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Taking back the arts
by Carrie HunterApril 5th, 2007
4 Comments
I think the arts have been neglected far too long in the Christian community. Along with academia, the arts have been kicked to the curb from which the world picked them up and ran. They shouldn’t have dibs on this! Art originates from the very essence of who we are – creatures bearing the imago Dei. The image of God! As fallen as we are, we still bear His image. It is just part and parcel of the grace He bestows upon humanity. (Please reserve the discussion over the actual existence of common grace for a more profound blog post.) We bear His image and He is the Creator so naturally we are to be creative beings.
It seems that for quite some time now (a few centuries) the use of creativity and imagination have been deemed worldly and man-centered and something which believers should not cultivate. I find it perplexing really because when we create we are merely acting in accordance with how we have been designed. Granted there are depraved minds who create things that in no way bring honor to God or any semblance of edification to believers and non-believers alike, that however does not mean the creative process in and of itself is a bad thing. It simply means it is tainted with sin (like every other aspect of our human lives.)
To take a thought and turn it into a melody or a poem, to imagine a plot and turn it into a film, or to see something simple and translate it to a beautiful visual image for the world to see, is an amazing gift! God has given us these marvelous abilities and I think we are doing Him a disservice when we discourage our brothers and sisters from fostering them.
I think Christians should be out in the forefront in the world of film, music, literature, photography, painting, even dance! (I am a Baptist, a Southern one at that and yes I did just say dance!) We should be the BEST in all these areas because the imago Dei which we bear is in the process of being restored to its original state! Believers have renewed minds and therefore we should use them to bring honor to the One who has renewed them. Be it with a new song, or book, or a film, or a photo, wherever our passions lie we should pursue it and in doing so give all the glory to God and let His light shine in this world of darkness.
Taking back the arts is part and parcel of reclaiming the mind for Christ.
(Some of the greatest photography I have ever seen is here and the artist is a friend and brother in the Lord.)
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4 Comments
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I agree, Carrie. The Psalms are filled with references to dancing and playing instruments in praise to God. It doesn’t seem mentioned so much in the New Testament, but they do talk about singing songs in Acts, I think. And I bet when Jesus went to the wedding where he changed the water in to wine that there was singing and dancing going on.
Human creativity is everywhere, even in our clothing and furniture.
I do think the humans are “hard-wired” for stories. From stories about the beginnings of the universe to fairy tales to novels to movies, and even to jokes, people seem moved to live with stories. Our lives would be drab and maybe even impossible to live without fantasy.
And those people with the greatest imaginations may be the ones most capable of opening up to God. It’s not that imagination and faith are the same, but I think imagination opens one up to the possibilities of things beyond our understanding. My husband won’t believe that ANYTHING miraculous can happen because he hasn’t seen a miracle. I think we are living in the midst of miracles every day, but he is talking about the kind of miracles that Jesus did when he walked on the earth during his 3 year ministry.
Anyway, I definitely agree with you and like your, “Taking back the arts is part and parcel of reclaiming the mind for Christ.”
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Amen!!! My wife and I are avid ballroom dancers. We even do exhibitions – all for the glory of God.
Bob
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Thank you both Joanie and Bob for your comments.
Joanie that is a great observation about seeing creativity even in the most basic daily things like clothing and furniture. My daughter hears music in basic things… the rhythm of the dishwasher for example. I encourage her to “play along to the beat”.
Bob very cool about the ballroom dancing. I find that captivating; the grace and beauty and precise execution of each step in sync with the music. Too it
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Carrie-
I was involved in theatre as an actor and producer for fifteen years and I couldn’t agree with you more. The problem with Christian media (and for the sake of this argument, let’s assume film/TV/theatre) is that art has it’s greatest power in revealing something of the human condition through the given circumstances of a text (or situation). We are taken up in the action by watching the “hero’s journey”, and from that we examine our worldview, or our own circustances through the prism of this artistic experience. Art poses a question and opens the floor to debate. Art then can be, in it’s best form, the mirror that reflects society for good or ill. I think Christian media fails because Christianity holds the answer. Christianity embodies truth and the TRUTH (thankfully so). And because of this, those who produce Christian media present the answer rather than the questions we as an audience (or as a human) find so compelling. When anyone claims an answer (see any Oliver Stone film) without those elements of drama that move us…it becomes preaching. Just a thought. All the best.
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