Art for God's Sake by Philip Ryken

What has the church to do with Art? Are we blinded with pragmatism that sees the arts as evangelistic tools? Do we have a watery concept that only allows sanitized sweetness and goodness -- as though art were best exemplified by fluffy bunnies with big eyes and tweeting blue birds.

The arts baffle the contemporary evangelical church; there are a few notable exceptions, but for the most part Bible believing churches are mired in pragmatism or sanitization in their approach to the arts. Philip Ryken's little volume Art for God's Sake serves up helpful corrective. Following in the vein of Francis Schaeffer, Ryken makes a case that the church needs to embrace the artist. He frankly assesses why the church has kept the arts community at arm's length: “Art is always tempted to glory in itself, and nearly every form of art has been used to communicate values that are contrary to Scripture. Art is as fallen as any other aspect of human existence. This fallenness perverts the arts against fulfilling their original purpose and prevents us from embracing them uncritically.” (12) The fallen nature of the arts is more public than the fallen nature of other professions; physicians and lawyers and property developers reveal their fallenness behind closed doors, in the view of only a few. Because the artist's fallenness is on display for the world to see, the church tends to reject the eneavor as a whole. Ryken shows, however, that creativity and the arts are a part of our design in the image of God. We dare not reject the arts -- rather we ought to embrace them and seek to learn how Christ is redeeming them.

Ryken explores the vocational calling of the artist. He takes us to Exodus 31, the calling of Bezalel and Oholiab to create the tabernacle and equipment. Some will dismiss Ryken's analysis of this passage as being a bit forced. However, Ryken makes some solid points. For instance, calling is discerned by passion and gifting -- but it is also discerned by submitting to the feedback and direction of other practicing artists. This is wise and sound counsel. Ryken also reminds the practicing Christian artist that she must depend upon God's grace in her work just as much as a practicing Christian in any other field. This illustrates the need for being a part of a greater community of believers who will encourage immersion in the spiritual disciplines of study, prayer, service, evangelism, and community. "The church can help in this pursuit by serving as a community of encouragement that affirms the calling of artists and nurtures the artistic aspect of every human soul." (27)

Ryken addresses scope of what's acceptable in the arts. He makes the case that there is no one "baptized" form of art. God is to be glorified through all forms of art, and indeed all media. Implicitly he's saying that God doesn't favor abstract expressionism over realism or classical over jazz. Each form has its own internal standards of excellence. God is best glorified when the artist strives to achieve excellence within those standards.

However, we must not assume that "anything goes". The ultimate end for the Christian artist is God's glory. This does not mean that all artists must be evangelistic, Ryken says. Rather, their work should reflect a worldview that encompasses truth, beauty, and goodness. It is not sufficient to show the truth of the ugliness of sin, nor is it sufficient to show the beauty of redeemed glory. We need the whole picture of God's redemptive plan reflected in the stories we tell and the works we create. We live in a world festering with ugliness and sin -- but we live in this world with hope for we've seen glimpses of glory as revealed to us through Christ and we feel the hope of redemption and renewal through Christ.

All told, this is a fine work for the Christian layperson who is suspicious of the "fine arts" -- it is a good piece to help the person in the pew understand the dignity of the vocation. It helps us understand that the Christian artist must be honest about the ugliness of sin, and thus we shouldn't reject their work because of that very honesty. Ryken efficiently covers the topic in around 50 pages -- it can be read in an afternoon. He is, however, painting with a broad paintbrush. He's trying to open the church's eyes to a whole field -- indeed a whole series of fields that will take a lifetime to explore. His is not the last word -- it is more like an invitation to come and explore.

Soli Deo Gloria
Russell