aren't Truth, but they speak and point towards Truth, and if we as Christians truly discerned the Beauty that exists in all things, since all things Christ declares as His, then we would awaken true affection for God. For people would be finding those beautiful treasures in a field...or in a good book, or in a movie, or in a tv series, or in painting, etc... and it would ultimately lead them to the Source of all treasures. Essentially, what I am saying is that viewing the Christian Faith through the lens of Art and Beauty, with Truth of God's Word our Lord Jesus Christ and the work of the Cross as our foundation, of course, will we get the complete and accurate picture of what obedience and worship of God looks like - a *joyful* and *free* act of a transformed soul who has seen God.
"I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” - Job 42:5-6
Lots of good thoughts, my friend. I love that verse from 2 Corinthians, and it is one of many reasons I hate masks, especially at church.
I marvel at you writers and your ability to churn out words. Postmodernism is so prevalent in Art, with its many truths and only apparent absolute truth being that there is no absolute truth. I love to see Common Grace in Art, and how even those who oppose the truth of God can not help but illustrate it and give Him glory.
My family has been watching Tim Challies' EPIC series, and he talks about Amy Carmichael in the India episode. Here are 2 different links, I'm not sure if the second one has any footage that the regular episode does not since I haven't seen them yet. We've been enjoying EPIC quite a bit.
Oh cool! Thanks for sharing this episode! I haven't heard of the EPIC series, but that is great he talks about Amy Carmichael! I will check it out! :)
Yes, it is true, about postmodernism and its many forms. That is why I love the Christian artist/writer Makoto Fujimura. He is a fine art painter, so he has experienced that whole world of "high art". He went against the grain in that he painted beautiful, heavenly things - always centered on grace, never giving into the darker/cynical aspects of the Art world. He is a strong voice against the onslaught of postmodernism and utilitarianism in the Arts right now!
Thank you! ^_^ I do try to find the right words, haha.
Great thoughts! Beauty and art have unfortunately been under-emphasized aspects of Christian theology in most Protestant/Evangelical circles over the past several years.
Yes, it is true. And it is to our detriment! I am currently reading Makoto Fujimura's recent book Art+Faith: A Theology of Making, which dives more deeply into this intersectionality, and he really shows how it has crippled the Church that we do not view God's Word through the lens of creativity and the arts. The Bible is essentially Art in of itself. It is incredible stuff. I would highly recommend!
I added it to my Goodreads TBR!
Oh! And thank you so much for reading! ^_^
There is an interesting relationship between Christianity and Art. While I agree that there is an issue with Christians being dismissive of Art and/or compartmentalizing it, I think there is also a serious issue with those who profess Christianity and yet do not see Art through the lens of Scripture and do not subordinate Art to it. It's crucial for a believer to begin with Scripture as the ultimate standard for all maters of faith and practice, and only then are they in position to properly honor God with Art.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.- Deuteronomy 6:5 (ESV)
But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.- Romans 14:23 (ESV)
To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.- Titus 1:15 (ESV)
Cross Processing is a great idea, I'm enjoying it and looking forward to more!
Thanks so much, Philip! ^_^ We appreciate your reading and encouraging us in this endeavor! We are pretty excited about it. And yes! I completely agree about there being a critical issue about those who profess Christianity that do no subject themselves or their Art to the truth of the Scripture and the sovereignty of God. The Titus verse is so very true. However, I would say that the professing Christian who tries to compartmentalize Scripture and the one who does not subject himself to it are both operating under the same essential problem, which is they are not allowing the beholding of this Beauty, i.e. God's glory, to transform them.
"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another." - 2 Cor 3:18
In the Deuteronomy verse, about us loving the Lord with all our hearts, souls, and might - we can ask, what does that look like? We can read the verse and we know it to be true, but even Satan knows what is true about God. There is a deeper reality at work, which is namely the awakening of affection for God. It makes me think of the parable of the man finding the treasure in the field.
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." - Matt 13:44
If we note in this story, it says "then in his joy..." The man finds a treasure so wonderful, so beautiful, so incomparable that he so easily sells everything he has because the worth of having this treasure surpasses all. It is spontaneous, free, and joyful. That is how I see what it means to love our Lord with all our hearts, souls, and might - because when you behold Him, know Him, why would you want to do anything else? If any professing Christian isn't subjecting himself to the Truth, then he is not allowing his heart's affections to be transformed by the Spirit.
That is why I am so focused on Art and Beauty as being a powerful means of showcasing the glory of God because as human beings, and especially our entertainment saturated culture of America, we understand that desire almost instinctively as we glut ourselves on our stories. Why do we binge watch? Why do we have fandoms? Why do we enjoy spending hours upon hours of our day absorbing media? We are a people of passions, but as C.S. Lewis said, it isn't that our passions are too great, but it is that they are too small. We fill ourselves with food, drink, drugs, sex - and I could continue from his quote - with movies, tv shows, and media - but none of these things will satisfy. Lewis said it is like children who are playing with mud pies, because they cannot imagine what it is like to have a holiday on the beach. If we could show our fellow Christians and unbelievers alike that these "bits of Beauty" are merely part of a Greater Whole - that God Himself is profoundly worthy of all our affections, and that it is this enjoyment of Him that truly satisfies our hearts, there would be a radical transformation of people and our culture.
So we know that Art and Story aren't Truth, but they speak and point towards Truth, and if we as Christians truly discerned the Beauty that exists in all things, since all things Christ declares as His, then we would awaken true affection for God. For people would be finding those beautiful treasures in a field...or in a good book, or in a movie, or in a tv series, or in painting, etc... and it would ultimately lead them to the Source of all treasures. Essentially, what I am saying is that viewing the Christian Faith through the lens of Art and Beauty, with Truth of God's Word our Lord Jesus Christ and the work of the Cross as our foundation, of course, will we get the complete and accurate picture of what obedience and worship of God looks like - a *joyful* and *free* act of a transformed soul who has seen God.
"I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” - Job 42:5-6
Lots of good thoughts, my friend. I love that verse from 2 Corinthians, and it is one of many reasons I hate masks, especially at church.
I marvel at you writers and your ability to churn out words. Postmodernism is so prevalent in Art, with its many truths and only apparent absolute truth being that there is no absolute truth. I love to see Common Grace in Art, and how even those who oppose the truth of God can not help but illustrate it and give Him glory.
My family has been watching Tim Challies' EPIC series, and he talks about Amy Carmichael in the India episode. Here are 2 different links, I'm not sure if the second one has any footage that the regular episode does not since I haven't seen them yet. We've been enjoying EPIC quite a bit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5c2Zr1GxVI&t=5s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP6tPj5aLcw&t=6s
Oh cool! Thanks for sharing this episode! I haven't heard of the EPIC series, but that is great he talks about Amy Carmichael! I will check it out! :)
Yes, it is true, about postmodernism and its many forms. That is why I love the Christian artist/writer Makoto Fujimura. He is a fine art painter, so he has experienced that whole world of "high art". He went against the grain in that he painted beautiful, heavenly things - always centered on grace, never giving into the darker/cynical aspects of the Art world. He is a strong voice against the onslaught of postmodernism and utilitarianism in the Arts right now!
Thank you! ^_^ I do try to find the right words, haha.