What is Christian Art?

What often passes for Christian art is narrowly defined in its expression. It is art that is mostly representational, overly sentimental and trite. It states the obvious and leaves nothing to the imagination.

It attempts to define in very concrete terms what can only be spiritually discerned.


christian Art: Have we defined it too narrowly?


The Bible has deliberately left out a physical description of Jesus. We do not know if He was tall or short, light or dark skinned, blue, green or brown-eyed. Did He have straight or crooked teeth...?

If it were vitally important to our faith, would the Holy Spirit not have included a description of Jesus in the written record?

Physical descriptions of Jesus occur in Isaiah and Revelation. What is detailed in Isaiah is simply too ghastly to describe literally and fit the sentimental model. It is a graphic description of His appearance on the cross. As for the description in Revelation, every symbolic detail has often been depicted so literally, as to be horrific! You’ve surely seen the images of Jesus with fiery eyes, the sword coming out of his mouth?

The contemporary Christian art market is also saturated with all sorts of depictions of angels, from chubby babies with wings, to saccharine, winged women. How many of us have actually seen angels to be qualified to depict them in our work?

I am not opposed to attempting to depict angels at all. After all, we have been blessed with ample God-given imaginations. I am however, passionately opposed to the trite, uniformity of much that passes for Christian art today.


Christian Art: A Fresh approach


Why not seek God for a sharp contemporary voice in art? Let us together approach the subject with fresh eyes. It is important to engage in a discussion of why create at all. The author of Ecclesiastes tells us that there is nothing new under the sun. That would imply that the quest for originality and creativity is nothing more than vanity.

If so, what do you think God intended when He blessed us with the wonderful gift of art? To gain a deep Biblical understanding, take an online Bible Study at the Palm & Pen School for Christian Artists. It will revolutionize your creativity by enabling you to view your artistic gift with fresh eyes.


Christian Art: Why Create?


Here are some thought to ponder:

• We create because we must. There is an inner compulsion that urges us on. It is insistent and cannot be ignored.

•We create because we understand ourselves better when we explore the language of art.

• We create out of sheer delight in the world around us.

• We create when no other response is adequate. We engage in the nonverbal language of art when there is no other way to express our emotions - whether joy, confusion, anger or even dismay.

• We create fully aware that we are not creators, merely commentators.

• We create because we have a mandate to be witnesses to the good news entrusted to us.

But most importantly, I believe that as Christian artists, we create because in the artistic process we draw closer to God.

In coming to know Him, we make Him known to others – inadvertently, almost despite ourselves.

Those, my friends, are a few of my reasons for pursuing the goal of creating the very best art that I can as a Christian artist. Regardless of how my art is labeled, I am equally passionate about living transparently and unashamedly as a Christian, both of which are undoubtedly lifelong pursuits!

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