One of the most profitable changes in my life since I began my journey to a deeper and more holistic understanding of the Gospel and the Christian faith a few years ago is a greater appreciation for art. Previously the value I placed on art was only for its aesthetic value, as decoration or a simple illustration of an event. I only saw value in pieces I personally liked.
Two of my professors at Cedarville had a profound impact on me in this area. My philosophy professor, whose expertise was in philosophy of art, allowed me to sit in on his Philosophy of Art class and the section in Humanities when he lectured. Understanding the different uses of light, color, shape and perspective allowed me to see paintings and sculptures in a whole new way. In addition to these new skills for interpreting art, in a Prison Epistles class, while discussing the apocalyptic prayers in in all four letters, one of my NT profs commented on the apocalyptic role of artists in today’s world. While certainly recognizing that special revelation from God is categorically different from human interpretation, he explained how he thought artists can be quite revelatory for society. I do not remember his exact words, I probably did not realize what effect they would have in me at the time, but he described artists as people who are often able to see the world in different way than is normally portrayed or understood and then through their medium explain their view to others. I have found this description of art to very helpful. When I see a painting or sculpture or listen to a poem or song with a message, I now try to understand then through this lens. Questions such as “How does this artist see the world?” and “How does this piece view the topic at hand differently than it is usually portrayed?” are now the criteria for my evaluation of art.
However, I am not figured out how art should be incorporated in the life of the Church. Obviously, we use music in our praise of God in our corporate worship. But how does music, that does not directly sing praise to God, fit into our Christian communities. Bach saw all of his music as his offering of worship to God. Outside of individual enjoyment and reflection, how does the Church as a corporate body appreciate the beauty of Bach and allow his music to enrich life and motivate us to love God. In addition, how do we incorporate popular music that can show us life and the world in a way we usually do not see.
How does the great history of art in the Church fit into our communities? Are there ways to use some of the deeply theological painting of Rembrandt to help us understand the Biblical text through his medium? Are there ways that Salvador Dali or Jackson Pollack can show us the world in a way that we might not see it otherwise?
What about “secular” literature or film? The novels of Faukner and McCarthy have some deep personal, societal, social and even theological issues involved. Speaking of McCarthy, what about Cohen brother’s films? And as I have mentioned before, The Dark Knight is overflowing with Gospel themes.
Now I am not saying that these artistic offerings should replace our exposition of the Scriptures or be treated as authoritative. Nor am I saying that all art is useful or encouraging. But it seems that there needs to be more Church community engagement with the thoughts, ideas and worldviews of artists. If anything it just seems to reinforce the necessity of a fuller understanding of life, community and culture for Christian living and Church life. But how we should do this is still not clear.
