Art and the Bible (IVP Classics)

Francis A. Schaeffer, Art and the Bible (Downers Grove, IL, IVP Books, 1973) One may be inclined to discount this book on two grounds. First, it was written over 35 years ago, and may seem to be fighting battles which have been won, or at the very least, have been forgotten. For those of us whose theology tends to lean in a liberal direction, one may shy away from Reverend Schaeffer, who wrote widely from a conservative, Reformed and Calvinist point of view, having a great influence on what is today called `the Religious Right', most especially in the area of political action on issues such as abortion. Given the latter stance, it is surprising to see the position Schaeffer takes on the issue evoked by the title of the book. That issue is primarily the place of art, more especially contemporary art forms, in worship. In a nutshell, Schaeffer is for it, in virtually every form. This book explains why he thinks that is a reasonable position. The book was written during the height of the `Jesus' movement in the 1980s, at the birth of the Contemporary Worship Movement, which has become so well established, it is even known by an acronym, CWM, in the Wikipedia article I find when I search for `praise song'. The contemporary issue is the use of modern musical instruments and styles in worship. The thing which makes Schaeffer's argument seem just a bit anachronistic is that he seems, sometimes, to be addressing those very small groups which oppose using music, or at least any instrumental music at all in worship services. In fact, his main target would seem to be those who wish to stop the artistic clock in the 18th century, and use no music which was not written by Luther, Wesley, or Isaac Watts. But the book is not limited to music. It deals with Biblical statements on all artistic media, and generally takes a view which virtually all mainstream Christian churches can agree, including Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant. His first argument addresses plastic arts, and the Biblical commands against graven images. The second commandment, he claims, `does not forbid the making of representational art but rather the worship of it.' Orthodox icons and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel are not idols which people worship, but rather aids and worshipful statements in themselves. Schaeffer marshals several Biblical statements in support of not only using art, but of allowing non-representational art for worship. For example, at Exodus 28:33, he points out that God instructs Moses that on the skirts of the priests, one is to include pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet. But there are no blue pomegranates in nature! Similarly, those great seraphim in the temple did not occur in nature, and the animals on which they were mimicked did not come out of nature covered in gold leaf. Thus in the temple `we have representational art of both the seen and the unseen world.' While Jesus had less to say on the matter than Moses, he did not eschew works of art, as when he used Moses brass serpent to illustrate one of his points. The case for using poetry in the worship of God is by far the easiest case to be made, as the text of the Old Testament is, depending on how you are counting, composed of between 1/3 to 1/2 poetry, and some of it's pretty racy at that. The modern issue is typically about music. There are some NT passages which suggest some ban against instrumental music, but the evidence of the Old Testament is overwhelmingly in favor of instrumental music. For example, at 1 Chronicles 23:5 `...four thousand praised Jehovah with instruments which I made, said David...' Indirectly, there was plenty of evidence of processions and dance in the OT, not to mention the Psalms, with their (cryptic) musical instructions. One did not march or dance without music. In the second of the two essays in this book, Schaeffer makes some of his most dramatic claims (for a Christian with a fundamentalist bent). He presents eleven perspectives from which a Christian can consider and evaluate works of art. The first is the most surprising, and sets the tone for the list. This is that 1. A work of art has a value in itself. That man is a creation in the image of God means that art created by man, in turn, have value, because it is `created' by man. Artistic creativity is a good thing, even if not all created art is necessarily `great'. One can infer from this that `new' art is not intrinsically bad. It's the other way around. Constant reliance on old, established liturgies and hymns may actually be doing God a disservice. Here, Schaeffer walks a fine line between those who would want to make religious art a polemic, and those who promote `art for art's sake'. The problem with polemical art can best be seen in the kind of art created by the `official' artists in Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. `A work of art is first and foremost, a work of art.' Schaeffer's main argument boils down to the claim that art simply makes things better, regardless of the subject matter. To change his illustration a bit, a supermarket can of Campbell's soup is not art. Andy Warhol's silkscreen illustration of a can of Campbell's soup is art, because it makes us look at the familiar in a new way. And the most important work of art for us all is our own Christian life, which is improved by being artful.

Excellent book to refer to about creativity as a Christian. I wish I could’ve read this a few years ago! There is scriptural context used through out this book. A beautiful read for Christians.

