(Note: You’ve come upon an archive site. Scott is now blogging at JScottMcElroy.com. These and fresh posts can be seen there! )
I’ve just been re-visiting the wonderful Redeeming the Arts paper and had to share it with you. Belhaven University and Colin Harbinson, editor of their magazine Creative Spirit, published this amazing work in 2005. One of the most thoughtful and comprehensive statements on the role of the arts in the church and culture to date, it was commissioned by the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism, an international organization founded by Billy Graham in 1974. It’s a must-read for anyone interested in how God designed the arts and creativity to play a role in his redemption of the world. Here is a link to the complete PDF copy of it. My suggestion: print, underline, and savor it. (It’s the size of a small book.) Enjoy!
http://stoneworks-arts.org/stoneworks/wp-content/uploads/2010/Creative_Spirit_Redeeming_the_Arts.pdf
“The gospel comes to us as a living word and draws us to think imaginatively of how things could be different. Imagination is capable of moving us closer to the truth about the world as we look through the lens of scripture. As an imaginative activity, art too can open our eyes to see old things in new ways. This important role for imagination suggests that our faith communities need to do their part in cultivating an imagination well rooted in the biblical narrative and the images of scripture.”–Redeeming the Arts
BTW, the mention of Billy Graham reminded me of his quote about the arts I post on FB a few days ago:
“All the masterpieces of art contain both light and shadow. A happy life is not one filled with only sunshine, but one which uses both light and shadow to produce beauty.”
-Billy Graham
Yes.
Finding Divine Inspiration 