Art and the Bible
An Introduction and Study Guide
When you think of the Bible, what comes to mind? You might think of a baby lying in a manger or a man hanging upon a cross. Perhaps you think of a scrawny red-headed teenager standing before a giant with just a sling and a stone. You might think of a multitude walking in the midst of the red sea on dry land, or maybe about Paul being lowered down in a basket through an opening in a city wall. Outside of those, and many other, great stories in the Bible you might think about the doctrines of the Bible. The Bible tells us about creation, the fall of man, the law of God, promises of salvation through a Savior, the incarnation of the divine Son of God, the substitutionary atonement of Christ, the resurrection of Christ to a glorified body, the future second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the final state of all things. There is a lot to think about in the Bible, both as sacred history and as a compendium of theological truths.
Try as we might, however, it’s a pretty safe bet that no matter who you ask, nor how many different people you ask, that when you do ask “what comes to mind when you think of the Bible?” the Fine Arts will not be at the tip-top of anyone’s mind. In fact, too many Christians don’t really have many thoughts about art at all and, when they do, they tend to be negative. In our present day it’s no small wonder that many Christians have an adverse opinion about “the arts” because so much of what passes for “art” today is either ridiculous, lewd, or just plain ugly. The avant garde of the art world has thrown its weight behind what might be better called “anti-art” and relegated true art to the sidelines or to the past.
Whereas the great artists of the past (as well as the too often lesser known greats of today) made art as a response to having contemplated in awe the created world, the contemporary art scene has chosen to deconstruct reality rather than lovingly imitate it or draw out from it the eternal qualities behind the everyday things we see. Josef Pieper in his book, Only The Lover Sings: Art and Contemplation, tells us “how unanimously the great thinkers of the Western tradition have extolled the attitude of receptive observation.” True art is true because it reflects received reality, and often portrays the deeper reality behind what we see with only our eyes. Pieper tells us “Art flowing from contemplation does not so much attempt to copy reality as rather to capture the archetypes of all that is.” Good art is always seeking to represent truth in the same way a good argument or a good action does. The modern impetus to destroy, disassemble, and mock truth, goodness, and beauty, which so often dominates the world of art in our day, is the attempt to advance a particular lie, namely, that freedom is found in rejecting all constraints, but never has there been a better recipe for bondage.
The sickness that is infecting the contemporary arts is not, however, a good reason to reject the arts themselves. What we need is an artistic reformation. We need to return to creating reflections of truth and reality as a product of being in awe of the Creator and what he has made. We should reject the desire to dominate, dissect, and mock creation in the arts and, instead, lovingly reflect its glory back onto our canvases, sing its praises with both voice and pen, and chisel its truths into stone. How can we learn to do this once more?
Despite the fact that “the arts” are not the first thing most people think of when they think of the Bible, the Bible actually tells us a lot about them. Specifically, it tells us what should be the true impetus behind creating works of art and whom our artistic endeavors should glorify. God, as it turns out, loves art. This is actually quite obvious when one but takes a moment to think about it. The created universe is the art of the Creator and it is breathtaking. Not only is the Creator the greatest artist, but he also made us to be like him. Human beings are image bearers, made in his likeness, we reflect his glory in our being and he calls us to reflect that glory in all we do. If God took pleasure in making planets and stars, ocean waves, and leafy forests, why should we think for a moment that we aren’t meant to not only take pleasure in those things too, but also to imitate him in acts of sub-creation? We can borrow from the palette of his creative work to make further reflections of his glory! As Schaeffer puts it in this book, “A Christian should use these arts to the glory of God, not just as tracts, mind you, but as things of beauty to the praise of God. An art work can be a doxology in itself.”
As we will see in Schaeffer’s wonderful little book, God has often called and encouraged his people to engage in works of art for his glory. We have one entire book of the Bible which is a book of song (Psalms), much of the Hebrew biblical literature is poetic in construction, we have a large section of Exodus in which God lays out very specific artistic designs for a place of worship which involve making works of representational art from nature and heaven itself, we also see David dancing passionately before the Lord as the ark of the covenant returns to Jerusalem, and many other such cases. Art was, in fact, God’s idea and he calls us to be like him. If we abandon the arts to be dominated by those who do not recognize the Creator as they ought, then we doom the arts to remain on their present popular course of destructive ugliness. Maybe God is calling you to make something beautiful for him, something that will call the souls of your neighbors to look up and receive the Lord’s blessing. Maybe we should take a good look at the idea of Art and the Bible.
Below you will find links to each section of the study guide for Francis Schaeffer’s “Art and the Bible” as they become available. If you would like to pick up a copy of the book to join in the study you may do so by clicking HERE. For a list of other Great Books study guides already available, in development, or planned for the future you can click HERE.
More Links Coming Soon…