Art for God's Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts

I am the worst artist in the world. I'm sure there are some who would contest that claim, but if you were to ask me to draw something (anything!) I think you'd quickly agree that I am about as bad as a person can get. It is strange that I am such a terribly poor artist as I come from a long line of very capable artists. Yet somehow, when the various family genes were combined to form me, all of those artistic genes fled.

Not only am I the worst artist in the world, but I also have a strong dislike for most of the visual arts. For many years I thought that my dislike of these forms of art stemmed from my lack of talent in this area. But after much reflection I think there may be another source for my dislike of art. In my education I was constantly taught that art is inherently subjective--that meaning is assigned to a piece of art not by the artist but by the person gazing at it. I was taught that I was to study a work of art, allow it to speak to me, and understand the meaning of the work to be whatever came to mind at that moment. I may not have been able to express why I found this unsatisfactory, but it led me to dislike art and even to distrust it.

In recent years I have been recovering from this viewpoint. Art For God's Sake by Philip Graham Ryken, pastor of historic Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, has helped in this recovery. It is a short book, weighing in at only 64 pages, but one that is thick with satisfying, biblical reflections on the arts. Ryken argues for the recovery of the arts among Christians. He argues also for the objective nature of the arts--an objectivity which encourages us to seek out the meaning the artist meant a work to display.

The purpose of the book is twofold. Ryken wishes to "encourage Christian artists in the pursuit of their calling and to give artists and nonartists alike a short introduction to thinking Christianly about the arts" (17). The proper place to begin thinking about this topic is Scripture. We will find that Scripture affirms the value of art and artists "while at the same time protecting it from the corrupting effects of sin" (17). And so Ryken begins in an obvious place, showing that in Exodus 31 God specially called and equipped two men to build His tabernacle. The passage teaches four fundamental principles for the construction of a Christian theology of the arts: the artist's call and gift come from God; God loves all kinds of art; God maintains high standards for goodness, truth and beauty; and art is for the glory of God. The next four chapters expound upon these four principles.

Here is a brief summary of these four principles:

The artist is called and gifted by God--who loves all kinds of art; who maintains high aesthetic standards for goodness, truth, and beauty; and whose glory is art's highest goal. We accept these principles because they are biblical, and also because they are true to God's character. What we believe about art is based on what we believe about God. Art is what it is because God is who he is.

The book concludes with a reflection on our beautiful Savior and the exceeding ugliness that was His death and crucifixion. "The center of God's masterpiece of salvation was an event of appalling ugliness and degradation" (54).

And so Ryken concludes that artists should use their artistic talents to bring glory to God. And further, the church should take a leading role in encouraging this type of expression. Art For God's Sake, while a short book, was encouraging to me and I trust would be equally encouraging to those who feel the need to express themselves through their artistic talents. I hope that this book will prove to be a catalyst in sparking a recovery of the arts.

Yes, I am a speed reader--but 15 minutes? I didn't learn anything that I didn't already know, and that was disappointing. I suspect that this little book is actually a sermon that was written down and published. Here it is: Four points based on Exodus 31: 1) The artist's calling is from God 2)God loves all kinds of art 3)God maintains high standards for goodness, truth, and beauty, and 4)art is for the glory of God. The book elaborates briefly on these points. This is not a bad book; in fact, I agree with the premise, it is a topic that is important, and the little tome is well-written. If you know nothing about the topic, this book is an excellent morsel to whet your appetite. If you have any knowledge at all about the subject, better to pass on this one and look for something more substantial. This might very well be the book for you, it just wasn't the book for me.

One commentator opined: Michelangelo instilled into his figures of art "a sense of moral cause for action." One case of this can be seen in the facial expression of his most celebrated work, the marble statue "David." Additionally his "Last Judgement," in the Sistine Chapel, is a "depiction of extreme crisis." And much of modern religious art is in crisis.
Nevertheless in "Art for God's Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts" Philip Graham Ryken (Pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church: Philadelphia) has provided a petite volume to help promote contemplation concerning art and artists, as he urges the church to pursue beauty and the expression of it in art.

Topics include:

- Art and the Church
- Why some churches have a negative attitude regarding art
- How to produce better art that testifies to God's truth and grace (p.15).
- The artist's calling
- God's specific instructions on workmanship and artistic works

Exodus 31:1-6 "Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 "See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 "And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4 "to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, 5 "in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship. 6 "And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all who are gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you."

"Art for God's Sake" is a commendable start as Ryken concentrates on the connection of Christianity and art to help ignite and instill an aspiration in the church to recover the arts. Because God is good and He dwells in the beauty of His holiness and He has created such a wondrous creation, the Christian should seek to emulate God through the creative expression within the arts. Yes faithful art should be aimed to bring glory to God as the artist helps the viewer enjoy Him forever, including while on earth, while pondering the beauty conveyed by the creative man made in God's image (Genesis 1:26).

The gospel "gives hope" to the man who has an "urge to create" (p. 9).

The chief truth that turned ugliness into supreme beauty was the Resurrection of Jesus Christ; moreover the glory and love of Jesus should inspire His people to "devote our skill to making art for the glory of God, and for the sake of His Son - our beautiful Savior, Jesus Christ."

Endorsed by Nancy Pearcey: "Theologically rich and remarkably readable."
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This book prompted me to sign up for a painting class in my area. It challenged me to stop wasting my gift; God gave it to me and it's my responsibility to cultivate it.

Dr. Ryken does a wonderful job pointing out the importance of the arts and the role the arts should play in our society and the Christian community. He may push some buttons for those who see the arts only as an avenue for ministry -- thus the subtitle, "A Call to RECOVER the Arts".

RECOVERY seems to have as its foundation DISCOVERY which will require Christians to take the time to learn about the arts and do some hard thinking about the role they should play in the Church and a believer's everyday life of worship of a God who remains the consummate artist.

This book proposes that we should not judge art.
Yet this is the very thing this author is doing.
Unless we follow his outline of what is right in art
Well, then, we are unjustly judged for it.
The author tries to use biblical premises for his arguments
yet the primary premise of Genesis 1:27 is completely
not discussed whatsoever.
Basically this book is religious dogma based on the author's
perspective which he attempts to twist the biblical scripture
to suit his purposes, which is the very thing which he criticizes
other religions are doing. Don't buy this book . It's just religious dogma.
AGAIN.

a wonderful, short book on Christians and the arts.

Excellent for artists very encouraging and challenging

Good, short book about how to serve God as an artist. At first I was a little frustrated with it, because the author writes very vaguely and unpractically about what to do and not to do. On the last ten pages however he redeems himself and focuses ones heart on offering our art to God, who is the greatest artist.

Ryken always delivers!

I didn't find it interesting and didn't really fit what I was looking for.