UNDERSTANDING THE CREATIVE WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE LOCAL CHURCH (p5)

In light of all that has been discovered so far about the creativity, it’s source and operation in a person’s life, what outlook should an artist have who happens to be a Christian? The following bullet points will give an overview:

• The artist who is a Christian, should be amongst the very best at what they do, as they have the giver of creativity dwelling on the inside of them.

• In the same way a banker wouldn’t slap an “I love Jesus” sticker on a report he has just written, so an artist shouldn’t feel pressured into ‘cheeseifying’ their work, to conform to expectations from within the established church. Their work, should by it source, and channel (i.e. God through them) speak something of God’s character, just by itself.

• I believe an artist will only truly understand the creative in general and their creative ability specifically, as they draw near to God.

• There is a great danger when a person has created anything, to move from taking pleasure in it, to worshipping the created thing. As an artist who is a Christian it is important to firmly have your focus on the giver of the creative, not the created thing.

• The artist should use the gifts to the very best of their ability, as it is a reflection of the creative God they serve.

• Create as a gift to give to the creative God – knowing that He loves the work of your hands.

• I believe that the creative Christian’s have an important role in helping more scientific or ‘logical’ Christians experience the wonder and beauty of God.

UNDERSTANDING THE CREATIVE WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE LOCAL CHURCH (p4)

Other people will say, ‘well if the creative comes from God, why is so much evil created? I believe this question simply boils down to the fact that God has given responsibility in the way we use the gifts he has given us. One day we will stand before God and account for what we have done with the gifts he has given us (like the parable of the talents). In the same way God has given us responsibility of how we use our bodies, either for good, or bad (for example pounding another human being!), so it is with the creative. Just because someone chooses to use the creative gift that God has blessed him or her with to make a degrading pornographic image, does not mean that the giver (God) of the gift wanted it to be used that way. This is where the argument over the devils ability to create re-emerges. Many people will point to the horrific creations of ‘art’ and say these are the work of the devil. It is important to go back to scripture to view the tactics of the devil and to see how he operates in this type of situation.

"“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (Jn 10:10, NKJV)

This verse contrasts the actions of the devil with those of God. The devil is the one breaking and destroying and dismantling, it’s God who gives life. So it is with the creative. God is the source of all creativity, but it is the devil that comes in and destroys, mutates, twists, and perverts things. Take for example a musician. God has given the gift of musicianship, but the devil works in the persons life, twists and mutes the persons thinking, so they start to create songs glorifying anything but God.

UNDERSTANDING THE CREATIVE WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE LOCAL CHURCH (p3)

Some people will object to the notion that all mankind is creative, using phases like “I haven’t got a creative bone in my body”. I believe this is due to a misunderstanding of the word creative. When we hear the word creative, many of us, automatically think of painters, sculptures, dancers, actors, and even graphic designers. However I would like to rebalance that understanding of the creative, by stating that in a general sense the creative is the expression of some form of thought or idea. The expression (or outlet) may be through the more conventional type of creative fields, but it may also be ‘a work of creative genius on the football field, the design of some breath-taking building, the invention of some microscopic-robot, an orchestral composer weaving umpteen lines of music together into one glorious harmony or even a ‘simple’ poem written on the back of a napkin by the hand of a child. The creative is simply one of the most amazing gifts given to mankind!

In James 1:16 there is a wonderful passage, which expresses the wonder of gifts from God:
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." (Jas 1:17, NKJV)

This verse needs to be unpacked a little more to understand the true wonder of God given gifts. In this verse the English word “gift” is used twice. However, in the Greek it is two different words. The first use of the word is dosis (the act of giving), the second being dorema (bounty/bountifully, perfectly perfect). This shows us that God’s gift are both well given to us, but are also perfectly perfect in quality.

UNDERSTANDING THE CREATIVE WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE LOCAL CHURCH (p2)

Is the creative restricted to God alone? No. The bible clearly teaches us that man, was created in the likeness of God:

"Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them
have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle,
over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”" (Ge 1:26, NKJV)

Theologians call the attributes of man, which are in someway ‘like’ that of God’s the communicable attributes of God. These are attributes such as, mental reasoning, morality, love, will, and freedom. Even though we are made in the likeness of God we do not share these attributes in the ‘fullness’, but just in the ‘likeness’. So I believe it is with the creative. I believe it is one of the communicable attributes of God, which we ‘share’. God has released into every human being a level of creativity. An example of this ‘general’ creativity can be seen in the life of Adam and Eve. Even after sinning, they used their God given creativity to ‘make’ a covering for themselves out of leaves. That takes quite a high level of creativity!

UNDERSTANDING THE CREATIVE WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE LOCAL CHURCH (p1)

UNDERSTANDING THE CREATIVE WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE LOCAL CHURCH


Over the centuries the church (both institutionally and individually) have had a fickle relationship with the creative and artists. In some centuries the artist has been highly exonerated; on the other hand in other centuries they have been viewed with suspicion and mistrust. The purpose of this article is to try and layout the clear biblical viewpoint of both the creative and then as a progression, artists who are Christians.

The starting point for any understanding on the creative, must be that God is the author of all creativity, as He is the ultimate creator:

" In the beginning God created …" (Ge 1:1a, NKJV)

If we as Christians took more time to appreciate the intrinsically complex and breath-taking universe that God has created (even in it’s fallen state), we would come to have a much greater appreciation of the creative. Why, because in some small way it is a reflection of the God who is the source of all creativity. Just to ponder on that thought for a moment is important. A true Christian (who are often known as Creationists) view of God is not that God is the ‘best’ or superior creator, amongst many. Instead it is that He is the author or source of all creativity. In the same way that a river or stream has one source; so all creativity has one beginning/source – God. The statement, which has just been made if followed through, has far reaching theological implications. If God is the source of all creativity, then that means the devil has no creative originality (this point will be expanded later in the article).