Tinsel
Christians used to be the patrons of great art, says As 1 founder Jonathan Bock.
Think back, way back, to the Renaissance, to Michelangelo, Raphael, and da Vinci. Great art, made for the glory of God, by people of faith.
“We’d like to return the Church to its historical role as patron of the arts,” Bock told me when we talked by phone.
It’s actually doable, he says. Just look at politics. “When you look at it, people of faith have a very sophisticated view of politics, but an unsophisticated view of entertainment.”
They can weigh arguments, accept complexity, and choose from imperfect options in politics, but, in Bock’s words “They want all entertainment to be suitable for viewing by an eight year old.”
The Bible, he points out, has stories not appropriate for an eight year old.
“We need to have a long horizon view of entertainment,” he says. As an example, he cites the removal of the warm, faith-friendly movie The Blind Side from Lifeway Christian Stores. There’s a segment of the population that “wants to see the world portrayed as it should be and not how it is.”
He’d like to see professing Christians become a collective patron, supporting great art through the power of their collective wallets.
That’s the vision of As 1. Check out the video below for more.
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