By Rev. Joseph Wheat
A Christian artist posed this question: “Is art just another way to bring worldliness and sin in the back door of Christianity? Or is it a gift that God has given that we might create and enjoy His world?” Maybe it’s both. But scripture tilts toward seeing art as a beautiful gift to create and enjoy, with discernment.
Art was given by the original Artist. God created the heavens and the earth with skill and artistry. And on the sixth day He completed His magnum opus: us!
Until the creation of mankind, God says, “Let there be.” He is creating by voice. But when God creates man, He says, “Let Us make man in Our image.” He changes gears. He isn’t just speaking; He’s taking up and forming man as an artist, using the medium of clay.
“The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” – Genesis 2:7.
We are the high art of God! The highest, because God created us in His own image. We come complete with intellectual, moral, and emotional capacity. And the ability to be abstract, imaginative, and creative.
In Exodus 35, when the Lord dictated the design of the tabernacle, He chose Bezalel and filled him “with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts.” God specified intricate designs for embroidered curtains, sculpted cherubim, and other amazing furnishings. This was not for function but for beauty. These artistic elements didn’t make the sacrifices more effective; they made the space more glorious.
Art is not something just to be analyzed, but also to be enjoyed. The late 20th-century philosopher Frederick Buechner said, “Beauty is to the spirit what food is to the flesh.” Art raises our imagination and ennobles what it touches. Think of the great art you’ve seen that communicated so much more than words.
Yet many Christians have nervously vacated the arts to secularism. Nancy Pearcey observes that for 2,000 years, the church influenced the arts more than any other force. But these days, Christians can seem alienated from them. This is both simplistic and dangerous – because art has a powerful ability to strike the heart and shape culture.
Yes, some art feels dark and confused, and discernment is necessary. But a historic Christian worldview will not support a purely separatist view. God is still gifting His people as He did Bezalel. We need more believing painters, musicians, architects, poets, and writers. Christians should lead in the arts, not retreat.
As art is everywhere – in the songs you hear, the buildings you enter, the clothes you wear – it’s not a question of whether you’ll engage art, but how. Will you create it? Will you appreciate and enjoy it? Will you support it? Art is a gift, not only to us, but through believers to the world. As image bearers of the ultimate Artist, let us reclaim and give this gift for His glory.
Joseph Wheat has served as pastor of Highlands Presbyterian church in Ridgeland for 20 years. He holds degrees from Auburn University, Reformed Theological Seminary, and New Geneva Theological Seminary. Joseph and his wife, Gina, have two daughters, Sarah Caitlin and Emily, and a granddaughter, Ellie.