The Christian Imagination

In Exodus 20, God delivers the 10 Commandments to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Exodus 20:4 says, “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” Before Moses came down from the mountain with the initial tablets of stone, the people, who had been without Moses for 40 days, gathered around Aaron and asked for a visual, tangible representation of God that they could worship (not unlike what they had in Egypt). Aaron appeases the people and asked that they gather their jewelry to create an idol. In Exodus 25, God had asked Moses for a similar offering of the people, for a different purpose. God, the craftsman, then gave a very detailed description of the architecture and art of the tabernacle.

God spoke to Moses of two topics before giving Moses the two tablets. One was the Sabbath. The other is as follows:

Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts–to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship. Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you: the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent–the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand–and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place.”
–Exodus 31:1-11

So, while the people are idolizing and worshipping art, God is officially commissioning an artist and other craftsmen to help him build the tabernacle. He is said to be ‘filled with the Spirit of God.’ And so, we have an artist as the first person who is said to be filled with the Spirit of God, with artistic gifts given by God. The tabernacle designed by God sounds like quite a masterpiece, with both representational and abstract art, with art that is useful, and art that serves no purpose other than being beautiful. In God’s Kingdom, there is a place for artists…

Back in 1998, my last year at Messiah College, we took a roadtrip up to Michigan to attend the Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin College. They had an incredible lineup of speakers that year, including John Updike, Elie Wiesel, and Bruce Cockburn. It was fantastic!

I just got a flyer in the mail for the next festival, which will take place April 17-19, 2008 at Calvin College, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. If you are a writer and a Christian, I’d highly recommend going if you get the chance.

The Barna Group has just released a new book called UnChristian, written by their President and based on three years of research.

The study shows that 16- to 29-year-olds exhibit a greater degree of criticism toward Christianity than did previous generations when they were at the same stage of life. In fact, in just a decade, many of the Barna measures of the Christian image have shifted substantially downward, fueled in part by a growing sense of disengagement and disillusionment among young people. For instance, a decade ago the vast majority of Americans outside the Christian faith, including young people, felt favorably toward Christianity’s role in society. Currently, however, just 16% of non-Christians in their late teens and twenties said they have a “good impression” of Christianity.

David Kinnaman, author and President of the Barna Group, said he “was surprised how much their perceptions were rooted in specific stories and personal interactions with Christians and in churches. When they labeled Christians as judgmental this was not merely spiritual defensiveness. It was frequently the result of truly ‘unChristian’ experiences.”

There were a number of youth who said, in essence, “Christianity in today’s society no longer looks like Jesus.”

I don’t think this is simply an issue of the church being too traditional or modernistic. Instead, it’s the result of a reactionary, compartmentalized, fearful Christianity that has forgotten what faith and the good news are all about. The problem isn’t that the church is traditional, but that it’s going through the motions, that it’s heartless, inauthentic, and out of touch with people as people. We preach the gospel, and people go away thinking they’ve heard the gospel, the Good News. Yet, the gospel often gets lost, either because we haven’t really spoken it, haven’t lived it, or the communication hasn’t been understood by the listener.

In this case, we have a book full of research that leaves no doubt as to what the next generation thinks of Christians and Christianity.

The UK-based ArtReview, “the most innovative voice in contemporary art,” has published a list of the 100 most influential people in the art world. François Pinault leads the list. I wonder how much influence they have in culture beyond the art world. I also wonder if any of them is a Christian.