What do you think: does art have anything to do with Christianity and with giving young people life and hope? If so, what is the relationship between art and truth and hope?
3 thoughts on “Art and Truth and Hope”
I saw a quote once – I wish I had kept the article – in an article about quilting. A pioneer woman was quoted as saying something like, “I make my quilts well to keep my family warm. I make them beautiful to keep my heart from breaking.” That touched my heart so. I had never thought of that kind of bleakness as a part of the pioneer experience.
I think art can spur life and hope because it extends us past our own circumstances. I think it can be spiritual because God is a Creator and we’re made in His image. I don’t think that means every ministry has to have an art-based aspect, but I can see it in situations like this. A novella I read as part of a Christmas collection (I’ll Be Home for Christmas) had a similar idea for inner city kids.
From my quotes file:
“There is no vehicle which displays the Glory of God and the Wonder of God as clearly as the arts. Art is the reflection of God’s creativity, an evidence that we are made in His Image.” ~ Martin Luther
That the arts can be corrupt does not mean that Christians should abandon them. On the contrary, the corruption of the arts means that Christians dare not abandon them any longer. ~ Gene Edward Veith, State of the Arts
A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“The arts are the John the Baptist of the heart, preparing the affections for Christ.” ~ Jacques Maritain
We sing to Him, whose wisdom form’d the ear,
our songs, let Him who gave us voices, hear;
we joy in God, who is the Spring of mirth,
who loves the harmony of Heav’n and Earth;
our humble sonnets shall that praise rehearse,
who is the music of the Universe.
And whilst we sing, we consecrate our art,
and offer up with ev’ry tongue a heart.
Henry Purcell
English Composer
1659 – 1695
“Beauty was created by God for a purpose: to give us the experience of wonder. And wonder, in turn, is intended to lead us to the ultimate human expression and privilege: worship. Beauty is both a gift and a map. It is a gift to be enjoyed and a map to be followed back to the source of the beauty with praise and thanksgiving.” Steve DeWitt, Eyes Wide Open, reviewed at http://www.challies.com/book-reviews/eyes-wide-open
“The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things—the beauty, the memory of our own past—are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.”
? C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory
I did put blank spaces between paragraph and quotes – I don’t know why they’re all shoved togteher. Sorry about that!
I saw a quote once – I wish I had kept the article – in an article about quilting. A pioneer woman was quoted as saying something like, “I make my quilts well to keep my family warm. I make them beautiful to keep my heart from breaking.” That touched my heart so. I had never thought of that kind of bleakness as a part of the pioneer experience.
I think art can spur life and hope because it extends us past our own circumstances. I think it can be spiritual because God is a Creator and we’re made in His image. I don’t think that means every ministry has to have an art-based aspect, but I can see it in situations like this. A novella I read as part of a Christmas collection (I’ll Be Home for Christmas) had a similar idea for inner city kids.
From my quotes file:
“There is no vehicle which displays the Glory of God and the Wonder of God as clearly as the arts. Art is the reflection of God’s creativity, an evidence that we are made in His Image.” ~ Martin Luther
That the arts can be corrupt does not mean that Christians should abandon them. On the contrary, the corruption of the arts means that Christians dare not abandon them any longer. ~ Gene Edward Veith, State of the Arts
A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“The arts are the John the Baptist of the heart, preparing the affections for Christ.” ~ Jacques Maritain
We sing to Him, whose wisdom form’d the ear,
our songs, let Him who gave us voices, hear;
we joy in God, who is the Spring of mirth,
who loves the harmony of Heav’n and Earth;
our humble sonnets shall that praise rehearse,
who is the music of the Universe.
And whilst we sing, we consecrate our art,
and offer up with ev’ry tongue a heart.
Henry Purcell
English Composer
1659 – 1695
“Beauty was created by God for a purpose: to give us the experience of wonder. And wonder, in turn, is intended to lead us to the ultimate human expression and privilege: worship. Beauty is both a gift and a map. It is a gift to be enjoyed and a map to be followed back to the source of the beauty with praise and thanksgiving.” Steve DeWitt, Eyes Wide Open, reviewed at http://www.challies.com/book-reviews/eyes-wide-open
“The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things—the beauty, the memory of our own past—are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.”
? C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory
I did put blank spaces between paragraph and quotes – I don’t know why they’re all shoved togteher. Sorry about that!
I just saw another post on this topic today: https://theperennialgen.com/book-review-culture-care/