The Manifesto
"Redemption, which involves not only restoration but renewal, embraces every aspect of creation. God's intention is to have a world in which God's people live under his reign to his glory and this He achieves through the redemptive work of his Son. Thus God's redemptive purposes include the world of the arts and man's creative abilities."
Finally, someone has put together a powerful statement of purpose for Christians working in the world of the Arts. Written specifically for Christian artists in South Africa, this manifesto rings true for artists around the world, and especially here in the US.
It's a long read, so here are some shorter gems for you to enjoy:
Art and the Christian Worldview
"There is no room in a Christian worldview for a relegation of the arts to the secular or unspiritual category of activities.... The all embracing nature of God's creation and Christ's redemption means that just as Christians take family and church life seriously so too the aesthetic dimension of life needs to be taken seriously. "
"In the institutional church the vocation of artist has often been deprecated. Outside the church it has sometimes been exalted above all other vocations. Neither of these positions is acceptable. The vocation of art practitioner and art theoretician stand alongside the economist, the teacher, the carpenter, the pastoral minister and the theologian as a legitimate Christian vocation."
The Responsibility of the Church to the Artist
"Local churches need to not only help Christians discern the call to the pastoral ministry and the mission field but also those to the economic sector, the political arena and of course the world of the arts. The local church needs to keep the artist alert to her sphere of activity as vocation, as a battle ground and to support her in her following of Christ in this sector of his world. "
The Responsibility of the Artist to the Church
"Christ retains his deep commitment to the church in all its brokenness and the artist is to follow his example. The artist is called to responsible activity and is to work in a way that honours God and is helpful to his neighbour and especially his brothers and sisters in Christ. While the church must be sensitive to the freedom that the artist needs in order to create, in the exercise of his freedom the artist must guard against jeopardising the credibility of the church. "
4 comments:
This is So GREAT! I've been interested in coming up with something like this myself for a long time. Now I find someone smarter than me has already done it.
I just have one question: with whom did this originate? "South Africa" is quite a general term...surely some organization formulated it. I'd like to know whom.
Thanks for the comment! Unfortunately, the only information I could find on the origins of the document are the name of the author, Craig Bartholomew, and this statement at the beginning of the Manifesto:
"This Manifesto is the product of the combined efforts of a group of Christian art educators, art historians, philosophers, theologians and artists of all disciplines who felt the urgent need to provide direction for those who are concerned that God should be glorified in the arts. "
The other contributors are never named.
However, I have yet to explore the rest of the ArtsReformation.com website fully. It's possible that there could be some more information in there somewhere.
If one contemplates for a while, it's worth realizing that Art, including music and literature, visual representations, even movies, will be an Eternal Occupation.
Compared with jobs that rely on alleviating effects of sin and the Fall -- including doctors, lawyers and accountants (taxes are certainly part of the Curse!) -- God-glorifying artists will be around for much longer because, although they may have trouble finding work today, their skills will be much needed and desired in the New Heavens and New Earth.
This, as the manifesto you mentioned says, is a crux of Reformed theology -- and any theology that is more or less accurately derived from God's Word -- that God is sovereign over everything. Nothing "unspiritual" or even neutral exists in the world over which He does not claim dominion. This includes the Arts, movies, music, literature, dance, anything the human mind can originate that reflects the Creator's creativity.
And when more Christ-followers realize this, instead of legalistically (or naively) shunning arts and entertainment altogether as "sinful" and thereby rejecting the institution because of its secular abuses, we will be well on the way to a true Reformation-style Renaissance of God-reflecting arts and Christ-exalting entertainment.
Amen! May that Renaissance not be too long in coming, whether through Christ's return, or the changing hearts of His children.
Really though, it is encouraging to see how many Christians are becoming involved in the Arts, they are just hard to find. Why that is, I haven't figured out yet.
Post a Comment