Book Review: Art and the Bible Author: Francis Schaeffer Format: Softback Topic: Art Theory Scope: A Christian Primer on Art Theory and Criticism Purpose: To give a Christian Perspective of Art and how the Bible and God view Art in all its forms. Structure: There are two fairly large chapters in this book. The first chapter explains how the Bible portrays Art in many forms and how it is a valued aspect of human experience. The second chapter attempts to give a primer on how to evaluate and enjoy art from a few different aspects. What it does well: *Schaeffer has given a great reason for enjoying, making, and supporting Art for those who are Christians. *One of Schaeffer's main points is to show that God is the ultimate artist and we reflect his creative attribute when we create as well. *There is a decent amount of interaction with real artists and "masters" to discern Schaeffer's points. *A reader would be hard pressed to come away thinking that God hates art. What it lacks: *This is clearly only a primer and probably could use some more nuance. *I wished it was longer. *Schaeffer does not leave a reader without more questions. For example, what is the line between art and obscenity? Some quick highlights: " Recommendation?: "We were free to create, as long as we never forgot that we are slaves to Jesus."-9 (Michael Card--in the foreword) "Evangelicals have been legitimately criticized for often being so tremendously interested in seeing souls get saved and go to heaven that they have not cared much about the whole man... The Bible, however, makes four things very clear: (1) God made the whole man, (2) in Christ the whole man is redeemed, (3) Christ is the Lord of the whole man now and the Lord of the whole Christian life, and (4) in the future as Christ comes back, the body will be raised from the dead and the whole man will have redemption."-14-15 "... once we understand Christianity is true to what is there, true to the ultimate environment--the infinite, personal God who is really there--then our minds are freed. We can pursue any question and can be sure that we will not fall off the end of the earth."-17 "An art work can be a doxology in itself."-18 "It is the mannishness of man that creates."-35 "A work of art has a value in itself.... Art is not something we merely analyze for its intellectual content. It is something to be enjoyed. The Bible says that the art work in the tabernacle and the temper was for beauty."-50 "Too often we think that a work of art has value only if we reduce it to a tract. This too is to view art solely as a message for the intellect."-54 "We are not being true to the artist as a man if we consider his art work junk simply because we differ with his outlook on life.... if the artist's technical excellence is high, he is to be praised for this, even if we differ with his world view. Man must be treated fairly as man."-62-63 "Styles of art change and there is nothing wrong with this.... As a matter of fact, change is one difference between life and death."-73 Recommendation: I do recommend this book. I find it invigorating and compelling. I have heard there are other Christians who feel this book doesn't go far enough, but I think this book is meant to be a primer and whet the appetite. In this, it is clear, concise, and it gives me a deeper yearning to love art.

These two essays from Francis Schaeffer do an excellent job of showing a side of the Old and New Testament that many people ignore, forget, or purposefully refuse to read because of their bias against art. That fact is that God commanded artistic items to be added to his temple...not as objects of worship, but as things of beauty to reflect his own love for humanity. Also, the example of the brazen serpent created by Moses is another example...an item created that was basically a work of art but that served a spiritual purpose, while at the same time NOT being an idol- (how could it be made for the purpose of being an idol, when God Himself commanded Moses to make it??) Schaeffer then goes on to point out that Jesus himself compared himself to this work of art, that it was "lifted up" to bring healing to the people. Many examples like this are shown, just to get accross the point that God does not hate art (it seems there are a number of critics within Christian circles that seem to insinuate this). Both essays are excellent, but to me, the first essay is the most valuable for Christians to peruse and think about. It's the word of God presented...not opinions. Worth reading....Thanks.

Wonderful addition to any Christian artists library collection (visual, literary or musical artists alike). Refreshing reminder of the arts as having value in the church.

THIS IS A WONDERFUL LITTLE BOOK FULL OF INSPIRATION. NOT ONLY DOES IT EXPLAIN ABOUT ARTISTIC INFLUENCES IN HISTORY, IT DOES SO FROM A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE. THIS BOOK GIVES REVELATION AND INSIGHT TO ANY BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN WORRIED ABOUT GOING INTO THE ARTS. REMEMBER CREATIVITY COMES FROM GOD. HE IS THE ULTIMATE CREATOR

Love the content, but I have page 56 missing. Is it a glitch of mine or it is actually missing??

Great book, short but with a lot of wisdom

This is a small book but by no means a simplistic one. In just a few pages Schaeffer manages to cut to the heart of the matter and gives a fresh and straight-forward commentary on art in its diverse forms as relates to the Bible. Highly recommended.