Christian Pop-culture: The Problem

This post is in response to a previous post entitled Why It Matters: Part 1

There was a movement (perhaps it still exists) among Christian youth groups urging young christians to burn their “secular” CD’s. (What does that even mean?!) I remember finding myself unwillingly at such gatherings.  Of course, I also remember feeling very smug that I didn’t have any secular CD’s to burn! Out of this environment, I grew an uncertainty about my relationship to popular culture, an “us vs them” mentality, as well as a large amount of guilt if I ever did enjoy listening to heathen music.  I believed that a Christian framework didn’t have room for anything that wasn’t made by a Christian about Christianity, for Christians.

The problem with this approach from “Reflecting Theologically on Popular Culture as Meaningful: The Role of Sin, Grace, and General Revelation”  by Theodore A. Turnau, III:

First of all, “Such an approach to sin localizes the problem as something “out there,” something we can control if only we are careful enough.” As a result, Christians have retreating instead of engaging. And, Turnau says, “we are probably only setting up more socially acceptable idolatries that will be harder to detect and repent of.” (Remember how self-righteous I was for not having “secular” music!)

He goes on to discuss the controvercial idea of Common Grace*, and looks to scripture as his support.  In Acts 14,

“Yet he [God] has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy” (Acts 14: 17). One could argue that God shows common grace only in nature and that culture is somehow excluded from the influence of common grace, but does God only use “natural things” as good gifts to people? The addition of “crop” (cultivated plant-life) certainly seems to add a cultural element to the natural gifts. That cultural element is amplified in Isaiah 28:23-29 where Isaiah discusses the details of wise farming technique. He concludes that all of it is “from the LORD Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.” [22] Does Isaiah mean to say that this applied only to the covenant community? Did not Gentiles know how to farm too? Or does God bless even those who ignore and curse him and bless such people in and through culture?”

… Is it therefore so far-fetched to count popular culture as one of those things that God uses to “fill your hearts with joy” à la Acts I4? It certainly does function this way for many outside (and inside) the body of Christ. We need to see popular culture not simply as bad but as good gifts from God. These gifts have surely been twisted by sin, but they are good gifts nonetheless for which we should even give thanks.

So, that means that if Ryan Adams sings a line that resonates so deeply that it moves my soul, or if Slum Dog Millionaire stirs and excites me, or if a cellist in a bomb crater brings me to tears, it’s actually a gift from God - because all truth is God’s truth… And all beauty is God’s beauty. And God out of his wisdom is using even the gifts of those who reject him to reveal his creativity, love, and devotion.

I have more to say on why I’m moved by these things in light of the Gospel, but that will have to wait until another day.

What then shall we do? Accept all of popular Culture with open arms? Stay tuned til tomorrow for Christian Pop-culture: The Solution.

*Common Grace, not to be confused with saving Grace, is common in the sense that it is bestowed on anyone regardless of faith, and is Grace because it is unmerited favor from God. For a deeper look into Common Grace as it applies to Popular Culture, I highly recommend listening to recording talks by Kevin Twit or downloading his papers here.

Huh? What’s this blog all about?

Why It Matters : Part 1

Sara Groves recently gave a free concert at Christ Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee. It quickly became apparent that she has spent a lot of time thinking about the Gospel* and the arts, and why Christians should care about it.

The most remarkable thing she said was in introduction to her song Why It Matters. Actually, Chris Rice has described it better than I ever could:

“Sara continued to introduce the song with the story of Vedran Smailovic, a cellist with the Sarajevo String Quartet. In 1992, in the middle of the war in that country, Smailovic witnessed a bomb attack that took the lives of 22 of his neighbors standing in a breadline at a bakery. In protest of the chaos, hatred, killing, and stupidity of war, the cellist immediately brought out his cello, sat in a chair in the middle of the crater, and filled the air with beautiful music for 22 days (one day for each person killed on that spot).

As Sara told this story every night, she emphasized the importance of BEAUTY as a protest in the face of all that is wrong in the world. While bombs were still exploding and sniper fire rang through the street, a lone cellist risked his own life, and protested the ugliness by holding up beauty in its face.

The ideal still matters, even when reality does not reflect it. Love conquers hate. Light pushes back dark. Beauty matters
…

Beauty reminds us in the midst of the ugliness, that there is something more. Something higher. Something better. That the world wasn’t meant to be this way. That there is hope.

Beauty matters.”

So, one of the things that Beauty does is remind us of hope in the middle of despair and brokenness. I know that every time I think of this story, tears well up in my eyes and a ball forms in my throat.  This isn’t just a result of Endorphins. Though we live in a cursed world, God, out of his grace, allows us to experience moments of beauty to experience a taste of the way things used to be… and will one day be again.

This poses a question in my mind. On the unfounded assumption that Smailovic isn’t a Christian, I wonder if this “Pushing back the darkness” is limited to the work that Christians do, or if unbelievers are part of this too.  More on this soon!

