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ART

I recently ran across an interview that Calvin Miller gave to the Wittenburg Door that was published in August-September 1985 that has caused me to think about the usefulness of art to communicate the gospel. Miller said, “I’ve always agreed with James that ‘every perfect gift comes down from the Father.’ I believe that great art of any kind comes from God, even if it’s created by an atheist.”

In his book, Being the Body, Charles Colson writes, “Though the Reformers are often pictured as iconoclasts, their world-view actually caused them to perceive art of all types as a means to give glory to God and to reflect the goodness and beauty of His creation.”

—Being the Body, p. 299 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

Though I’d want to qualify my agreement with these statements by saying that there are some exceptions to the rule, like the homoerotic art of Robert Mapelthorpe, Miller’s and the Reformer’s views carry tremendous truth. The creative process itself and the beauty it produces is one vehicle God uses to communicate to mankind—especially those that reflect the glory of God’s creation.

Romans 1:20 NASB “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

For more information on Being The Body, go to: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0849917522/fm082-20 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson