Devotional and Bible

21 February 2023

The World Uses Art

We’ve been looking at some biblical principles for art – and in a wider sense, creativity and communication. These are good things created by God, that the world desires to twist to its own purposes.

So, what does the world do? It takes what actually belongs to God – creativity and communication. It denies any dependence on Him. It changes their purpose. And it mixes truth with error.

The world wants to change the truth – hide it – suppress it (Romans 1:18).

And here, concepts like art, communication, technology and justice intersect. CGI technology. Deepfakes. Virtual reality. Social networks. Chatbots. The more we make our lives “digital”, the easier it becomes to lie to everyone. The easier it becomes to build a “world without God”, without any consequences for sin, an imaginary world. Built by human imagination.

We all must have a smartphone – or better, wearable technology. And today we talk about “the internet of things” – connecting more and more things to the network. Adding convenience, but also making everything easier to control from – elsewhere.

If the internet can be controlled, if art and communication can be controlled, it will be so much easier to control everyone.

We saw something fascinating happen over the past few years in many countries. Governments informed us that it was really no problem to have our religious services online. No worries. It was just fine to meet with our families online. Step one.

Step two. Invest heavily in technology. Make it so that more and more people can connect to high-speed internet. (Do a little digging and see what your government did – you might be surprised!).

And then, step three. Find ways to control what’s happening online. Technology, information — communication.

I could give some examples, but I’ll let you check them out for yourselves.

Back in 2021, when I was first working on this topic, all of the news feeds were exploding with the story of Frances Haugen, a former Facebook manager. She was expressing her concerns, certainly some valid concerns, about Facebook and Instagram.

What was fascinating about this was the solutions that the headlines proposed. Here’s one from Mexico (La Jornada) (my translation): Facebook Whistleblower Calls for Regulation of the Company before the US Senate

Another one – EI Universal: Facebook Whistleblower calls on US Lawmakers to Regulate the Social Media Giant

How about the CBC? Ottawa urged to crack down on Facebook after bombshell whistleblower testimony before U.S. Senate

What’s the solution “everyone” is all of a sudden pushing for? To go to “the Lord the Government” and ask them to take control.

It’s not surprising that if people with an unbiblical worldview want to take control of creativity and communication, injustice and lies will follow. Truth will be mixed with error, and God’s truth will be ignored (suppressed). What truth? The truth about the world in general, the truth about judgement, truth about salvation, truth about Christ.

In the USA, President Biden did something in 2021 that had never been done in the history of the country. Something that you probably wouldn’t guess.

There is a commission that is in charge of the design of official buildings in the capital. Upon becoming president, Mr. Biden got rid of more than half of the people on the commission and replaced them. Unheard of! Why was this such a huge priority? Because – a revolution in the culture requires a revolution in its art. In this case, in architecture.

For example, there has been a movement in architecture to make buildings look “anti-natural” – in some cases, even intentionally ugly. And so you have a structure which essentially says, “There is no order in this world. There is no God.” And then, of course, you have engineers who must use God’s order to make sure that the building doesn’t collapse!

You see, architecture has a purpose. It has its own message. In Mexico, we have the National Palace, for example. It’s both a symbol of government and a functional place where business is conducted. It was originally built in 1711, and hasn’t changed much since the Independence. It uses European elements, showing the connection between Mexico and Spain. It’s built on land used by Moctezuma II and Hernán Cortés, showing a continuity of power.

It also uses a style known as “baroque”. This style emerged from Roman Catholicism in Italy, as a way to fight against the Protestant Reformation. It was a new and awe-inspiring style. And so even Roman Catholicism is represented in the National Palace. And we could go on and on. Art has a purpose.

But let’s not make it sound like art is like a functional machine – one of the “purposes” of art is to be simply enjoyed. We enjoy beauty, because beauty is from God, and glorifies Him. Enjoying the beauty of Creation is part of its noble purpose.

But remember this: Art, like anything else, is under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

We’ve talked a little about purpose, truth and dependence in creativity and communication. Next time we’ll talk specifically about how we can evaluate or judge art.

