By way of introduction, let me confess that I am much more of a country bumpkin than I am a refined art connoisseur. There is no denying that I am a very inartistic individual and remarkably ignorant when it comes to recognizing and appreciating good art. This makes my attempt to write on the subject a wee bit presumptuous.
Nevertheless, I am fascinated by art and the role that it plays in human life and culture. After all, there is something wildly unique about art that almost defies all reason. Anyone who has ever been moved by a song on the radio—or fascinated by a painting or captivated by a book or amazed by architecture or gripped by a film—has experienced this sort of reason-defying effect that the arts can have upon us.
Art is a vital part of the human experience, and it has been so for quite some time. But art presents a rather difficult dilemma for conscientious Christians who feel the persistent tension between the leisure that art requires and the urgency that the gospel demands. Art does not produce itself; it requires gifted novelists who spend countless hours contemplating fictitious characters and events, gifted musicians who spend countless hours gaining mastery over their instrument, and gifted painters who spend countless hours experimenting with colors, shapes, and textures. But all of these countless hours add up quickly, and one is forced to wonder if it all amounts to nothing more than fiddling while Rome burns. Our world is in bad shape, and a million works of art won’t solve our problems. This is precisely why Jesus commands us to go and make disciples of all nations, not to go and make fine paintings, films, and music.
So we must ask ourselves: are the production and enjoyment of art mere wastes of time for the Christian? Or, to phrase the question more pointedly: do the production and enjoyment of art subvert or impair the mission of the church? These are crucial questions, and I don’t think there are any easy answers. But in an attempt to move toward a healthy and gospel-centered theology of the arts, let me suggest four functions of art that allow it to occupy a useful place within the church.
1. Art can sharpen our affections. If there is anything that prohibits our pursuit and enjoyment of God, it is dullness in our affections. We do not know how to feel. We don’t feel true remorse over sin, we don’t feel true joy in forgiveness, and we don’t feel true delight in God’s presence. But good art forces us to feel, and it forces us to feel deeply. Engaging the arts allows our affections to be pricked, making us more sensitive to the diverse array of affections that the Christian life requires. Sadness, awe, ecstasy, hope, longing—all of these feelings can be developed and exercised by healthy artistic expression.
2. Art can awaken us to beauty. It is very easy to speak of divine things as being “beautiful,” but it is much harder to describe what exactly we mean by the word itself. More likely than not, our understanding of beauty is tragically anemic in comparison to what it should be. Yet the more we expose ourselves to the artistically sublime, the more our concept of beauty comes to life. And the more our concept of beauty comes to life, the more informed and awe-filled our worship will become. Now granted, all earthly beauty (and all beauty observed in art) is but a shadow of God’s true beauty. But even a shadow would be an improvement for most of us.
3. Art can transcend the mundane. The vast majority of human beings spend the vast majority of their lives performing routine and often tedious tasks. We mow the yard, we brush our teeth, we go to meetings, we sit at stop lights, and we pay electric bills. And in the midst of all this monotony, it is easy to become dull and apathetic creatures. But art has the ability to jolt us out of the mundane by opening up to us a world that transcends our daily lives. Art shows us the remarkable depth of human experience. This is not mysticism or escapism; it is simply the realization that we are spiritual creatures who have been created to do more than simply earn a living, enjoy retirement, and then die.
4. Art can help us interpret reality. Life is often strange and difficult to understand. After all, we live in a world which is fallen—but one which nevertheless is being redeemed. This remarkably paradoxical nature of our existence can be hard to take in at times as we seek to come to grips with reality. But art gives us an outlet to explore the world in creative ways and to process the often confusing dimensions of human existence. For whatever reason, there is something about art that helps us gain a new perspective on the various situations we all face. Why else are we drawn to novels and songs and films that we can “relate” to? Thus, art serves as a sort of interpretive lens through which the world can be seen and understood more clearly.
Insofar as art carries out these four functions, I believe it is valuable within the church. Granted, not all art does in fact carry out these functions. There is certainly art around us that deadens our affections, perverts our sense of beauty, glorifies the mundane, and skews our interpretation of reality. But when good, wholesome art is produced with skill and enjoyed with discernment, the people of God are built up and the church of God is enriched.
The conclusion that I draw, therefore is this: So long as art functions to sharpen our affections, awaken us to beauty, transcend the mundane, and help us interpret reality, it must be considered a worthwhile enterprise. But if art ever becomes an end in itself, or if it ever becomes something to be enjoyed for our own selfish pleasure, ambition, or entertainment, then we must consider it an enemy of the gospel and a hindrance to the work of the church. This does not mean that the only art we produce and enjoy must be explicitly religious art. Indeed, there is much valuable art that is not necessarily “Christian” in nature. But it does mean that we need to be conscious of the fact that, in its proper place, art must act as a servant to the gospel.
So if it distracts us from the grace of God in Christ, then art must be avoided. But if it deepens our appreciation for the gospel, then art should be celebrated, shared, and enjoyed. “Onward and upward!” That is the great clarion call of all art that is enjoyed for the glory of God, for it leads us ever deeper into the wonders of Him who truly is most wonderful.