Brian Thomas writes a concise little article over at THE OOZE about Christians and the arts. Like a lot of folks I know and read, he argues that believers ought to be among the very best creators of art and beauty, because we are made in the image of the ultimate Artist. And the Artist has redeemed us and is constantly scuplting, painting, singing, and writing the image of Jesus into our lives.
Unfortunately, P.G. Wodehouse, whose quote is included in the article, was right…
Whenever Christians, and evangelicals in particular, have attempted to ‘reach the world’ through the media – TV, film, publishing and so on – the thinking public gets the firm idea that, like soup in a bad restaurant, Christians’ brains are better left unstirred.
Instead of driving people away with bad attempts at “art,” dismissed with the excuses of “we don’t have the resources” or “it’s good enough for volunteers” or whatever, those of us who serve the ultimate Beholder should reclaim the lofty ambition of Francis Schaeffer who said…
The Christian is the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars.
I’m challenged and encouraged by people like Brian Ollman and his Millennia Co-op, referenced in Frost and Hirsch’s The Shaping of Things to Come, who are seeking to reclaim the heritage of believers from the earliest days.
