Comments on: Christians and Art: Soaring Beyond the Stars or Lame Ducks?

By: Kyle

Kyle — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 15:03:46 +0000

Brent,
Here are the other books we are using:

Beholding The Glory of the Lord, ed. Jeremy Begbie
Art and the Bible by Francis Schaeffer
The Evidential Power of Beauty by Thomas Dubay
The Liberated Imagination: Thinking Christianly About the Arts by Leland Ryken
The State of the Arts: From Bezalel to Mapplethorpe by Gene Edward Veith, Jr.
Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture by William D. Romanowski
Visual Faith: Art, Theology, and Worship in Dialogue by William A. Dyrness

By: Brent

Brent — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 21:29:06 +0000

Kyle, I look forward to hearing thoughts from that course. Parker would be a good one for that, what are the other texts for that course if you don’t mind me asking?

By: Kyle

Kyle — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 21:10:04 +0000

Hey Brent,
You and I have had many discussions on this topic. I look forward to more in the future. I am taking Christianity and the Arts with Dr. Parker this semester. The Schaeffer Book is requires reading. We have already had some interesting discussions about whether or not Beauty is subjective or is an absolute. There are also some really cool people in the course as well, not the typical seminary folk.

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 20:24:31 +0000

Dr. Doug Blount argues convincingly that the argument for aesthetical relativism also works for moral relativism. To argue against the one is an argument against the other. It goes back to the correspondance theory of truth, and reconnecting the idea of our concepts (universals) actually corresponding to a world “out there” rather than concepts we impose on the world. I agree that it is about celebrating creation, but what is at stake is nailing down good art or good actions. Both stand or fall together.

By: Brent

Brent — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 17:03:00 +0000

Good thoughts, but how do we get people to a point of understanding that beauty is more than a mere “mental category,” and is actually something God Himself has wired into creation and that art, when done properly, is actually an expression of faith? It’s about more than propaganda, it’s about actually celebrating the creative process in of itself, which simply points us back to the praise of our Maker.

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 14:35:28 +0000

I’ve been reading Kant on art, regarding the sublime, and it emphasizes the need for a solid metaphysic and epistemology before engaging in questions of esthetics. I think most people, like Kant, see beuty simply as a mental catagory we impose on experiance. Kants conceptualism had the effect of giving us a universal catagory of sublime that didnt correspond to anything in the world. Christians must defend that beauty is more than a mental catagory.