trusted online casino malaysia
Realizing the presence, promise, and power of the Kingdom of God.
Crosfigell

God of the Arts

 God takes the arts seriously. Do we?

The Lord said to Moses, “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...”

    - Exodus 31.1-3

I praise the threefold Trinity as God, Who is one and three, a single power in unity, His attributes a single mystery, one God to praise. Great King, I praise you, great your glory. Your praise is true; I am the one who praises you. Poetry’s welfare is in Elohim’s care.

     - Early Welsh

Celtic Christians loved the arts – poetry, music, sculpture, painting, calligraphy, and the everyday or folk arts. They understood that art has great power to instruct, delight, and transform the soul.

All but a handful of the artists of the Celtic period are anonymous. They were not concerned about royalties and rights, or making sure everyone knew their name. They wanted their art to benefit the Church and glorify God. Poets, sculptors, painters, story-tellers, and composers laid hold on the great tradition of pre-Christian Celtic art and crafted its forms and styles into new modes and neumes, imposing a Christian and Biblical narrative onto the inherited genre of their pagan forebears, and using the traditions of paganism to declare the glories of the Gospel.

Celtic Christians believed that God gave the gifts of art, and they rejoiced to possess, employ, and enjoy them.

It makes sense, of course, that God would be Lord of the arts. He loves things beautiful, good, and true. He made the cosmos and human beings in His own image, so that we, too, should enjoy and create works of art, and offer our art up to God to be pleasing and honoring to Him.

But our rationalistic and materialistic age, coupled with a poisonous democratic spirit in the arts, has diminished the importance of the arts for most people. These days anything can be art. All that’s necessary is that someone declare his art to be such, and no can say otherwise. The result – a good bit of second-rate art – has turned a lot of us off to such things as poetry, painting, and hymnody.

Besides, you can’t make a living being a poet (alas!).

But if we have no place for poetry, music, meditation on great works of art, contemplation of beautiful architecture, and all the other grand and glorious gifts God has given – even to those who rebel against Him (Ps. 68.18)! – then we are less the people we could be as His image-bearers.

He in Whose hands is the welfare of the poet would use poetry and the arts to enrich your experience of Him.

Are you willing?

Psalm 92.1-4 (Sweet Hour: “Sweet Hour of Prayer”)
How good it is to thank the Lord, and praise to God Most High accord;
By day to let His kindness sing, His faithfulness by night to sing.
With ten-stringed lute, resounding lyre, and sweetest harp we’ll lift You higher.
For you have made our souls rejoice; we sing Your praise with blended voice!

Lord, what do I know about the arts? Where do I start to learn something? Can this really be important to knowing and serving You?

Help us get the word out to pastors about our Pastors' Fellowship. This year's theme for our quarterly Gathering is "Not Worth Living? Examining the Unexamined Christian Life." The focus of these online discussions is to help pastors become more effective at equipping the people they serve for life in the Kingdom of God. Urge your pastor to go to the website and register for the first session, which meets in October. If you send me your mailing address, I'll send you some brochures you can give to your pastor to encourage him to take advantage of this free opportunity.

Visit our new website and let us know what you think. We appreciate you, the members of The Ailbe Community, and look forward to serving you more effectively in this new ministry year.

T. M. Moore, Principal
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
Books by T. M. Moore

Subscribe to Ailbe Newsletters

Sign up to receive our email newsletters and read columns about revival, renewal, and awakening built upon prayer, sharing, and mutual edification.