To be human is to engage in a long, laborious process of discovery. I’ve just started my third year of seminary at Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY, and I was struck by this simple truth today. It is the nature of humanity to have to struggle to learn. We don’t download truths and concepts into our minds. We must effectively force them in there. Doubt me? Just ask a Hebrew student. You’ll get the plain truth. It didn’t have to... Read more

It struck me in thinking about yesterday’s post that we should not be surprised by the shameful behavior of so-called “tolerateurs.” These folk claim to plant mighty trees of peace, but one finds a key question to ask in apprising the tree: where are its roots? Herein lies the reason behind the hateful behavior of those who claim peace above all else. In the secularist vision of the world, there is no foundation for dignity. What do I mean by... Read more

I attended secular schools until I was 23. During that time, I was exposed to the cardinal virtue of higher education in the late twentieth century: so-called “tolerance.” Broadly defined, this meant non-judgmental, non-prejudicial acceptance of all viewpoints as equally valid and personally meaningful. If those who advocated it had given it a metaphorical identity, tolerance would be a tree, producing fruit of the best and sweetest kind. Such promises have been made before. A recent situation brought this to... Read more

This ties in with an earlier post on excellence, but goes into new territory. One of the worst sins Christian artists commit in making their work is that of copy-catting. Christian record companies and film studios seem to take some sort of glee in making their products as close to secular influences as possible without the secular content. The end result is heartless art, art that is not its own but it is a poor knockoff of some truly innovative... Read more

We don’t try to enter the room just to sit in the corner. That should be our philosophy as Christian artists. That is to say, we don’t involve ourselves in artistic culture, work to craft an excellent product, and then seek to speak our message only to ourselves and the tiny mass of people who already agree with us. We come into the room to speak with everyone. This is a radically different philosophy than many Christians have today. Christian... Read more

Wow. I wrote alot last night. Got on a tangent, I guess. Today’s post is shorter. Here’s the idea: Christians should make artistic works that reflect excellent craftwork. As the Lord fashioned a beautiful creation from nothing, so we take materials before us and make works of beauty. Is anyone else tired of mediocrity in Christian artwork? I’m not talking only about music. I’m talking about paintings, movies, handcrafts, etc. We do things so poorly, and for no good reason.... Read more

Yesterday I began a series about Christian “doing” the arts. I proposed the very basic idea that Christians should do the arts. Not exactly a revolutionary idea. But there’s a great deal to unearth underneath this idea. Most all of us believe that we should do the arts–but what does that mean? In the next week, I want to offer my own vision for Christians doing the arts. It is my hope that this sparks a good deal of thought... Read more

A while back I did a series on how Christians engage our culture. In looking at culture, I focused specially on the arts and thought through how we as Christians should encounter secular art. In this series, I intend to ask a different question: how should we make art? What does it look like for a Christian to make music or paint paintings or film films? Some may not think this question is important. When you think of how much... Read more

I would add one more thing about my generation: we are ignited by passion. I suppose that this is true of most youth cultures: passion attracts. But it’s especially true in an age when many–most?–don’t trust authority figures. Sure, young people rebelled in ages past, but more voted, more went to church, more went to college than my generation. No, merely holding authority does not cut it with us. You need a driving force behind you to catch our attention.... Read more

This follows from yesterday’s post. We are narcisstic, lost in a self-gaze of our own making. From this comes a concern only for ourself. That’s not to say that we don’t have friends. It’s just that oftentimes our friends serve our own interests. No, for most of my generation, autonomy is everything. Young people of other generations took interest in civic and community affairs, joining groups that were dedicated in some way to the betterment of society and the cultivation... Read more