So if we want to come to grips with culture, we need to come to grips with art and literature. What are some questions you have about art?

Transcription

1 3700 words CHRIST AND CULTURE Week 4: Christ and the Arts Welcome to week four of our six week class on Christ and Culture. This morning we ll be talking about a Christian perspective on art and literature. This is a broad topic. Under that heading you could include visual art, music, film, dance, literature, and any number of other things. The NC Museum of Life and Science is just a few blocks from our house. If you ve never been, it is a great museum. We bought an annual pass, so Julie takes Lara like twice a week. One of the first things we walk past is a colony of leaf cutter ants that the museum has under glass. Leaf cutter ants are pretty amazing creatures. They cut up bits of leaves and then use the leaves to grow a fungus. They then eat the fungus. This isn t really that different than what we do to grow food. You could say that the ants are making a kind of culture. In fact, you could give lots of examples from the animal kingdom of this kind of activity. Chimpanzees make tools, whales communicate using a kind of language, wolfpacks have social hierarchy, and so on. So you could say that human beings aren t unique in producing things. Human beings are unique in that we are the only species to make things that have no tangible value. We re the only species to make things solely because they re beautiful. So you can t eat a symphony or fight off intruders with a novel, unless it s like War and Peace or something. Human beings are the only species that make art. And art has tremendous power to shape us and our world. So if we want to come to grips with culture, we need to come to grips with art and literature. What are some questions you have about art? Key questions: 1. Do Christians need to be involved in the world of arts and literature? 2. What is the relationship between the medium or form of a piece of art and the content or message? Are some forms or style of art better than others?

2 3. Should we only consume explicitly Christian forms of art and literature? What about art and literature made by non-christians? ARTS, LITERATURE, AND THE GRAND STORYLINE OF SCRIPTURE Creation. Let s begin by revisiting the doctrine of creation. Our Bibles begin in Genesis 1:1 by telling us, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. God made everything. We ve already said that being made in his image means doing the things that he does. God is the great Creator; as his image bearers, we create on a smaller scale. God is the great King of the universe; as his image bearers, we exercise dominion and authority over our own spheres. So I want to make three observations about creation and apply it to this question of arts and literature. First, God didn t just make the world, he made it beautiful. My parents live just outside the North Gate of Yosemite National Park in California. If you ve never been to Yosemite, you should really go. It s a deep valley cut into the granite with sheer cliff faces that go up thousands of feet. The park is home to dozens of waterfalls, including some of the tallest in the world. It is a place of stunning beauty. It is also totally unnecessary. You can imagine God planning to create the world as a place that could support man. To support life, the earth would need to be the right temperature, provide food and water, have a climate that could support life, and so on. But it wouldn t need to be beautiful. Yet God decided to create the world with places like Yosemite in it. We certainly get the impression that Eden was a productive place, but also that it was a beautiful place. Genesis 2:9 tells us, And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. If God wanted mankind to live, he needed to provide them with food. But he didn t have to make things beautiful. What does this tell us about God? God delights in beauty. The Hubble Space Telescope has taken pictures of stars and nebulae that are stunningly beautiful. The universe is full of beauty. Some of them we get to see because of the Hubble Space Telescope, but there are beautiful things in this universe that no man will

3 ever lay eyes on. So why did God make them? Simply because he delights in creating beauty. And he seems to like wildly diverse kinds of beauty. The Sahara desert has one kind of beauty, the Amazon rainforest has another. So God makes the world beautiful. Second, God didn t just make the world beautiful, he creates it to communicate. I need two readers. Who will read Psalm 19:1? How about Romans 1:28-20? Psalm 19:1-3 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Romans 1: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. What do we learn from these two texts? Creation actually speaks. In fact, it pours out speech and reveals knowledge. It tells us about God, his power, and his divinity. God s creation communicates meaning. Some Christians have even talked about God s two books creation and the Bible. He teaches us through both. Now, he doesn t teach us equally through both; creation can only teach us so much. Without the Bible, we wouldn t know about God s specific expectations for us or of his plan of salvation or any number of other critical things. But God does speak through his creation. Let s pause and think about these first two observations. What do these observations teach us about art? Part of being created in God s image is creating beauty and communicating meaning. One of the ways we do this is through art. God is the original artist. He wrote the first story, created the first sculpture, painted the first picture. We re to do these things after him. From what we ve

