Paul Kivel's View Of Christianity

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.

After Michelangelo moved to Rome, one of the cardinals within the catholic church commissioned him to create a sculpture called ‘‘La Pieta.’’ ‘‘La Pieta’’ was sculpted from a single piece of marble stone and it was a representation of Christ and his mother Mary. This 6 foot by 6 foot sculpture only took 1 year for Michelangelo to complete it. The sculpture quickly became known for all the details that included the folding of the cloths, the ribs, and the bones which are incredibly difficult to sculpt.

Religion and biblical law cannot be separated from life in general and politics in particular. Politics has to do with civil government. Politicians get elected, make laws, tax, spend, regulate, and control. Every law passed and every spending decision is based on some moral system. This is where the Bible comes in. All morality is based on a religion. The Bible says, “Thou shalt not steal.” Right there is the common and basic law against theft. What we believe religiously will affect our political beliefs and practices. If we as Americans could only follow the basic standards set for us in the Bible and follow the values, the standard would be balanced. Yet, when religion or morality becomes separated from decision making, convenience becomes the standard. We are then left with two options: either God’s word serves as the State’s standard of the state decides upon its own standard. America has not

Christian art and iconography began, about two hundred years after the birth of Christ. Western Christian art and religious iconography was based on the classical art styles and imagery by the Ancient Romans. Medieval art iconography began to relate more to text of the Bible. Religious Christian art was created in the form of illuminated manuscripts, mosaics, and fresco paintings adorned churches. The colors of art were generally muted except those used in manuscripts and stained glass windows. Figures varied in sizes in relation their importance. Unlike artists in the Byzantine period who avoided making sculptures at all costs, Romanesque artists made sculptures which were often large, made of stone, and

Art with biblical themes were popular in the Middle Ages because the artists were also focused on theology. Jesus and Mary were usually the main focus in most paintings. The people in the Middle Ages really appreciated godly looks and tried to incorporate the catholic religion in most if not all of their paintings (class notes). For example, Giotto’s painting Madonna and child displays Mary and Jesus in the center of the painting. Not only are Mary and Jesus in the center, they are also illustrated to be a lot bigger than the angels around them. Giotto wasn’t the only artist to place Mary and Jesus in the center and larger, this was very normal for the Middle Ages. Most artists were very influenced by the church because the church had the highest role in government.

Since before the United States was founded, the ideals of Christianity have been integrated into the government in some way, shape, or form. In the early days of the Colonies, Christianity was the centerfold for all government affairs; however, after the constitution was ratified and deemed effective in the United States, the First Amendment was born. The first amendment states that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (source). In the early life of the United States, the

The Constitution reflects our founder’s views of a secular government, protecting the freedom of any belief or unbelief. Some will argue religion, specifically Christianity, played a large role in the creation of this great nation’s government, the United States Constitution; however the facts reveal otherwise. The historian, Robert Middlekauff, observed, "the idea that the Constitution expressed a moral view seems absurd. There were no genuine evangelicals in the Convention, and there were no heated

America today is permeated with natural law. Our founders were subscribers to natural law and believed that man’s inner morality can lead to sustaining a civil society. The forefathers of America were from different denominations that ranged from Presbyterian to Catholism. Some were even Deists. Even though their denominations varied, they all united under the idea that their Creator was the source of their reason (Levin 2009, 26). The result of these beliefs produced a religious liberty throughout the country. That liberty still stands today. Natural law, contrary to the thoughts of its non-supporters, does not make a country into a theocracy. Since God’s laws are universal, the creed of a person does not change the fact that they entitled to their God-given rights. The founders were extremely foresighted because they acknowledged that liberty is inseparable from religious liberty (Levin 2009, 29). Another example of how natural law is in America’s founding is the right for citizens to disobey man-made laws that tyrannical in nature. All laws that are not given by the consent of the governed have the potential to be overthrown. America’s Declaration of Independence even says that the people should go as far as overthrowing the government if it becomes too powerful (Levin

With the adoption of Christianity as the official religion, art was able, so to speak, to come above ground in the old pagan city of Rome, and painting, instead of being restricted to the decoration of the walls of the Catacombs or of small chambers and chapels, came into use on a large scale in the new churches that were at once set up. At the same time patronage moved from the hands of the poorer classes to the richer, and artists of outstanding quality came to be employed as well as those of obscurer character, who would work for small fees (www.religion-online.org). To wall painting was added the more luxurious art of mosaic; numerous sculptures were done, and minor objects, often in expensive materials, were in addition produced in the service of the Church, so that art production became at the same time both more extensive and more luxurious (www.religion-online.org ).

For example, the Good Shepherd, a young man with a sheep on his shoulders, represents Jesus to the Christians, and this symbolism was adopted from the common imagery seen in Roman paintings. Early on, Christian artists painted Christ as a philosopher in the Roman style of wearing a toga and holding a scroll. When depicted as the final judge or the law in Christian art, there is a clear Roman influence from their own paintings of leaders and judges. Art depicting the Eucharist is also similar to classic Roman artwork of feasts and celebrations. The symbolism could carry different meaning when used for Christian art, but the styles of Christian art were adopted from the peak of Roman artistic skill (Study.com, n.d., para.

The Jewish community started Christianity, but Christianity later spread and convert from all over the Greco-Roman world were attracted by this religion during the progress of the first century CE. Ideas, traditions, ways of worship and traditions were brought along by the new convert of Christianity and it was adopted by their faith. This is through art because Christians who were once pagans of the Roman Empire stick to their artistic heritage when they became followers of Jesus Christ. Roman artistic forms and motifs and also Roman architecture were being used by this new convert to express their new faith. In further explanation, we’ll see how Roman art influenced the developing art of early Christians.

Another one of Michelangelo’s Renaissance masterpieces known as Pieta was created between 1498 and 1499. This masterpiece was displayed in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. The Pieta depicts the Virgin Mary holding the body of her son, Jesus Christ after His crucifixion. Like Michelangelo’s famous sculpture David, his masterpiece Pieta has also been re-created many times by other painters and sculptors.

Michaelango painted the Sistine Chapel, which is located in the Vatican in Rome. The Sistine Chapel depicted the book of Genesis. The manner in which it was painted was unlike another at the time, all the characters in the Sistine chapel are very life like and realistic. Also it was one of the first times that religion was painted by the painters opinion of the events. The arts led to new ways of thinking.

Let's take a look at a little history in medieval art. There was a movement towards the end of the first millennium called Iconoclasm. This factor hated images and icons which were believed to be endowed with mysterious powers that could work miracles by intervention from the saints. This Iconoclastic Controversy defined and declined the creation of