The past few posts have
examined how music and story overlap. Songs influence writers, and the created
works of authors have impacted music. Another area where music and story meet
is in the discussion of modern Christian music and literature.
People from mainstream
and Christian circles criticize Christian art, including music and literary
forms. For example, numerous forums exist online arguing that most contemporary
Christian music is cheesy. Others claim that these musicians lack creativity
and artful expression. As Emily Hughes wrote in an article
for Musical Mum, “Most [Christian musicians] are
repetitive and lack the depth and creativity that secular artists often display.”
The same is true of modern
Christian literature, especially Christian fiction. Many individuals insist that
the fiction books created by Christians lack depth and insight or read like a
sermon. They criticize writers who do not use profanity and lament that
works of Christian art are too clean and unrelated to the experiences of modern
people.
While I acknowledge that
lots of the critiques of Christian art often seek to provide constructive
feedback and ideas for improvement, such as the article by Emily Hughes, a lot
of these judgments fail to recognize that there are numerous examples of
believers who are making beautiful, true, and good pieces of art. They might
not be as popular or well-known as mainstream artists, but they do exist. Should
we dismiss all Christian artists if there are a few bland musicians and writers?
And should we think art has no purpose or worth if it is created by a Christian
with the intent to “say something?”
I argue, no. In fact,
believers in Jesus are in the position to create the best and most beautiful
work because they are redeemed and devoted to serving Christ. Who else is
better suited to create art that is beautiful, true, and good than someone who
knows the One who is the Truth and is most beautiful and good? Scripture also encourages
us to think about what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely admirable,
excellent, and praiseworthy, which provides us with opportunities to create
truly beautiful art (Philippians 4:8).
For artists who know
Jesus, the task is not to erase any reference or mention to faith or truth, but
to merge the virtues of beauty, truth, and goodness in unity. As Andrew
Peterson wrote in Adorning the Dark, a proper approach to Christian art
is not about avoiding an agenda in our art (many Christians do have an agenda
when writing books or songs; they want to incorporate a truth or point to
Christ), but to ensure that we do not neglect beauty (84-85). The place where
artists can “go wrong is when we tilt the scales away from grace, or beauty, or
excellence, as if truth were all that mattered” (86).
More Christians need to
focus on combining these virtues into their art. However, there are already
numerous Christians who are creating excellent art. Andrew Peterson has created
works that resonate with many people. His young adult fantasy series, The
Wingfeather Saga, is popular among Christians and non-Christians because it
tells a gripping story. He follows his advice of promoting truth, but also
telling a story with excellence and beauty.
Another author, Christine
Cohen, a finalist for the 2020 Christie Award, has also succeeded in creating delightful
stories that are compelling and well-written. One such story is a fantasy
novel, The Winter King. Although she might not neatly fall into the
Christian fiction or mainstream category, her works convey significant themes
through well-written characters and plots. As the director of the MFA program
for New Saint Andrews College, she sees craft and biblical truth as equally
important in the work of an author. On the college’s blog,
she is quoted as saying, “Technical proficiency must be paired with a firm
commitment to Scripture as the authoritative and inerrant Word of God.”
The same is true of
music. There are a multitude of artists who are creating works of truth with emotional
depth and creativity. Some of these songwriters and bands may not label
themselves as “Christian artists,” but their music conveys biblical themes and
truth. Others do place themselves under the genre of Christian music but are
challenging what it looks like to make music as believers. They deal more
openly with struggles and questions in life.
The following playlist serves as a representation of these types of musicians. Each section highlights a specific theme, including emotional depth, creativity, desire for justice, authentic praise, honesty, and hope.
Of course, this does not
mean that combining truth, beauty, and goodness is easy. At times, musicians
and writers could be tempted to compromise one of the areas in favor of the
others. I believe this is why Christians lean so much toward truth instead of
keeping a balance of all three virtues. Often, biblical truth is what
individuals forsake or neglect to appear relevant. We have all heard of
Christian artists who “left the faith” or compromised biblical teachings. The
temptation to appease the world is strong. For instance, I struggled to decide
to include Page CXVI (named after the page number in C. S. Lewis's The Magician’s
Nephew when Aslan sings Narnia into existence) on the playlist because of
their current support of unbiblical theology. Since their early works focused
on modernizing hymns for the younger generation, though, I decided to include
them as an example of what believers can do when they work together to create
art that glorifies God.
We need more Christian
artists who are committed to following Jesus and developing excellence in their
craft. However, we should not overlook that there are already many who are
doing just that. Critics will continue to bemoan the artistic work of
believers, but a great deal of literature and music they are creating is
beautiful, true, and good. For Christians know the Lord, the Author of
everything beautiful, true, and good in the world. The more we grow closer to
Him, the more we will create works of art that glorify Him.
Works Cited
Hughes, Emily. “Why Is
Christian Music So Cheesy?” Musical Mum, 28 Sept. 2022, Why
Is Christian Music So Cheesy? - Musical Mum.
“NSA Announces Author
Christine Cohen as Director of MFA.” New Saint Andrews College Blog, 29 Mar.
2023, https://nsa.edu/blog/nsa-announces-author-christine-cohen-as-director-of-mfa.
Peterson, Andrew. Adorning
the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making. B&H
Books, 2019.
Resources for Further Study
- On the Renovare
Life with God Podcast, Nathan Foster interviewed Matthew Clark, who provided
thoughtful insights about art and truth on the episode, “The
Gift of Truth.”
- Although I do not agree with all areas of R. C. Sproul’s theology, he does have an interesting series of lectures about Christianity and the arts called Recovering the Beauty of the Arts. I recommend the first in the series, “Aesthetics in Recent History,” which is free to view on Ligonier’s website.
