To be spiritually dead is to be diabolically alive
R. C. SproulRead
What makes art Christian art? Is it simply Christian artists painting biblical subjects like Jeremiah? Or, by attaching a halo, does that suddenly make something Christian art? Must the artist’s subject be religious to be Christian? I don’t think so. There is a certain sense in which art is its own justification. If art is good art, if it is true art, if it is beautiful art, then it is bearing witness to the Author of the good, the true, and the beautiful
Interpretation
What this quote means
Christian art is defined not just by religious subjects, but by its quality and truthfulness, reflecting the divine.
R. C. Sproul challenges the notion that art can only be classified as Christian if it depicts biblical themes or overt religious symbols. He posits that true art transcends its subject matter and exists as an embodiment of goodness, truth, and beauty, ultimately pointing to the Creator of these concepts. Thus, art's value lies in its quality and the genuine reflection of the divine, rather than merely its thematic content.
Themes
ArtChristianityBeautyTruthCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared in a discussion about the role of faith in creative expression.
More from R. C. Sproul
All quotes →I’ve often wondered where Jesus would apply His hastily made whip if He were to visit our culture. My guess is that it would not be money-changing tables in the temple that would feel His wrath, but the display racks in Christian bookstores.
R. C. SproulRead
The real crisis of worship today is not that the preaching is paltry or that it's too drafty in church. It is that people have no sense of the presence of God, and if they have no sense of His presence, how can they be moved to express the deepest feelings of their souls to honor, revere, worship, and glorify God?
R. C. SproulRead
We talk about predestination because the Bible talks about predestination. If we desire to build our theology on the Bible, we run head on into this concept. We soon discover that John Calvin did not invent it.
R. C. SproulRead
Without God man has no reference point to define himself.
R. C. SproulRead
I do not want to drive across a bridge designed by an engineer who believed the numbers in structural stress models are relative truths.
R. C. SproulRead
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