Until then, download Why It Matters by Sara Groves, or just read the lyrics (She said that “Statue in the Park” fit better than “Cellist in the middle of the Bomb Crater”):

Sit with me and tell me once again
Of the story that’s been told us
Of the power that will hold us
Of the beauty, of the beauty
Why it matters

Speak to me until I understand
Why our thinking and creating
Why our efforts of narrating
About the beauty, of the beauty
And why it matters

Like the statue in the park
Of this war torn town
And it’s protest of the darkness
And the chaos all around
With its beauty, how it matters
How it matters

Show me the love that never fails
The compassion and attention
Midst confusion and dissention
Like small ramparts for the soul
How it matters

Like a single cup of water
How it matters

*As many of the readers of this blog may be confused by the use of this word, an explanation is order. What the Gospel is: The good news that though perfectly holy, God made a way to save unholy people. He actually died in order to secure relationship with his people and to one day make everything broken become untrue. What it isn’t: Good people looking down on people who aren’t. The truth is, if you believe in the Gospel, you believe that you’re so wicked that God had to die. But you’re so loved and valued by him, that he did!

*Painting by Cy Twombly, his 2008 work, “The Rose (IV),” from his current exhibition The Rose at the Gagosian Gallery in London.

What’s the deal with this blog?

Beautiful, Functional Design

Love this Umbrella that stands on its own by Hironao Tsuboi. I’m completely obsessed with efficiency and doing more with less - especially when it is done in a beautiful and remarkable way. Sadly, I also am prone to lose umbrellas like it’s my job.

God, the ultimate designer, actually created something out of … nothing. And, he wrote himself into everything - creating beautiful, functional things. Even me. And out of his goodness, he allows us to be a part of having dominion* over the creation and being like him by creating and designing using what he has given us.

Another design by Hironao is this super cool glass with a flower-shaped base. Cold drinks will leave beautiful precipitation on their (hopefully) coasters. I suppose if you were going to have a water mark left on your coffee table, this one is the best kind to have?

This reminds me of a question. Why beauty? What is its purpose beyond just “I like it”. I think the answer to this question has many answers. I plan to give one of them tomorrow in a post entitled Why It Matters. Stay tuned!

Thanks to DesignFynder for information on Hironao Tsuboi!

*Dominion (Genesis 1:26) is not the same as Domination. Dominion is actually loving the creation, taming it, and making it more like the way it was meant to be. More on this later.

What’s up with this blog?

And That’s What It’s All About

I’ve had a break through.

I’ve been trying to figure out what this blog is going to be about. Sure, it’s about design. “New work, inspiration, and other tidbits of art, crafts, and design” in fact. Rest assured that it will continue to be about that. The thing is, I’m interested in it being more.

There is a long-held belief that in order for art to be “Christian”, it must have Jesus in it, probably on a cross or performing a miracle. At the very least it needs to have some sheep or doves. And it should probably be happy.

While this misunderstanding is being broken down daily, I want to be a part of it. I believe that the Gospel* speaks to all areas of life, and that in all areas of life are echoes of eden**. This includes design. This includes music, and poetry, and studio art.

What does that mean? Well, that’s what I plan to explore here on these pages. This will be as much as anything an experiment. A conversation. A few of you have spent a lot more time thinking about this stuff than I have, and I look forward to hearing from you. Guest blogs and interviews will be major part of this blog and if you think I get something wrong, let me know! I am in no way imagining that I have it all figured out.

If you call yourself a Christian, I hope that you’ll be inspired and encouraged by what you read. And if you don’t, I hope to be part of breaking down a few prejudices you may have regarding Christians and the arts.

*As many of the readers of this blog may be confused by the use of this word, an explanation is order. What the Gospel is: The good news that though perfectly holy, God made a way to save unholy people. He actually died and rose again in order to secure relationship with his people and to one day make everything broken become untrue. What it isn’t: Good people looking down on people who aren’t. The truth is, if you believe in the Gospel, you believe that you’re so wicked that God had to die. But you’re so loved and valued by him, that he did!

Free Frist

Admission is free at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts today. Thanks Nashvillest!

Digital Painting

For Christmas I received a Wacom Bamboo tablet.  Terrible logo, but really awesome products.  The bamboo allows to you draw with a  pen on a tablet - simulating on the screen what you’re writing with your hand.  It sounds pretty simple, but where it gets interesting is in its pressure sensors.  When you press harder, it acts as it would if you pressed harder with your pencil or brush.  The value is darker, the stroke wider.  The result is pretty incredible - the drawing on the right is one of my first attempts. Im only beginning to explore the possibilities of integrating this amazing tool into design.

Oh, and it makes it wayyy too easy to play Draw My Thing.

Watch this video by Kyle Lambert

Or peruse these 50 Amazing Digital Painting Portraits compiled by Abduzeedo.

Do you have a Bamboo?  How has it changed the way that you design?

Welcome!

Welcome to the blog at Kristinheather.com!

I’ll be posting new work, things that inspire me, and other tidbits of art, crafts, and design.

I love to hear from you, so leave a comment or email me at kristinheather@gmail.com!