10 February 2023

“Judging” Art?

Jim Devotional and Bible 0

We know intuitively that art, in some way, can be used for “good” or “bad”. And it seems to us that there is “good art” and “bad art”. But of course many today would tell us that you simply cannot judge art, because it’s art! After all, artists should have absolute liberty to be creative.

Henry F. Potter — *Mr. Potter – we’ll talk about him later…*

So today in our Biblical Anthropology series, we ask the question – can you judge or evaluate art? Or is it only a question of culture, or opinion?

Let’s go to a very important text in the book of Colossians. The Apostle Paul has been talking about Jesus Christ as the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. In Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (verse 3).

Now, he’s going after the false teachers, who want to bring back the feasts and dietary laws from Moses.

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
Colossians 2:8-10

“[Christ] is the head of all rule and authority”. Jesus said it this way in John 5:22 – “the Father … has given all judgement to the Son”.

Everything in all of creation is under the authority of Jesus Christ. Science, art, math, governments, churches, your workplace, your video games, your playlist. Everything.

We recognize that people have different preferences, and that’s fine. But everything is still under Christ’s authority.

We’re constantly creating art, our community is constantly creating art. And every movie, every band, every painting, every meme, must be placed under the authority of Christ.

This isn’t to say that every song should be a Christian hymn, and that every painting should represent a Bible story. But it does mean that all art must be for God’s glory. And even secular (non-religious) art can glorify the Lord. Even art created by unbelievers can glorify God, thanks to God’s grace in all the world, and the imago dei.

But let’s get real – very often the world is using art to actively fight against God. So we need to think about how that is done.

Let’s go back to where we started in our first study – Genesis 1 & 2. We looked at three keywords in that study – Truth, Dependence, and Purpose.

Yes, art does have a purpose. Even when it is supposedly simply “art for the sake of art”. Or when it’s deliberately “purposeless” art. But of course, that is its purpose. You simply can’t avoid purpose.

Dependence? We depend on something that is outside of ourselves, and all things depend on God. Or, we could say, they depend on Christ – “in him all things hold together” Colossians 1:17.

So let’s look again at what happened with “Nehushtan”, the bronze snake.

First, the people had to pretend that they didn’t depend on God. The image was controlled by unbelievers who used it as a false god. I mean, imagine if the image had been placed in a museum with a notice underneath: “Praise Yahweh for saving us from judgement – read the fourth Book of Moses for details”. Maybe the idolatry never would have happened!

The purpose of the bronze snake was changed. Instead of a reminder of God’s judgement, and a symbol of faith, it became a false god in itself.

And truth itself had to be ignored. “This isn’t just a metal image on a pole – it’s the mighty Nehushtan!” And perhaps the story of Numbers 21 was told, conveniently leaving out some important details, such as the sin of the people against God. Truth mixed with error. We’ve talked about that before – remember the house in ruins?

Finally, they separated the image and the Word of God completely. They tried to reinterpret the world, ignoring God’s revelation, God’s truth. “…men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” Romans 1:18.

Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Romans 1:22-23

The world used its God-given creativity and ability to communicate to attempt to change the truth. Of course, you can’t change truth. But they hid it, suppressed it. How?

Have you ever noticed that when you see “popular sins” depicted on the big screen, there are rarely serious consequences? Immorality, for example, rarely results in disease and broken families.

And when you see a pastor or other Christian religious figure, usually they’re ignorant – or even evil? But if there’s an immoral person, that is, immoral in a culturally acceptable way, that person is often depicted as being very wise, or at least they’re the comic relief.

In Hollywood, especially in the 1930s-1950s, movies were regularly evaluated to determine if they were “decent”, and they were censored if they didn’t comply with certain criteria. For example, the 1946 movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”. One of my favourites, I’ll admit it.

If you don’t know the movie, it’s a fantasy about a man wanting to commit suicide, who is visited by an angel.

The movie almost had to be changed. Why? Well, in the story there’s a rich and evil man named Mr. Potter. Now, Potter is a wicked man, who is depicted as a wicked man in the movie. So far so good. Already we’re doing better than most of today’s movies.