4 seen so far, I think we see the essential goodness of art. This is something we re created to do. I think we also get some hints about what kind of art we are to create. Let me make a third observation about creation. Creation is incomplete. I don t mean that it is lacking anything good. At the end of Genesis 1, God looks at what he has made and says that it is very good. And then on the seventh day he rests because his work was done. But it was incomplete in that there were parts of it he left in a partially unfinished state so man could get to work. He made a garden, but he didn t make the whole earth a garden. There was more land to cultivate. He made fields which needed to be plowed up by mankind. He put gold in the ground, but he didn t mine it. You ve probably seen pictures of Michelangelo s famous statue David. It s an amazing work of art. Recently, the statue has been in the news because preservationists are concerned that it might be destroyed. Apparently, the marble used to make it had flaws and vibrations from an area construction project are causing tiny cracks to appear. People are understandably concerned because this is one of the great works of art. I think we would all agree that the world is better place with David than without it. So why didn t God create the world complete with a statue of David? He would have done an even better job with it than Michelangelo did. Because he wanted mankind to work to make this world a more beautiful place. Michelangelo was asked once how he managed to sculpt something so beautiful; he famously replied that he just chipped away everything that wasn t David. I think you could say that God created a block of marble with David inside, but he left it to Michelangelo to bring him to light. I think God gets glory through art. So we ve looked at three insights from our doctrine of creation. What are some specific applications we can make to art and literature? God creates us to make and enjoy art and literature. We are the only creatures that can do this. I don t think art and literature are a waste of time or a distraction

5 Art is meant to communicate truth. Just like God s creation pours forth speech, our artistic creations pour forth speech. Now, art and literature have unique ways of telling truth. One of Emily Dickinson s poems says, Tell all the truth, but tell it slant. A painting or a song or a novel can t communicate as clearly as a sermon or a textbook, but they can often communicate with more power. That s what great art does. It tells the truth in a way that calls forth emotion. Ecclesiastes 3:11 reads, He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. Art and literature have a way of connecting with the eternity in our hearts, but they aren t enough to teach us what God has done. We really need the creation and Scripture to speak to us. I ll give an example. Scripture tells us frequently that this life is short and that fame and power are fleeting. We see the same truth powerfully expressed in Shelley s poem Ozymandias. I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed. And on the pedestal these words appear: "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.

6 We can appreciate great diversity in art. I think Christians sometimes fall into a trap of thinking that a few forms of art are good, but most are somehow unchristian. So some Christians will only listen to classical music, look at representational art, and read Jane Austen and C.S. Lewis. I like all those things, but Scripture does not bind us to particular forms or styles of art. We should be really careful that we don t set up our own preferences and culture as biblical norms. Just as God s creations are diverse in appearance and message, so can human art be. Any questions or comments about anything we ve talked about so far? Fall. Let s turn now and apply this doctrine of the Fall to the question of art and literature. We believe in a doctrine called total depravity. That doesn t mean that man is as corrupt and evil as he could be in no person has the image of God been entirely extinguished rather, we mean that every part of our being has been corrupted and twisted by sin. If that s the case, it is no surprise that the things we produce will be corrupted as well. In what ways do we see the evidence of the Fall in art and literature? The effects are pervasive. Let me make a few observations. First, some works of art are acts of rebellion against God. We ve already mentioned that art is meant to convey truth, but it doesn t always. Sometimes art tells outright lies. Before Timothy McVeigh the Oklahoma City bomber was executed, he handed the guard a piece of paper with William Ernest Henley s poem Invictus written on it: OUT of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance 5 I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed.

7 Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, 10 And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: 15 I am the captain of my soul. That is a powerful poem, but it is a lie. None of us are the captains of our fate. Who should know that better than a man about to be executed? Artistic lies are not always so blatant. Large swaths of the contemporary art movement deny the existence of meaning or truth altogether. Art is produced that communicates neither truth nor beauty, but is deliberately absurd. One of the wealthiest contemporary artists in the world is a man named Damien Hirst. Recently, I saw a video of some schoolchildren at a museum talking about one of his pieces. It was a large fish tank with three basketballs suspended in it. They struggled to figure out what it meant, because it didn t mean anything. One young woman said she wanted to smash the whole thing because she worked hard to develop artistic skills, while this guy just put some basketballs in a fish tank and sold it for millions. As Christians, we know the world does have truth, beauty, and goodness. This should be reflected in how we think about art. Some art must be clearly rejected because it celebrates sin or opposes the faith. But it isn t always easy to know how to evaluate art. Let me give you a few examples. One of the most beautiful buildings of the world is the Hagia Sophia, the great church built in Constantinople. It stood for a thousand years before the Ottoman Turks conquered the city. They didn t tear it down, but they did convert it to a mosque. They also built another magnificent structure the Blue Mosque just feet away. The symbolism was unmistakable; they wanted to communicate the superiority of Islam and Islamic civilization. Interestingly, the Ottoman engineers weren t able to build a dome as high as the Hagia Sophia. Or

