Wednesday, March 21, 2007
I had the pleasure of meeting Bruce Davis today at The Art House, a fascinating little co-op in downtown Ocean Springs (which you can read about HERE).It was a bit ironic that I went to The Art House today, given the topic of my Peak of the Week class tonight. I've never sat in, much less taught, a "church" class on art, but that is what I did tonight. With full credit to Darryl Tippens and his book, Pilgrim Heart, I launched into the idea that the act of "creating" is an act consistent with people following the path of Jesus.
As Dr. Tippens pointed out, the Church has rarely been friendly to artists, and that is so very sad. "The arts" have either been portrayed as evil, or, more to my experience, as secular (meaning that they don't have anything to do with religion). Instead, for those who believe, I can't imagine how "affecting a sense of beauty" can be removed from God, the ultimate Artist.
The world has it's share of ugliness. It strikes me as a good idea for followers of God to be both encouragers of and participants in bringing beauty to the forsaken parts of our world.