But in this movie, he never experiences any significant consequences for his sin. There’s no punishment at the end. Of course, that’s the way things sometimes are in the real world – evil people seem to get away with their evil. But for some people, that made the movie “indecent”. My, how things have changed!

Today, it seems, movies must make evil look good.

Next time we’ll look at some current examples of how creativity and communication are being used by the world.

2 February 2023

Religious Art, Secular Art, and Ugly Art in the Bible

Jim Devotional and Bible 0

Last time in our Biblical Anthropology series we started talking more about art in the Bible – and the descriptions of the Tabernacle and Temple are a treasure trove.

Artist's rendition of Solomon's temple — *Artist’s rendition of Solomon’s temple*

Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them.
Exodus 26:1

Here is just a part of the instructions for the robe of the High Priest:

On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, around its hem, with bells of gold between them, a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe.
Exodus 28:33-34

The High Priest literally made music while he walked! And here we see physical images – a pomegranate, in 3D. Blue, purple and scarlet. Have you ever seen a purple pomegranate? Not me. Of course, maybe the threads are supposed to be combined together. But either way, these are not identical to real pomegranates – they’re artistic representations.

And this art continues in the construction of the Temple. David said that the pattern for the temple had been given to him from God Himself (1 Chronicles 28:19).

There were precious stones in the Temple. Why? They’re beautiful! Here, listen to this description of the huge receptacle called the “sea”:

Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. Under it were figures of gourds, for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward. Its thickness was a handbreadth. And its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held 3,000 baths.
2 Chronicles 4:2-5

And so here we have this huge “sea” – decorated with oxen. And overall it looked like an open lily.

There should be no doubt left in our minds that there is nothing wrong with artistic images in general. And that includes images used for religious purposes. But you don’t bow before them!

In fact, there are many different types of art in the Temple and Tabernacle. The Sea would be applied art, art used for a practical purpose. It’s also “plastic art”. That’s not necessarily art made from plastic, but art moulded from a certain material, such as gold.

Not only were there bells on the high priest’s robe, there was also a chorus of priests who led worship. There was wonderful-smelling incense. There was food to enjoy. You could use all your senses in the Temple.

And at the entrance – two magnificent columns. And we don’t know for sure, but it doesn’t seem like there were there to hold anything up. That is – they seem to have no practical “use” at all. They just looked beautiful! (Of course, beauty is practical, but you know what I mean.)

And so, in the Temple alone, we see all kinds of art, art that communicates, sometimes only communicating beauty. We see representations of spiritual things, representations of physical things. And not exact representations, artistic interpretations. Art that required artistic ability and technique.

And God Himself gave men and women artistic skill. An example:

“See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.
Exodus 31:2-5

Plastic art (gold, silver and bronze), architecture (cutting stones for setting). God is the head craftsman. He loves art!

And although some art in the Bible is what we might call “religious”, some art is not directly related to worship. Of course, for believers, all of life is worship. But there is what we might call “secular art” in the Bible as well.

For example, have you read about Solomon’s throne? Incredible!

We have an entire book that talks about romantic love, and doesn’t even mention God (or only mentions Him once, but that’s another story).

And not all art in the Bible is happy and uplifting. For example, we have a secular poem from David, a lament for the death of Saul and Jonathan:

Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places!
How the mighty have fallen!
…
Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!
In life and in death they were not divided;
they were swifter than eagles;
they were stronger than lions.
2 Samuel 1:19,23

And so the Bible seems to celebrate both religious and non-religious art.

God even commanded the creation of art which was probably – well – ugly art. Or perhaps we could say, disturbing. Numbers 21 – a little context:

And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.”
Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.
Numbers 21:5-6

When the people repented, what did God tell Moses to do?

And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”
Numbers 21:8

And so Moses creates an image of an unclean animal and puts it on a pole. A serpent on a stick. A symbol of sin, suffering, and death.

And everyone who looked at it was saved. Certainly not because it was a beautiful piece of art. But because of faith in the way of salvation that God had provided.

