One of my favorite Christian songs

We've had lots of discussions here about what defines art as somehow being Christian. I was reminded today of one of my favorite Christian songs. I really think this is a great song.

I've Never Been To Me ( Charlene )

Hey lady, you lady, cursing at your life. You're a discontented mother and a regimented wife. I've no doubt you dream about the things you'll never do. But, I wish someone had talked to me Like I wanna talk to you.....

Oh, I've been to Georgia and California and anywhere I could run. I took the hand of a preacher man and we made love in the sun. But I ran out of places and friendly faces because I had to be free.

I've been to paradise but I've never been to me

Please lady, please lady, don't just walk away. 'Cause I have this need to tell you why I'm all alone today. I can see so much of me still living in your eyes. Won't you share a part of a weary heart that has lived million lies....

Oh, I've been to Niece and the Isle of Greece while I've sipped champagne on a yacht. I've moved like Harlow in Monte Carlo and showed 'em what I've got. I've been undressed by kings and I've seen some things that a woman ain't supposed to see. I've been to paradise, but I've never been to me

[spoken]Hey, you know what paradise is? It's a lie, a fantasy we create about people and places as we'd like them to be. But you know what truth is? It's that little baby you're holding, it's that man you fought with this morning. The same one you're going to make love with tonight. That's truth, that's love......

Sometimes I've been to crying for unborn children that might have made me complete. But I took the sweet life, I never knew I'd be bitter from the sweet. I've spent my life exploring the subtle whoring that costs too much to be free. Hey lady......I've been to paradise, (I've been to paradise)

But I've never been to me.

What do you get...

when a humanistic Jew spends a year immersing himself in Christian pop culture? Apparently a really good book. Writer Daniel Radosh attended a Christian rock concert with his sister-in-law and her friends and decided the sub-culture needed some reviewing. Radosh makes some spot on statements in this interview with Christianity Today.

Fox Faith and today's Christian movies

Christianity Today online has a new article today about Fox Faith, the movie production company Fox began to target the Christian niche. It's no secret how I feel about ventures such as this, and I'm not alone. Here's a past CT commentary about Biola's Media Conference, with comments from all sides of the issue.

Several issues are at play here. First, there's the question of art. We've dealt with that a lot in this blog--see the "Christian Art" blog and a bunch of others here... In summary, I love art, I think Christians ought to be doing art, and they ought to be doing it well. I don't like art that is mediocre (or just bad) in the name of "evangelism"--what I often call propaganda art.

Second, there is the question of entertainment. This is a trickier question for believers. Is entertainment a valid reason for doing something? Our culture is so hooked on entertainment, would avoiding pop entertainment choices be a valid counter-cultural movement for us? I personally don't think so, it sounds too much like the fundamentalists who don't "dance, drink or chew, or go with girls who do." But there is no doubt that entertainment shapes our world significantly here in the US, and rather than give up entertainment altogether or do the hard work of figuring out where the good entertainment is, we would rather create the bubbled sub-culture that is "safe and fun for the whole family" and that way we can "escape" the dirty entertainment of the world and still feel good about ourselves. And does "entertainment" need the same standards of quality applied to it as "art" does?

Finally there is the question of money. Fox Faith (and others) have recognized that there are fewer and fewer Christians opting out of entertainment, and more and more that are willing to give up being "in" the world in order to live in the bubble. To be fair, I have no doubt that there are folks at Fox Faith that really want to produce quality art and entertainment. But I also think that major companies would not be jumping into such ventures if they didn't now believe there is a good chance to turn the profit they want, and there are some people who are there only to turn that profit. Believers need to be careful that in creating a "safe" bubble for "Christian" art that we don't create a whole generation of entertainment-addicted Christians, even if that entertainment is "safe and fun for the whole family."

Now THIS is great Christian fiction!

Click on the picture to read this funny chapter...

And still another great quote on "christian" art...

Madeleine L'Engle passed away September 6th. I remember the first time I read a quote from her in some Richard Foster work and thought she was some 14th century French saint. But lo and behold, she was a 20th century children's writer. And a very good one too. Here's a quote I found in Terry Mattingly's 9/12 column:

"I have been brought up to believe that the Gospel is to be spread, it is to be shared -- not kept for those who already have it," she said. "Well, 'Christian novels' reach Christians. They don't reach out. ... I am not a 'Christian writer.' I am a writer who is a Christian. I think that you have to be the best writer that you can be. Now, if I am truly a Christian, then that will show in my work."

Down and Dirty on Christian Art...Again

The Whittenburg Door, one of my favorite online reads, this week pointed me to their previous interview with Rob Bell. Most people are shocked when I say I haven't read "Velvet Elvis" or any other of Rob's books. But why read something that you know you agree with? I don't know Rob, but I like him already. Here's my fave quote from the interview:

This idea that Church waits to see what the culture is doing then produces a D grade version with some sort of clever Jesus twist to me is utter blasphemy. The DaVinci Code, for example. You wait for a C grade movie with stars with bad haircuts and then gear your church teachings around a movie that many people aren't even going to see? That seems absolutely anemic.

Amen Rob Bell! May your tribe increase. If you want to read the whole interview, check it out here...

More on Christian Art...

Awhile back I posted some thoughts about Christian art. Menachem Wecker on a blog called "Iconia" picked up on what I said and we had a little conversation here.

Well, tonight I was back on Menachem's blog and found this posted. Great thoughts!

