Why I Have A TV and Frequently Go to the Movies
July 14, 2009
Sometimes we just get scared. We are afraid to engage because there are consequences. What will people think? What if I actually start to like to what I’m participating in? Sometimes we just can’t be bothered because there are other more “pressing” issues. Sometimes it is convenient to be ignorant. These are some of the concerns I think Christians have when it comes to the arts.
How can a people who for so many centuries had the corner on producing art so quickly abandon such a clear expression of imaging forth and participating in God’s beauty? Maybe we forgot the scriptural precedence.
Four Biblical Examples of Why We Should Take Art Seriously
1. The Creation Account
It is impossible to read the first couple of chapters of Genesis without wonder at the awesomeness of God as creator. The fact that God spoke into existence the natural world that surrounds us should clue us in to the fact that creating is important to God. He actually crafted man and woman with his own hands, like a potter with a lump of clay. God made man and woman in His own creative image. God is interested in creation. God is a sculptor.
2. The lavish art of the tabernacle and the temple
By reading the descriptions of the construction of the tabernacle at the end of Exodus you know God takes beauty seriously. The intricate detail of each aspect of the altar and the design of the priestly garments to be worn while in the temple show the value God places on artistic expression. Even the priests’ robes were to be embellished with artistic creations. For instance, Exodus 28:33-34 has the following: “On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, around its hem, with bells of gold between them, a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe.” The priests were then carrying art into the presence of God, into the Holy of Holies. Again, the cherubim of gold in Exodus 37:7 were finely crafted. Schaeffer writes, “Somebody had to get his hands dirty, somebody had to work out the technical problems. The very thing that a modern artist wrestles with, these artists had to wrestle with.” And much later, the temple itself was filled with precious stones and crafted cherubim. In 2 Chronicles 4, we see that they sculpted gourds and oxen to hold up a large “sea of cast metal.” In 1 Kings 7:29, we read that the panels of the walls had sculpted lion and oxen and cherubim. These artistic features did not serve a pragmatic purpose, they simply added beauty and grandeur to God’s house, and they represented the beautiful works of His own hands. God is interested in beauty. God is a craftsman.
3. Paul’s quotation of the poet in Acts
The fact that Paul quotes Aratus in Acts 17:28 is not insignificant. In one of the most creative demonstrations of evangelization, Paul utilizes a popular poetical work of the day to aid in making his point to his audience at the Aeropagus. Paul knows that his audience had no biblical literacy, but they knew Aratus. Imagine Paul had simply said, “I don’t know your favorite poets, I don’t know your favorite plays, I simply can’t be bothered and I don’t think I should expose myself to such heathen entertainments. But you really should read my Bible!” Would he have received a hearing? Paul was interested in what interested his listeners, and he saw their interest in poetry and pointed them to the poetry of Psalm 50 and Psalm 9 and the lyrical beauty of Isaiah 40 and Job 12. God is a poet.
4. The variety of scripture
That the God of the universe would in His supreme wisdom design the words that compose scripture to contain such a wide variety of writing styles is not by accident. Poetry, historical narrative, law, wisdom, prophecy, gospel, epistle, and apocalyptic literature all spring from the pages with a literary craftsmanship not yet paralleled in the history of mankind. Never again will there be another written work with the skill and literary depth of the Bible. God is an author.
“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
God is a sculptor, a craftsman, a poet, an author. God is an artist. As Christians, as followers of Christ, we are interested in God. Let us also be interested in art.
Pastors Dan Julian and Gabe Schmidt