A Christian and The Arts - A Perspective from Schaeffer

As I mentioned recently, there are a group of people at our church who have recently been thinking about the gospel, the arts and what relationship these two areas have or should have with one another. Intriguing. I have been challenged and encouraged.

I have also been blown away on a fairly regular basis to discover just how many supremely talented and artistic people we have at our church. There is an entire community among us who are virtually unknown..... and just possibly, unfortunately, unsupported and unvalidated in their God-given calling.

We are currently seeking ways to encourage and engage many of these individuals in the particular areas of life which they have been called to bear a unique aspect of the image of their Creator. We would love to see this area of interacting with local artists possibly grow into an active bridge, through which we can touch many within this broader community who have no regular interaction with the body of Christ. If you are interested in joining us, or feel that you have ideas or perspective from which we may benefit, feel free to contact me at jtucker@ompc.org.

The following are selected quotes from Francis Schaeffer regarding this topic of Christianity and the arts taken from a longer paper by David Fairchild over at The Resurgence.

“As evangelical Christians, we have tended to relegate art to the very fringe of life. The rest of human life we feel is more important. Despite our constant talk about the Lordship of Christ, we have narrowed its scope to a very small area of reality. We have misunderstood the concept of the Lordship of Christ over the whole of man and the whole of the universe and have not taken to us the riches that the Bible gives us for ourselves, for our lives, and for our culture.”

"This does not mean we simply accept art without thinking about its message. On the contrary, we must think about its message so that we can learn to appreciate art as a work of art, as well as discern how this art either agrees or contradicts the biblical message. As Christians, we must see that just because an artist — even a great artist — portrays a world-view in writing or on canvas, it does not mean that we should automatically accept that worldview. Art may heighten the impact of the world-view — in fact, we can count on this — but it does not make something true. The truth of a world-view presented by an artist must be judged on grounds other than artistic greatness."

“The arts and the sciences do have a place in the Christian life — they are not peripheral. For a Christian, redeemed by the work of Christ and living within the norms of Scripture and under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, the Lordship of Christ should include an interest in the arts. A Christian should use these arts to the glory of God — not just as tracts, but as things of beauty to the praise of God. An art work can be a doxology in itself.”