Abigail Ellis Says
I’m an artist and an Evangelical Christian, and I have to say I don’t like the bulk of self-proclaimed Christian art and music. I’ve tried to like it, but still I have the same reaction. I’ve spent a lot of time wondering why.(Btw, I agree with the definition that Christian art is any art that comes from a person of Christian faith, and does not have to be religious art, which is a different thing.)
Here’s my conclusion about why Christian art can sometimes be so dire:It’s too self-concious.
As an artist I find self-conciousness to be the deathknell of creativity, and the stymie of the process of making art. The best work I do is the most intensely private stuff that I do only for myself (and don’t want to show!). I’ve spoken to other artists, writers and musicians and so many have observed the same reaction in themselves.
Evangelicals, in my opinion are not always very good at being unselfconcious when it comes to their faith. Like most protestants (as compared to Roman Catholics, etc.), we are required to display our personal religious beliefs in public in order to be accepted in our religious communities. We are obligated by our communities to live up to moral standards and levels of evangelistic efforts in order to be accepted as trustworthy, despite what we believe in our hearts about being saved by Jesus alone. This is how a lot of Evangelical communities organise themselves: it’s just the way it works.
So it follows that a lot of self-proclaimed evangelical christian art has to be OK’d theologically for other people. Whatever standard get’s applied (like you said, is it OK just to mention Jesus, or does it have to have a call to faith in it?) that’s self-censure. It’s self-concious by nature, and it’s exactly what gets in the way of making art.
If I’m looking for my art to be accepted in the Evangelical community I have to worry about all the criteria I have to live up to. Not only does my art have to be about good things, which show praise to God with dignity, they have to be respectably presented, and conform to basic modesty. I also have to lead a pure life (at least post-conversion), where any sign of personal struggles and failings are non-admissable.So what’s left to tell? If my art comes from my heart unself-conciouly, it’s going to be filled with uglyness and shame, but also truth. This isn’t respectable, and many people in the Evangelical scene won’t accept this. Art that talks about suicidal thoughts from a Christian perspective isn’t always Kosher.
BUT my faith tells me that the truth, though ugly, is clean and purifying, and that God is in the business of turning brokeness and imperfect lives into even more beautiful things. Why shouldn’t my art reflect this too?!I think the problem is that a lot of Evangelicals are afraid of the ugliness and messiness of the truth of their own lives. So they try to conform their lives (and art) to what they think it _should_ be. That’s self-concousness.But this isn’t new: it was something John Wesley wrangled with, and this way of doubting has been passed on in Evangelical churches as a legacy.
The reason much of Christian art is unispiring, is that there’s a theological issue playing out into the ethics of how we treat ourselves, each other and our art, which makes us self-concious and ashamed of ourselves. That makes for bad art.
thanks.

The Discussion of Christian Art Continues...

Menachem Wecker and I have continued our Christian art conversation here. He has posted some very thoughtful responses to my premise. Join us for the conversation.

More on Art

Last night I had a new experience. When I got home from the charity basketball game (yes, I'm really sore this morning), I checked email and found a Google alert for my name. It seems yesterday's post was quoted on someone else's blog. I actually got a little nervous, wondering if I'd got myself in trouble somehow.

It turned out to be someone with a great blog on the intersection of religion and art. I enjoyed what he wrote (except for the small-minded part about me, but oh well, if the shoe fits...). His idea was that good religious art (or any art) should flow from the heart and speak the voice of the artist. If the artist is a passionate evangelical Christian and s/he creates art with that voice, we should expect and celebrate that art even if it exists to elicit a response to the gospel invitation. Here's his words:

Artists, Christians and non-Christians alike, should do their best at making work that is in their voice, and that is all that has to be said about that. The work will be Christian, if it wants to be, just as the artist will be Christian if she or he wants to be.

That is very true. Good art flows from the heart and voice. But my contention is that there are too many Christians today not trying to make good art from their hearts. They are not trying to make art at all. They are creating poor pseudo-art just for the sake of evangelism.

Art can and should exist for itself.

You can read the blog and my response here.

Christian Art

Those of you who know me have probably heard before (too many times) my rants against much of what passes as Christian art today. There are all kinds of issues surrounding my feelings:

• Those who worship the Creator ought to be the most creative, and avoid copying the broader culture's art. And they DEFINITELY should not produce bad art.
• Christian propaganda art--art that exists to proselytize--should at best be rare. (I really want to say it shouldn't exist at all, but that's probably just an overreaction to the really bad Christian propaganda art out there.) Certainly art should point to God, truth, redemption, etc. But it should do so in a way that speaks softly to the soul, not bludgeons someone over the head. And it DEFINITELY should not be bad art.


• There really isn't such a definitive category as Christian art. What makes a book or a song Christian? How is a painting or a sculpture Christian? Do they have to mention Jesus? Do they have to overtly point to God or some biblical truth? Some people seem to think that a movie is not a Christian movie unless it has some blatant invitation to respond to the gospel, as if the Holy Spirit cannot work in subtle tones (see the second point above). There is really only good art, mediocre art, and bad art. And Christians should DEFINITELY not be making bad art.


• The American church needs to find a way to produce more artists, and provide for those whose art engages our worship and enhances our connection to God. Then we need to kill the whole "safe and fun for the whole family" Christian music subculture and challenge those artists who are truly musically gifted and called to be salt and light in the broader music industry.

Let me close with this extended quote from Thomas Merton in No Man is an Island:

There is only one reason why this [art helps with spiritual formation] is completely true: art is not an end in itself. It introduces the soul into a higher spiritual order, which it expresses and in some sense explains. Music and art and poetry attune the soul to God because they induce a kind of contact with the Creator and Ruler of the Universe. The genius of the artist finds its way by the affinity of creative sympathy, or conaturality, into the living law that rules the universe. This law is nothing but the secret gravitation that draws all things to God as to their center. Since all true art lays bare the action of this same law in the depths of our own nature, it makes us alive to the tremendous mystery of being, in which we ourselves, together with all other living and existing things, come forth from the depths of God and return again to Him. An art that does not produce something of this is not worthy of its name.