And according to Jesus, this was a symbol of Himself on the cross. Not something beautiful, but something that saves.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
John 3:14-15

Now, maybe you know what happened to Moses’ snake on a stick later on. It was saved. Hmmm… maybe it could save someone again. No – it’s not the art that saved you…

But they hung on to it for 6 centuries. And they gave it a name! “Nehushtan” – which sounds like “bronze serpent” in Hebrew. And they worshipped it. The patron saint of snake bites.

Archeologists have found an altar in Israel with a carved serpent on one of the rocks – maybe this was an altar to Nehushtan.

This is an important story. Because, from one perspective, this is what happened. Ugly art of a snake on a stick, art commanded by God, became separated from God’s Word.

Christianity is based on words – the Written Word. Christians have promoted literacy, translations of Scripture. We put Bible passages on the walls of our homes. We memorize. We study. Words.

The world, on the other hand, seems to be more and more focused on images. Television, YouTube. Instagram. TickTock. We want shows, spectacles. Coloured lights. Magazine covers.

And often, those images are separated from words. After all, it’s better to skip the book and wait for the movie version to come out! And as the world prioritizes images, it leads us to venerate those images. We start to lose our capacity to think and our ability to know what God has revealed in His Word. The revelation of the Scriptures.

A (not so new) strategy of the world is to de-emphasize the word (and the Word) and venerate the image. And I’m not just talking about “veneration” in religion, but simply placing an image above God and His Word in any way.

(I’m indebted to Arthur Hunt, retired Professor of Mass Media and Strategic Communication at the University of Tennessee at Martin (UTM), for his research on the drift of the world from words to images. His book, The Vanishing Word: The Veneration of Visual Imagery in the Postmodern World, is fascinating.)

All of this brings us to a sticky topic. What about “judging” art? Is art something that can be – should be – evaluated? If so, how? We’ll get into that next time.

18 January 2023

Fine Arts and Images

Jim Devotional and Bible 0

Today we continue our look at Creativity & Communication in the Biblical Anthropology series.

When we think about “art”, we’re often thinking about the fine arts like painting and sculptures. Which, for the Christian, might bring to mind “images” from the second of the Ten Commandments –

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
Exodus 20:4

If God is literally telling us not to ever make any image of anything, that would restrict our art significantly!

The translation “carved image” is accurate – this would be an image carved of wood or stone.

This has been a huge controversy in church history, particularly when it comes to pictures or sculptures depicting God, or other religious images such as angels or saints. The arguments became very complicated. Some suggested that a sculpture was sinful, but a two-dimensional icon was all right. I even remember hearing – could someone find the source for me? – that at one point there was a “nose-pinch” test. If the image was three-dimensional enough that you could pinch its nose, it was a sinful image.

I’m not going to get into all of that today! But there are some people who have argued that we shouldn’t have any visual art at all that represents anything in the creation. No photos, no paintings, nothing.

But context is a wonderful thing, and the next verse does clarify what this commandment is all about:

You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me…
Exodus 20:5

God isn’t talking about any image, but a religious image that you would bow down to – an idol. Deuteronomy also clarifies the issue:

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Deuteronomy 5:8-10

It is prohibited to worship an idol, says Moses. If you serve an idol, that’s a sin. In fact, even if you bow or kneel to an image, you’re breaking this commandment –

…that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them…
Joshua 23:7

The problem is not the sculpture in itself. But the problem is the sculpture when it is created as an object of worship.

It’s also a sin to create an image representing the true God. You might remember that the Israelites had a name for their golden calf idol – it was “Yahweh” (Jehovah). But the Holy Spirit said through Moses:

Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth..
Deuteronomy 4:15-18

These verses don’t condemn art in general, but idolatry, and physical representations of the invisible God to worship.

But there’s another reason why we know that the second commandment is not against art in general. The Tabernacle.

The Tabernacle, according to God’s own instructions, was filled with works of art.

For example, do you remember what was above the Ark of the Covenant? “Two cherubim of gold”. A cherub is a kind of angel.

It makes you wonder – did God describe what cherubim look like to the artist? Maybe – but of course they are spiritual creatures. Real cherubim aren’t made of gold. This was, in the end, an artistic representation of something spiritual.

