Last week we saw that, due to General Revelation and especially Scripture’s Revelation, a Christian’s works of art can be used of the Holy Spirit to reveal both to nonbelievers and believers aspects of the insights concerning Truth that come with the Christian artist’s corrected perspective as he submits his vision of reality to the Word by the Spirit.  The insights imbedded in these works of art can thus be used to confirm and strengthen the faith of Christians, and to be conduits of Grace to non-Christians, drawing them toward belief.

In the post prior to last week, we discussed how it was that contexts helped the understanding of works of art to their audiences.  General Revelation forms a backdrop against which all men can grasp some spiritual understanding of an art-work.  Christians, who by definition have experienced Spiritual Rebirth (John 3:3-8) and should be submitting their beliefs and views to the inerrant Word of God (2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21; etc.), have a range of knowledge and experience that far surpasses—in terms of Truth and breadth of spiritual insight—that of infidels.  Because of this, a Christian’s spiritual understanding of a work of art (or anything else, for that matter) should vastly surpass that of a non-believer; a Christian has a much deeper and broader spiritual context for understanding art.

Another factor is the amount of influence Christianity has had in forming the cultural backdrop against which a work of art is to be viewed.  For instance, in India, the culture that has formed (e.g., the views of man and the world, of society and relationships, of forms and content of art, whether architecture, dance, music, poetry, drama, prose, fashion, etc., of what is good and desirable in these areas and what is not desirable) has been shaped primarily by Hindu thought, which reaches generally very different conclusions about all of the cultural categories (conclusions that, from a Biblical perspective, are generally quite destructive spiritually).

This is true of any pagan culture, such as Japan (formed by Shinto and Buddhist thought), American Indian culture (formed by Animist thought), or any culture not primarily formed and cleansed by Christian influence (this is even true of Islamic cultures, though these cultures are at least somewhat closer to a Christian perspective, since Islam is a Christian heresy).

A work of art by a Christian, viewed by an infidel culture, will necessarily be subject to a more limited understanding spiritually, since the spiritual context is limited more or less to General Revelation (which is true) plus their pagan religion’s conclusions about reality (which are false).  So, although a work of art from a Christian perspective would easily reinforce the knowledge inherent in General Revelation (which every person knows deep down [Rom 1:18-19ff]), it would also fly in the face of the pagan conclusions of that culture, producing a tension that would either result in a change in the pagan perspective toward a Christian one (what Christians pray will happen by the Spirit’s Power) or a rejection of at least that aspect of the Christian’s work of art by the pagan.

The tension produced by the clash of Christian perspectives and pagan ones is inevitable in a fallen world, and the history of the expansion of God’s Kingdom (Mark 4:31-32; Isa 9:7) is a study in the Godly exploitation of this tension, as Christians seek to order their communications (artistic or otherwise) according to the patterns of the Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit, trusting that the Spirit will draw men to Christ through the obedient actions of the Christian.

This, of course, is a very important study for the Christian artist (in a way, this whole series, even this column, is due to the need for Christian artists to understand this discipline).  Scripture and Tradition are replete with examples of how a Christian can more effectively communicate with pagans, artistically or otherwise.  (I would suggest, for beginners, a careful study of St. Paul’s interaction with the Greek intellectuals on the Areopagus in Acts 17:16-34, which was looked at in some detail earlier in my posts.)

Our own culture, and Western culture in general, has largely been shaped by Christian thought in past, although this is changing, as resurgent forms of pagan thought (rationalism, reductionism, materialism, New Age religion, etc.) continue to undermine the basis of our civilization.  Though this means that, on many fronts, the Christian artist is faced with the same tensions that confront him in pagan cultures (there are growing numbers of non-Christians in our midst), he is still able to rely to a greater extent on what the late Dr. Francis Schaeffer called “Reformation memory,” the lingering influence of Christian belief in our culture.  Even most nonbelievers (though they may not admit, or even realize it) have been influenced to some extent by Christian beliefs.  For instance, they may value the relief of poverty and suffering; have vague ideas about God as Trinity; Christ as being God in the flesh, and Savior; belief in Heaven and Hell; etc.) though their ideas on these issues may depart radically in some respects from their full Truth in Scripture.  Nonetheless, they will probably have some idea, some context, for the concepts expressed in a Christian’s work of art, and what they mean.  This is, in some ways, a tremendous advantage for the artist, since the ultimate goal for the Christian artist is to communicate, through their God-given artistic vision, experience and knowledge of the truth of God in as complete a fashion as possible.  The greater the shared context of a culture with Christian belief, the easier it is to communicate Christian Truth artistically or otherwise.  This is one of the reasons why the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) is so important: Christians must work to bring individuals, families, peoples, and culture under the sway of the Gospel, so that Christ may be known to all.

These are, of course, very general observations of a very complex subject, since it is also true that our own culture, for all its Christian heritage, has, in some areas, never been fully Christianized (for instance, we still hold some reductionist ideas).  It is also true that pagan cultures have much less trouble believing and embracing the supernatural and mysterious elements of the Faith than our own rationalistic and reductionistic culture.  Nonetheless, these general observations are, in my estimation, generally true.

This discussion of a larger context leads us to consideration of two smaller contexts—the Church’s and the individual Christian artist’s lives and actions.  With these issues, we will, Lord willing, contend next week.

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