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Art and the Bible: Two Essays (IVP Classics) (Paperback) - Common
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 22, 2024
“No work of art is more important than the Christian’s own life, and every Christian is cared upon to be an artist in this sense.
He may have no gift of writing, no gift of composing or singing, but each man has the gift of creativity in terms of the way he lives his life.
In this sense, the Christian’s life is to be an art work. The Christin’s life is to be a thing of truth and also a thing of beauty in the midst of a lost and despairing world.”
He may have no gift of writing, no gift of composing or singing, but each man has the gift of creativity in terms of the way he lives his life.
In this sense, the Christian’s life is to be an art work. The Christin’s life is to be a thing of truth and also a thing of beauty in the midst of a lost and despairing world.”
November 23, 2025
Recommending this book to the next person that questions my decision to get an art degree 🙂
June 16, 2023
Really good and insightful. Definitely brief, but I think it is a great primer of understanding not only Art and the Bible, but also Art and the Christian Life as a whole.
September 4, 2024
SCHAEFFER EXPLAINS HIS PERSPECTIVES ON THE ARTS
Francis August Schaeffer (1912-1984) was an American Christian theologian, philosopher, apologist, and Presbyterian pastor, as well as the founder of the L'Abri community in Switzerland. He wrote the famed "trilogy": 'The God Who Is There,' 'Escape from Reason,' and 'He is There & He is not Silent.' He has also written many other books such as 'How Then should We then Live,' 'Genesis in Space and Time,' 'The Church At the End of the 20th Century,' 'Joshua and the Flow of Biblical History,' 'Death in the City,' etc.
He also turned to politics with 'Whatever happened to the Human Race,' which was influenced by his filmmaker son Frank (who later regretted it; see his book, 'Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect').
This 1973 booklet contains two essays: "Art & the Bible," and "Some Perspectives on Art." He begins the first essay with the statement, "As evangelical Christians we have tended to relegate art to the very fringe of life... Despite our constant talk about the Lordship of Christ, we have narrowed its scope to a very small area of reality... and have not taken to us the riches that the Bible gives us for ourselves, for our lives and for our culture. The Lordship of Christ over the whole of life means that there are no platonic areas in Christianity, no dichotomy or hierarchy between the body and the soul." (Pg. 7)
He observes, "There have been periods in the past when Christians understood this better than we have in the past few decades. A few years ago when I started to work out a Christian epistemology and a Christian concept of culture, many people considered what I was doing suspect. They felt that because I was interested in intellectual answers I must not be biblical. But this attitude represents a real poverty." (Pg. 9)
He states in the second essay, "A work of art has a value in itself. For some this principle may seem too obvious to mention, but for many Christians it is unthinkable. And yet if we miss this point, we miss the very essence of art. Art is not something we merely analyze or value for its intellectual content. It is something to be enjoyed. The Bible says that the art work in the tabernacle and the temple was for beauty." (Pg. 33)
He asserts, "What kind of judgment does one apply, then, to a work of art? I believe that there are four basic standards: (1) technical excellence, (2) validity, (3) intellectual content, the world view which comes through, and (4) the integration of content and vehicle." (Pg. 41) He adds, "An artist may... be considered almost a holy man, yet where his work shows his world view, it must be judged by its relationship to the Christian world view." (Pg. 43)
He argues, "Christian art today should be twentieth century art. Art changes. Language changes... if a Christian's art is not twentieth-century art, it is an obstacle to his being heard... Christian art should differ from country to country. Why did we ever force the Africans to use Gothic architecture?... the body of a Christian artist's work should reflect the Christian world view." (Pg. 51)
Schaeffer was always a very strong voice for art among evangelical Christians, and these essays are very helpful expositions and elaborations of his views.
Francis August Schaeffer (1912-1984) was an American Christian theologian, philosopher, apologist, and Presbyterian pastor, as well as the founder of the L'Abri community in Switzerland. He wrote the famed "trilogy": 'The God Who Is There,' 'Escape from Reason,' and 'He is There & He is not Silent.' He has also written many other books such as 'How Then should We then Live,' 'Genesis in Space and Time,' 'The Church At the End of the 20th Century,' 'Joshua and the Flow of Biblical History,' 'Death in the City,' etc.
He also turned to politics with 'Whatever happened to the Human Race,' which was influenced by his filmmaker son Frank (who later regretted it; see his book, 'Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect').
