All great societies and movements are characterized by the art that they leave behind. I recently listened to a podcast in which Derek Webb, a singer-songwriter, was interviewed, and was taken aback by his challenge to Christian artists to create thoughtful and purposeful art to capture the moment that we are living in. (Side note: for those of you who have not gotten on the Webb bandwagon, I am more and more impressed with him both musically and otherwise each time I am exposed to him. Check him out: http://www.derekwebb.com)
In recent years I have backed away from the artistic side of myself in pursuit of knowledge, because I felt a great disconnect between the mind and art. I could no longer with a clear conscience sing and write the same songs that I had for so long, because, in my opinion, they reaked of shallowness and emotionalism at the expense of truth and intelligence. Popular art, of which I was engrossed, was becoming a disgrace in my eyes, and I could hardly stomach much more.
In studies of aesthetics, going all the way back to ancient Greece, there is a common thread: truth and beauty. Truth apart from beauty is boring, but beauty absent of truth is mindless and not art. How do we recover truth and beauty in Christian art? I admit that I do not know how to do both effectively. I read men like John Milton, I listen to music like Webb's, and I see that such a combination is possible, but it seems neither popular nor simple.
St. Augustine used a bit of liberty when interpreting passages in Exodus that deal with the Israelites coming out of Egyptian slavery. God had them plunder the gold and wealth of the Egyptians before they left, and it was these things that they used in their honoring of God. He makes the point that it is our Christian duty to claim back from the world what is rightfully ours in Christ. Art, politics, education...etc; these are all to be used for God's glory, and it is our duty to take them back as our possessions.
Sounds good in theory, but it's the actualizing it that is tough.
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