8 we could look at the novels of someone like Tolstoy. They are great works of art, but Tolstoy rejected traditional Christianity. He was something like a pantheist and it is very evident in his writing. How should we as Christians evaluate that kind of art? What should we think of it? Let s make a second, related observation from the doctrine of the Fall. We must be aware that art can take us captive. Turn in your Bibles to Colossians 2. Would someone read vv. 8-10? See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. You could translate this, Be careful that no one kidnaps you. The idea is that people can snatch you up through manmade ideas. What are some of the ways art or literature can take us captive? It can teach false things. It can also train us to love the wrong things or approve of the wrong things. How many of you have ever had the following experience: You re watching a romantic comedy and the leading man and woman can t quite get together. You really want them to. Finally, they realize they love each other and they fall into bed. And we re all so glad. Or maybe a man has been horribly wronged and he decides to take vengeance. Finally, he catches up with the guy who wronged him and kills him. And we re thrilled. Now, we don t support sexual immorality or murder. So why do we respond this way to works of art? What is happening inside of us? Movies and other works of art create little universes with their own values. When you watch, you suspend disbelief and adopt those values for a time. That s why we find ourselves cheering fornication or vigilante justice. Art and literature have great power over our hearts and minds. That power can influence us for good or evil. Let s make a third observation from the Fall producing and appreciating art can be hard work. We ve seen throughout this course that God created mankind to

9 make culture. So, for instance, Adam was to tend the garden and make the earth beautiful and fruitful. But sin messed things up. After Adam sinned in the garden, God cursed the earth so that Adam would have to labor to get it to bring forth food. All of our cultural endeavors are under this curse. Great art and literature are difficult to produce. They can also be difficult to understand and appreciate. It s still worth our time and effort, but we must recognize the difficulty. Any questions or comments about the fall and art and literature? Redemption and New Creation. Finally, let s look at the plot points of redemption and new creation. Week after week, we keep coming back to this point about the centrality of the gospel. Art, literature, and other aspects of culture matter, but our souls matter most of all. Given that biblical truth, let me remind you of two things. First, preaching is essential. We can learn from art and literature, but we need the preaching of the gospel. I think most people enjoy a good movie more than a good sermon. It s a rare sermon that can be as exciting or entertaining. But there are riches in preaching that can t come through other media. Romans 10: For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? If our salvation matters more than our cultural experiences, we must attend to preaching. Second, we should prize the gospel more than artistry. A few years ago, the move Fireproof came out. If you haven t seen it, it s a Christian film that presents the gospel clearly and encourages people to have God-honoring marriages. In terms of acting, writing, and cinematography, it s really not great. How should we evaluate that? Clearly, we d love Christ-exalting movies that also are skillfully made. But we need to distinguish between a good thing done badly and a bad thing done well. Fireproof is a good thing done somewhat badly. But that s

10 better than a cleverly written and skillfully acted movie that exalts sin and sneers at God. We should delight in the gospel, even if it isn t always packaged well. At the beginning of our session, I asked some questions. I want to revisit those now. 1. Do Christians need to be involved in the world of arts and literature? By God s grace, I ve had the opportunity to visit some of the world s greatest museums. I ve been the National Gallery in Washington, DC. I ve been to the Louvre in Paris. I ve been to the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. I ve been to the Chicago Art Institute and the Getty Museum in L.A. In every one of those museums, I ve grown bored. I can only look at so many paintings. I say that to free you from feeling like you have to be into high-brow art in order to be a faithful Christian. I really like literature, but the visual arts don t play a huge role in my life. However, I do think all of us should learn the lessons from creation God made a world full of beauty and meaning. We should grow in our ability to recognize that beauty and meaning in the things God made and the things people make. That will look differently for every person. I do think more Christians should get to work creating art. For a very select few, that will mean a career in art or literature. For most, it might be something more like a hobby. But it s good for God s image bearers to get to work creating. 2. What is the relationship between the medium or form of a piece of art and the content or message? Are some forms or style of art better than others? I said before that we should appreciate the great variety we find in art and literature. We should also realize that our tastes are not necessarily the same as God s tastes. At the same time, form does influence message. For instance, some forms of music are driven by rage. 3. Should we only consume explicitly Christian forms of art and literature? What about art and literature made by non-christians? I think we can

11 gladly learn from and enjoy the truth and beauty we find in all kinds of art and literature. Sometimes, we ll need to reject certain poems and paintings and songs and stories outright. At all times, we ll need to be on our guard lest we be taken captive by false thoughts or ideas. But that caution shouldn t lead us to retreat entirely from art and literature any more than it should lead us to retreat from all culture. We want to image forth our creative God as much as we can. Any thoughts, comments, or questions?