Is Art Important For Us As Christians?

We are also shown how these different forms of art change over time and how different cultures have adopted them and used them as their own form of art to express emotion, love, creativity, and passion. This book teaches us how art is viewed in different ways by the church and was very informative for me to obtain a better and deeper understanding of art and how the churches valued it.

Art and the Bible, written by Francis A. Schaefer, is a short, simple to the point book regarding how a Christian should approach art. The book is divided into two sections. Section one is title Art in the Bible and section two is titled Some Perspectives on Art.

During this time was The Reformation of the church and this influenced a lot of artists of that time. The basis of The Reformation was that people began opposing the practices of the church. This relates to current times also. In the United States lately, there has been a revolt against the government. There have already been multiple works of art depicting these current events including artwork, music, videos, etc. This artwork shows that no matter what the message is, if it is based on biblical scripture, it will always be relevant to current

"Purpose of our art is to create the life of a human soul and render it in an artistic form." (2)

As I write this post, a recent memory springs up in my mind. Earlier this year, my dad had an art show at the Steffen Thomas Museum focused on Christian Art. One afternoon, Chris and I decided to go over there so I could look at his show. I am always amazed at my dad's art and this was no exception. As we went from painting to painting, I could not imagine the countless hours he spent on each one of these paintings.

     Art, in each and every form that it comes in, shows us who we are. Our

New ideas come from everywhere whether they are from people, places, books, animals, or even come from something as meaningless as silence; however, we don’t just get new ideas out of the blue, we have to be inspired and influenced by those elements to create new art. Unlike Plato’s Ion, which states that God speaks through the artists, Lethem’s The Ecstasy of Influence: A plagiarism; projects that inspiration comes from the influence of our surroundings which is the key to creation.

“Art is an irreplaceable way of understanding and expressing the world. There are some truths about life that can be expressed only as

Just as it’s human nature to believe in something larger or more powerful than oneself, it is also human nature to express that divinity through art, this is proven time and time again in human history. Picturing the divine is a type of testimony to show a cultures greatness. The painting Arhats Giving Alms to Beggars comes from the Chinese culture of the Southern Song period. Whereas, the mosaic Christ as Pantocrator comes from the Byzantine culture of the Greek Orthodox tradition. Although these paintings come from very different backgrounds both cultures show the divine and their pressure on mankind to follow the rules, such as giving away worldly desires. By doing so and letting go of material possessions, mankind can be hopeful of

Art in the Medieval Times was dreary and bland. Many works of art were solely about God or holy figures. The most obvious change from the Renaissance to Medieval Times was the arts, according to Document A and also that “One begins to know the names of the artists ... feel stronger emotions in the subjects”. This shows that Renaissance art not only changed in style, in changed in how it made the viewer feel when seeing the art. Similarly, in Document A, Renaissance art is described as “new artistic styles would echo the broader movements and interests of the new age.…”. As compared to Medieval Times, the style of art became something similar to the time that people could relate to. In the Medieval Times, art was just meant to extol God’s many feats. People who viewed the painting were supposed to put that style of art on a pedestal. Medieval art was supposed to be worshipped, not so much understood. The individual in the Medieval Times was supposed to take away from the painting that the only thing that mattered in their life was the Roman Catholic church and God already had a plan for their lives. But in comparison, Renaissance art was supposed to empower and help people of the time to understand themselves and the fact that they can change their own lives.

I agree with James Baldwin’s idea because if a person painted, scripture, calligraphy and any artwork, then the art work can be creative by reflecting the society but it does not belong to you.

The doodle a woman makes on her notepad while on hold with the dentist’s office is a creation, and therefore art. An incredibly complex and lifelike portrait that took months to plan and paint is a creation, and therefore art. One does not have to create within the confines of traditional artistic thought to be an artist. By looking inward within one’s self, finding inspiration from existence, and executing a work, one is an artist.

Art is the conscious creation of something beautiful or meaningful using skill and imagination, it is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power:

For over two thousand years, various philosophers have questioned the influence of art in our society. They have used abstract reasoning, human emotions, and logic to go beyond this world in the search for answers about arts' existence. For philosophers, art was not viewed for its own beauty, but rather for the question of how art and artists can help make our society more stable for the next generation. Plato, a Greek philosopher who lived during 420-348 B.C. in Athens, and Aristotle, Plato’s student who argued against his beliefs, have no exceptions to the steps they had to take in order to understand the purpose of art and artists. Though these two philosophers made marvelous discoveries about the existence of art, artists, and

In addition, art can be a way people can help express and bring attention to their own ideas. David again says that if a person were to find an inspirational art piece, say on a building or poster, then those art pieces will help a person become motivated to make a change in their world. Furthermore, if a person were to create inspirational art then that allows a person to get their own ideas across to the world. That person may be the one to help people make a change or that piece of art can show the creator of the art is trying to make a difference in their world. So to restate, “everywhere [people] go art is evident. Parks often use sculptures to add interest and to inform people.