This 1973 booklet contains two essays: "Art & the Bible," and "Some Perspectives on Art." He begins the first essay with the statement, "As evangelical Christians we have tended to relegate art to the very fringe of life... Despite our constant talk about the Lordship of Christ, we have narrowed its scope to a very small area of reality... and have not taken to us the riches that the Bible gives us for ourselves, for our lives and for our culture. The Lordship of Christ over the whole of life means that there are no platonic areas in Christianity, no dichotomy or hierarchy between the body and the soul." (Pg. 7)
He observes, "There have been periods in the past when Christians understood this better than we have in the past few decades. A few years ago when I started to work out a Christian epistemology and a Christian concept of culture, many people considered what I was doing suspect. They felt that because I was interested in intellectual answers I must not be biblical. But this attitude represents a real poverty." (Pg. 9)
He states in the second essay, "A work of art has a value in itself. For some this principle may seem too obvious to mention, but for many Christians it is unthinkable. And yet if we miss this point, we miss the very essence of art. Art is not something we merely analyze or value for its intellectual content. It is something to be enjoyed. The Bible says that the art work in the tabernacle and the temple was for beauty." (Pg. 33)
He asserts, "What kind of judgment does one apply, then, to a work of art? I believe that there are four basic standards: (1) technical excellence, (2) validity, (3) intellectual content, the world view which comes through, and (4) the integration of content and vehicle." (Pg. 41) He adds, "An artist may... be considered almost a holy man, yet where his work shows his world view, it must be judged by its relationship to the Christian world view." (Pg. 43)
He argues, "Christian art today should be twentieth century art. Art changes. Language changes... if a Christian's art is not twentieth-century art, it is an obstacle to his being heard... Christian art should differ from country to country. Why did we ever force the Africans to use Gothic architecture?... the body of a Christian artist's work should reflect the Christian world view." (Pg. 51)
Schaeffer was always a very strong voice for art among evangelical Christians, and these essays are very helpful expositions and elaborations of his views.
July 31, 2024
if I were rating based on content alone, this book would be a 5/5. however, i read this book after reading animal farm, and the writing tone was just not captivating enough, which caused me to feel quite bored when reading it.
however, the content is amazing. so often as Christians, we tend to shy away from creating art because of fear and an idea that everything we create must have a religious message or must carry the entirety of the Gospel within it. but God’s Word and His Creation shows that this is not true. flowers are not religious, the songs of birds do not sing the entire gospel, and rhinos are not theological weapons of warfare. creativity is structured yet beautiful, and the theme need not be only based on Scripture. when we execute art, our art should convey our perspectives and our personality. not each piece speaking of their entirety, but a piece. like a puzzle that can be put together to see an entire form, so should each piece of our art capture a single portion, an individual. forcing the whole is not necessary.
can you see Christ’s reflection in water? are you reminded of His Peace when you look at the clouds? can you feel His Vastness in the mountains? even though the Gospel is not etched in every crevice? may our art be beautiful, individual, and holy, like that of our God.
however, the content is amazing. so often as Christians, we tend to shy away from creating art because of fear and an idea that everything we create must have a religious message or must carry the entirety of the Gospel within it. but God’s Word and His Creation shows that this is not true. flowers are not religious, the songs of birds do not sing the entire gospel, and rhinos are not theological weapons of warfare. creativity is structured yet beautiful, and the theme need not be only based on Scripture. when we execute art, our art should convey our perspectives and our personality. not each piece speaking of their entirety, but a piece. like a puzzle that can be put together to see an entire form, so should each piece of our art capture a single portion, an individual. forcing the whole is not necessary.
can you see Christ’s reflection in water? are you reminded of His Peace when you look at the clouds? can you feel His Vastness in the mountains? even though the Gospel is not etched in every crevice? may our art be beautiful, individual, and holy, like that of our God.
July 18, 2025
It's strange reading the first of the two essays in this book, which was originally written in 1973. At that time Evangelicalism was cultivating a specifically antagonistic stance toward secular culture. Schaeffer's encouragement to Christians to instead work within the traditional disciplines of artistic creativity can at times seem shocking: were people really espousing the views he apparently felt the need to contradict? These days the situation is quite different; there are numerous new books, essays, blogs, and podcasts devoted to helping Christian artists use their craft to glorify God and minister to the culture around them. As such this first essay has, perhaps, little relevance to our current historical moment; but it has great historical value and remains an excellent piece of reasoning.
The second essay in this collection is much more uneven. It is a mixture of wise principles and unfounded dogmatism. Every Christian artist, critic, or art lover who reads this essay will have to figure out for themselves whether they agree with Schaeffer's points about what "Christian art" should be. Of course, as I've argued before, the whole effort of pinning down a denotative meaning for the phrase "Christian art" is doomed from the start. I admire Schaeffer for trying to puzzle through these ideas, though.
The second essay in this collection is much more uneven. It is a mixture of wise principles and unfounded dogmatism. Every Christian artist, critic, or art lover who reads this essay will have to figure out for themselves whether they agree with Schaeffer's points about what "Christian art" should be. Of course, as I've argued before, the whole effort of pinning down a denotative meaning for the phrase "Christian art" is doomed from the start. I admire Schaeffer for trying to puzzle through these ideas, though.
October 24, 2025
Great, consice, informational little book.
Dr. Schaefer never disappoints.
Dr. Schaefer never disappoints.
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July 11, 2024Great "first step" for wrapping your mind around what art is from a biblical perspective. Clear, simple, straightforward, and well-presented.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews