Sunday, November 8, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
ART 352
Redeemer University College, Fall 2009
Prof. Christopher M. Cuthill
ext. 4523
How does our faith bear upon our understanding of art(s)? What is the significance of art(s) in our post-modern culture? How can the church become more in tune with the aesthetic dimension of life? What are the challenges facing Christian artists today? These and other questions will be explored in weekly seminars.
ccuthil@redeemer.on.ca
profcuthill@gmail.com
Office 239D
I think it makes sense that we would place more emphasis on Jesus' death and resurrection that on the creation story. The death and resurrection of Christ is the pivoting point of history. It is through Christ that we find our identity, our salvation. However, I do think that we can learn about the awesome nature of our God through both stories. We don't stand in awe of the Creator God often enough and I think artists could be the key to helping people do this.
ReplyDeleteThe God who is crucified is the God who created. I don't think that the two should be seen as separate stories. By hanging on the cross, Jesus was creating a way for us to have relationship restored with our creator. I think that the church, sometimes, in trying to make things easy to understand, cuts things into bite-sized pieces. In Genesis 1 God is the Creator. In the gospels, God is Saviour. We focus more on Saviour. But I don't think that God can be separated and defined like that. Maybe the arts can play a role in undoing some of these cuts. How do we suggest the complex mystery and the incredible simplicity that is the cross? Through its allusive quality, I think that art can restore some of the mystery that we may be missing or forgetting.
ReplyDeleteI think we place so much emphasis on Jesus death as we are most able to relate to Jesus as hi is God in human form. It is harder for us to grasp the concept of God and creation as it is something beyond our human understanding. I think we also place this emphasis of Jesus’ death in forming our worldview as we relate to it more as we struggle in our day to day lives and we are constantly reminded that Jesus died for our sins. In this sense I think the church does play a role in this way of thinking. In my own church experience we are reminded so often of our sinful lives but we are able to find salvation through Jesus Christ and his death. I think that it is very important to not just associate our worldviews with Jesus’ death but all aspects including creation. God is both of these things and to get a well rounded worldview we should look at every aspect of who God is. I think as artists we can use our work to help people understand that there is more to God than the Jesus' death but also place emphasis on this as it is not to be forgotten either.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rubi - that we're trying to simplify the story, to make it more manageable. I also think that we feel guilty to simply revel in creation, because on the whole, we tend to be pragmatists and to us, it doesn't feel like this enjoyment has any direct use. Jesus' death serves to bring us salvation, but the creation story does not seem to have such an immediately recognizable use. Like Bonnie says, we need to look at all aspects of God, and the artist can help us to stop focusing so much on a single part of the story.
ReplyDeletealthough the creation story is very important and it is ultimately the reason why we are here, I think that we focus on Christ's death because it is a promise of what is to come. Without the death on the cross we have no salvation. I fully believe that the church has a huge impact on this because we are in a time of waiting for the new earth. Without death on the cross, we would not be able to look forward to this because none of us are perfect and none of us would make it into heaven. I think that it's perfectly acceptable to focus on Christs death and resurrection more than the creation story.
ReplyDeleteWhile the story of Christ's death provides us with something to look forward to-- a life of salvation, what does a life of salvation look like without enjoying what is around us and instiled in us?
ReplyDelete"By Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible".
If we are created in the image of Christ, it is inate in us to dream, re-create, have imaginations and emotions. I think in fully accepting that Christ died for us, it is imperative that we we understand our role in creation. While Christianity provides us salvation by grace; we should freely desire to be stewards of the earth, and to re-create and be imaginative in all we do.
I think that its good to know who we are and where we came from, but dwelling on the past isn't moving forward. yes, God created the world, yes, it was good.. but the ressurection story is something that is looking forward gives people hope. I think that pastors and priests embrace the story of Christ's death the main point in our Christian faith. The church wants to be that light of hope to the world, not make them feel more ashamed for showing how good the world was before humans came along and screwed everything up. Personally I wish that the creation story was talked about more in the church because we know so little about the world around us. Perhaps its not the responsibiltity of the church alone to introduce creation to the world. We can bring creation into our art, music, and writing to demonstrate our perspective on creation.
ReplyDeleteI think that we tend to place more emphasis on Jesus' death in form our worldview because of the importance of having a relationship wtih Jesus Christ. Jesus' death is always taught to be the most precious gift of all, which has its merit obviously. Although, we also need to remember that creation is a gift from God, but many people don't place value in creation--creation is often dismissed as ordianry in forgetting the wonder and excitement that can be found right outside your front door. I think the church does play a role in this way of htinking as we have always been taught the value of Jesus' death in our lives and generally the only time that we're taught to the value of the creation story is in Sunday school. It seems as if people think the creation story is something that only young children need to emphasize because it is easier to find the beauty outdoors than it is to explaiin the depth of Jesus' death. Therefore, as we get older we often dismiss the creation story because everyone just assumes taht "we know it." I think that this has affected our understanding of the arts because we neglect to find the beauty in the creation story and the creation that God has given us. Sometimes, artists find it unacceptable to exhibit beauty in their art because they think that nothing is beautiful because it is tainted by sin; however, God has given us beauty right outside therefore we do need to place more emphasis on the creation story too.
ReplyDeleteI think we focus on Jesus death more than creation for multiple reasons. First I'll say in response to Rubi and Emily that while salvation and creation are the same story, they are certainly separate events. While there is creation and salvation in either instance, only one is focused on in each story. I think that Christians focus on the salvation story more because that is what separates us from everyone else. The story of Christ's sacrifice is the ultimate example of love, and is therefore a much more loaded event than creation.
ReplyDelete