“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light." Luke 8:16
Why have Christians abandoned embracing any and all aspects of the creative life by being confined to their self imposed rigid guidelines? The creativity of so many believers is hostile to mainstream culture. Some Christians argue that Christianity has “degenerated into an intellectually and artistically anemic subculture, and the general population is consuming an unsatisfying blend of mindless, soulless, spiritually delusional entertainment?” I can not agree. The discussion is less about the judgement of mainstream culture, and more about relatability and how Christians have negotiated their relationships to culture. Christians have become so "otherworldly". Culture is rooted in creation and an integral part of life where the arts, fashion, music and other creative forms of expression have left footprints throughout the story of man. The flesh, culture and all of creation have been ravaged by sin, but just as God did not abandon Man, we also can not abandon the rest of creative life that does not convey our values and beliefs. What keeps Christians from leaving their footprints into all aspects of life and culture - is judgement and fear. That can be the only explanation. Outlets such as fashion and mainstream music "suggest" the lure of sex, drugs and alcohol - temptation of our fleshly passions and desires. So, we keep our Christianity away in the face of fear. It is love that takes our light into the darkness where we shine the brightest. We have alienated ourselves, thinking we are superior beings. So, we stay paralyzed in our boring Christian cages because of judgement and fear. The result is a less vibrant, less bold, less creative, less artistic... ultimately, a less relatable Christianity. Those who attempt to integrate and unleash their natural creative talents into the web of mainstream culture are criticized as, "too worldly" by uptight Christians who are just "too Christian."
According to poet and art critic Dana Gioia, "The
retreat from the culture that Christians have made is the product of several
things, one of which is believers becoming too engaged in their own
sub-culture rather than trying to reach out and promote their values. Christians have been naïve to think that they
can prosper in a society and not be engaged in cultural creation,” “Christians are naïve to think that they can be engaged positively in society
and ignore culture. If you turn your back on the arts, essentially you are
leaving all of those stories, those images, those forms of communication in the
hands of others. And that’s what we’re seeing. People of faith have
unambiguously lost the culture wars. They complain about it but they aren’t
doing anything about it. Collectively, we have lost sight of the awesome power that art and media have to express
ideas (including religious ones) in ways that can be meaningful to people who
may have a different background or perspective. Instead
of encouraging a vibrant art culture which is inspired by faith, Christian leaders
have been predominantly interested in explicitly devotional art, which has little importance to
people who do not attend or believe. Well, I think what we’ve seen is this very strange retreat
the church has made—both internally less confident about itself, less presence
in culture, which represents a complete historical turnaround for the church which was seen as the natural home for artists; I mean the glory of
Church has been its presence in material culture: architecture, paintings,
sculpture, literary, music. But it’s become a rather generic and anonymous
cultural presence now"
We must encourage and promote the next generation of Christians to engage in culture FOR Christ with compassion and self control, while belonging to a community of believers. This strong foundation allows one to have understanding of their creative talents, themselves, and their cultures - and how to authentically and naturally impact the world around them as ambassadors of Christ. Ultimately, instead of alienating ourselves from mainstream culture and society, we leave our cages and pour out our God given skills and talents into all aspects of creative life that need our light and not our judgement.
We must encourage and promote the next generation of Christians to engage in culture FOR Christ with compassion and self control, while belonging to a community of believers. This strong foundation allows one to have understanding of their creative talents, themselves, and their cultures - and how to authentically and naturally impact the world around them as ambassadors of Christ. Ultimately, instead of alienating ourselves from mainstream culture and society, we leave our cages and pour out our God given skills and talents into all aspects of creative life that need our light and not our judgement.
