Most Christians think about art and its relationship to our faith more than they realize. In reality art is simply the assets of culture and as such we interact with it, consume it and judge others based on it on a daily basis. To truly live as the Christians that our Lord calls us to be we must have a proper and balanced view of the meaning and use of art in our daily lives. TV, books, film, music, theater and the visual arts are important and merit our careful thought.
In that vein I offer up the following link as a must read. Mike Cosper has written a great article over at the Gospel Coalition detailing the Christian perspective on art from 3 points of view:
Art for the church needs to be seen as first and foremost as the work of a servant. Creativity is never supposed to be the centerpiece of the gathered church. Instead, it’s a servant of the liturgy, a servant of the ministries of word and prayer. Michael Card, in his great book, Scribbling in the Sand, describes the work of the artist in the church as an act of foot washing. Certainly there’s a place for skill and excellence, and certainly there’s a role that can be played by artists to affect to the congregation with the emotional wow and wonder of the arts. But that strength is only a servant and a signpost, pointing to the glory of Another.
Art from the church is the work of the artist in the surrounding world. Here, artists pursue their calling and maximize their gifting. Christian artists should seek to be the best they can possibly be, in their field, to the glory of God, a task that is no different than the work of a doctor, teacher, or mechanic, who are each called to pursue their work with integrity and excellence.
Art facing the church is the creative work that surrounds us, the cultural sea in which we all swim. Churches generally and Christians particularly must carefully navigate the issues of context and conscience in order to discern what they consume, how they consume it, and how they understand it.
I think this is a very helpful framework to view this issue through. I have been thinking a lot on this topic lately, and this viewpoint has been very helpful to me in being able to organize my thoughts. I will post more on this some time in the future, but for now I suggest you read the article and think about how we should apply this framework.
Tags: art, the-church
