“Beauty will save the world” – Fyodor Dostoyevsky Beautiful wounds Beauty, art and justice. When the world considers beauty, rarely do wounds enter the picture. Christians, however, consider the wounds of Christ to be beautiful; they make us painfully aware of our need for healing. We ache with joy and gratitude when we consider the beauty of Christ’s wounds on our … [Read more...] about Beauty, art and the Kingdom, part 6 Beauty, art and justice
Art
Beauty, art and the Kingdom Part 5: The dangers of art making in church
Art is a task like building bridges and fixing meals; it takes intelligence, sensitivity to needs, and specialized knowledge. (Calvin Seerveld) In his book For the Beauty of the Church, David O. Taylor asserts that merely adding art to our worship services is not the point. Art that serves the church must be good art, and serve the purposes of the church. And that, Taylor … [Read more...] about Beauty, art and the Kingdom Part 5: The dangers of art making in church
Beauty art and the kingdom, part 4 the artist
The artist uncovers possibilities we may never discover on our own. They offer us glimpses of reality, of hope, and help us in our longing for deeper connections with God, with ourselves, and with the world. They are prophets and priests for the masses in the beauty of art in the kingdom. Calling of the artist In her essay The Artist: what exactly is an artist and how do … [Read more...] about Beauty art and the kingdom, part 4 the artist
Beauty art kingdom: part 3 Beauty and art in worship
Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. (Westminster Catechism) Our God is infinitely more worthy of any praise and worship that we could possibly offer. It seems right, then, that we employ our best imagination, gifts and skills to help one another worship well, to help us see increasingly more of God’s beauty. Over the course of history, … [Read more...] about Beauty art kingdom: part 3 Beauty and art in worship
Beauty, Art and the Kingdom Part 1 Perceptions of beauty
Although the word ‘beauty’ evokes such varied impressions for each of us, we all desire it in one form or another. Even if we don’t think about it much, there are certain encounters that take our breath away. The subject of beauty is expansive, wrapped in endless forms – nature, music, speech, colour, form, ideas and ethics, all originating in God’s creation of the … [Read more...] about Beauty, Art and the Kingdom Part 1 Perceptions of beauty