{"id":31707,"date":"2013-03-12T07:08:34","date_gmt":"2013-03-12T13:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/?p=31707"},"modified":"2013-03-12T07:08:34","modified_gmt":"2013-03-12T13:08:34","slug":"the-problem-with-writing-off-un-christian-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2013\/03\/the-problem-with-writing-off-un-christian-art\/","title":{"rendered":"The Problem With Writing Off ‘Un-Christian’ Art"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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\u201cIt is in the mind of Christ that Christians possessing the indwelling Holy Spirit can search the riches of art, even art that doesn\u2019t line up with our theology.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because of the Holy Spirit\u2019s indwelling, Christians have a great and oft-neglected ability to appreciate the wonderful aesthetics found in this world. There seems to be a divine imperative to find beauty in created things, and like all human longings, this artistic inclination finds fulfillment through life in Christ. The world, marred by sin\u2019s ubiquitous destruction, is longing to be remade. This is the root of the longings for beauty, truth, pleasure, and joy that artists try to capture in their work, and Christ has brought about this restoration, \u201cmaking peace by the blood of His cross\u201d. This dynamic gives Christianity a unique view of art and culture as instruments that are fulfilled in Christ.<\/p>\n

However, fear and ignorance of art and culture often keep us from enjoying the beauty of God that might be found outside of our subculture. There is something distinctly Christian about the enjoyment of \u201cnon-Christian\u201d art. Whether it is a film from atheist Soviet Russia, an Enlightenment-influenced novel, or a song written by non-Christians, God is revealed through man\u2019s creation of art because God\u2019s creation of man is evident in the art.<\/p>\n

Art and Evangelicalism have had strained relations over the years. In Dynamics of Spiritual Life<\/a><\/em>, theologian Richard Lovelace describes the problems of Evangelical Protestantism\u2019s aesthetic landscape as an overreaction to Catholic aesthetics:<\/p>\n

I found that Evangelicalism has its roots in Puritan and Pietistic traditions which has fused the ascetic piety of the early church fathers with Protestant doctrine and which has also overreacted against the luxurious expression of Christian faith in symbolic liturgy graphic art, music and architecture. As a result of these forces, the evangelical stream moved away from the sacramental vision of life in Catholic tradition, in which the created world is not only celebrated as good but recognized as a constant symbolic message about spiritual reality. Evangelical moved in a Manichaean direction, toward a frame of mind in which the objects of sense and sigh could drag us away from what was \u201cspiritual\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This tension, brought about by the rise of 19th century pre-millennialism and early 20th century fundamentalism, created a barrier between Christian culture and \u201csecular\u201d culture. Because of this separation, Evangelicals have formed a subculture where aesthetics and beauty are valued much less than evangelism, conformity, and theology.<\/p>\n

Art & Evangelicalism Today<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since the Second Great Awakening, American Christianity has shifted away from theological discipleship towards emotional captivation in what religion scholar Stephen Prothero calls \u201cspiritual anti-intellectualism.\u201d This caused art\u2019s aesthetic role in church life to be exchanged for an instructional one. Art has now become one of, if not the<\/em>, primary tools for teaching and discipleship for many American Evangelicals. For art, and music in particular, to gain wide popularity among today\u2019s Evangelicals, it must have an overt message and be adaptable for a worship service. Because art is where many Christians go for religious instruction, it\u2019s assumed that art without an explicit and safe manifestation of Christian thought will lead people astray. This leaves a lot of great music out of the Christian conversation.<\/p>\n

I recently read about the band Citizens sitting down with their pastors to workshop their music<\/a> to ensure that it was theologically correct. In the blog post, Zach Bolen says that the song \u201cMade Alive\u201d used to be about the Old Testament Law but that when his pastors got a hold of it they injected it with the Gospel. The result is a song made by astoundingly talented musicians that sounds much like the safe, flaccid CCM of the \u201890s.<\/p>\n