Francis Schaeffer on Art

Every once in a while in our Biblical Anthropology study, I found a particular book very helpful – and that’s the case here with Francis Schaeffer’s Art and the Bible.

Dr. Schaeffer, as you may know, was a pastor and writer from the USA. In this particular book, he suggests four ways to evaluate art, whether it be dance, theatre, music or painting.

(1) Technical Excellence

I think we all know intuitively what he’s talking about here. Something done well, with technical excellence, is a great thing to see. It represents many hours of study or practice or rehearsal.

Do you see a man skillful in his work?
He will stand before kings;
he will not stand before obscure men.

Proverbs 22:29

Now, this doesn’t mean that we agree with the worldview behind the art. In fact, there may be technical excellence in something we would prefer not to see or listen to! But we can admit that it is well done.

For example, the original Star Wars movies present a very anti-Christian worldview. But they were done with excellence.

(2) Validity

Is the artist being true to himself or herself, and his or her worldview? Or, for example, is it obvious that this was created just to make a profit? I think there are a lot of movies today that are obviously geared toward making money and little else. And this doesn’t tend to lead to a lasting quality.

(3) Intellectual Content (Worldview)

Finally we come to the worldview behind the art. There is a worldview in architecture. There is a worldview in instrumental music. There is a worldview in the art that your government uses for their promotional materials. It may be that the artist isn’t even consciously aware of what is being communicated, or what this vision of the world is. But we all have one.

And, Dr. Schaeffer says, excellent art with an anti-Christian worldview can be terribly destructive in the culture. We need to judge it.

(4) Integration of Content and Vehicle

This is to say, you can have an ugly snake on a pole representing sin and suffering. You can have a majestic song to celebrate God’s glory. You may use different music, or different colours, for something sad or happy.

In other words, the form of the art should fit its message. You don’t want to create something that has a silly feel to it to talk about God’s judgement. A humourous cartoon mocking something who is suicidal would be offensive. There should be a harmony between medium and message.

Be sure to check out Dr. Schaeffer’s book – it’s not a long one: Art and the Bible

12 Keys to Good Music

For a number of years my father (Robert Cottrill) taught a course called “Music in the Christian Life”, a course which he developed. In the course, he listed 12 principles for evaluating music – but I think the same principles could be used in any kind of art. These principles are summarized on his blog; I encourage you to check them out as another way to think about how we evaluate art: Music Choice: 12 Keys to Good Music

I’ll leave you with those points to ponder. Next time, as we conclude this section on creativity and communication, we’ll have a few questions to ponder by way of application, and we’ll look at a fascinating story from Jesus’ earthly ministry.