A study of the Tabernacle – and the Temple – is a fascinating look at how God views art. Let’s take some time in the next part of our study to look closer at the kinds of art that we see in the Old Testament.

10 January 2023

Biblical Anthropology: Creativity & Communication

Jim Devotional and Bible 0

After a pause, it’s time to continue our Biblical Anthropology series, with Creativity & Communication! If you’re new to the series, it would be helpful to click the link and start at the beginning.

Sometimes in math class, a student will ask – why do we need math? Well, math is in almost everything! And the same could be said about art, or at least creativity in general.

Look around you. What examples of art can you see?

When you decide what clothes to put on in the morning, assuming it’s not some kind of uniform or work clothes – that’s art. Making breakfast is art. Taking a photo with your phone. Music that you listen to. Reading Scripture – and the writing of it in the first place – also art. Memes and gifs – same thing.

Graffiti. Comic books. Movies. Ceramics, theatre, dance. How they design buses. Your microwave. Drama, poetry, prose – the list is endless!

We use art to define ourselves and our culture. “Our home looks like this.” “I dress like this.” “My favourite colour is…” “My favourite band is…” The great Mexican artists. Statues and monuments in my city. How people talk around here, compared to a different province or state. Our order of service Sunday mornings. What our music is like.

Art and communication – creativity in general – is hugely important. And as we’ll see, it’s a major battleground in today’s world.

The world may want to tell us that art is simply – whatever, whenever, however. But as Christians, we actually do have a foundation to start from. And if you’ve been reading through this series, you might guess where we’ll start – Genesis 1:1.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1

Just from where you’re sitting right now, you can see God’s creation, because it’s everything. Just look at your own hand! Amazing!

… [God] gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
Romans 4:17

God is the Creator, the Maker. “God created” – everything that exists was made ex nihilo, from nothing. And God didn’t just make a big grey mass of something. He started life! He created colours! He divided things into different categories and groups. He ordained relationships. He created time! He made things happen.

Variety in unity. It all comes from God’s nature. Isn’t it interesting that God is revealed to us as Trinity? One God, one Being. Perfect unity. And yet, in the unity of that Being, three Persons.

We are creatures. We’re not in the same category as God. He is the only one who created everything from nothing. But what was it that God said right at the beginning?

Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.
Genesis 1:28

We’re supposed to take what He created and use it. Using God’s creation to – create!

And so, although we are creative as creatures and not as God, we still imitate God in His creativity. We divide, we organize. Variety in unity. When we sing a song, we choose some notes and not others. We choose certain words and not others. But it all has (or should have!) a unity.

In this way, we create something that never existed before; even though, of course, we’re always using what God already created originally.

So here’s what we’ll be studying in this part of the series. Creativity in art and communication: Variety in unity. To divide and organize in a new way, in order to speak (communicate) with yourself and/or others.

It’s a broad topic indeed! And the Bible has a lot to say about it. We’ll start a journey through the Bible next time to see what we can learn.

24 December 2022

Christmas Song #5: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (index)

Jim Devotional and Bible 0

Thanks for joining me for this year’s exploration of one of my favourite Christmas carols! In case you missed an entry, here’s the index:

Christmas Song #5: It Began With A Single Word – This carol started out as a single word, and a very important one.
Christmas Song #5: Who Are We Waiting For? – This Christmas carol explores the nature of the Messiah.
Christmas Song #5: The Hidden Code – Yes, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel does involve a hidden code. The mystery is revealed!
Christmas Song #5: The King of Peace Takes His Throne – The finale leads us to some amazing truths from the prophet Haggai.

Thanks again to the Cyber Hymnal for their entry on this song. Wikipedia had some helpful information on the Latin. I also drew from my Dad’s research on this song. His materials are being posted at WordWise Bible Studies (we’re currently in the middle of the daily Hymn Alamanac). Not all of his information on this song is up yet, but it’s coming Lord willing. There is one article here: It Began As One Word. (O Come, O Come Emmanuel)

A Merry Christmas to you all!

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