{"id":2223,"date":"2014-09-05T04:13:14","date_gmt":"2014-09-05T04:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=2223"},"modified":"2014-09-05T04:13:14","modified_gmt":"2014-09-05T04:13:14","slug":"imagine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/imagine\/","title":{"rendered":"Imagine"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Thinker\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026churches often appear imaginatively empty.\u201d[i]<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Such a statement breaks my heart. As Christians, we worship God the Creator of everything that ever was and ever will be. We worship the God who his greater than our imaginations and broader than we can understand. He is without limit. His creativity is without end. God, who created us in His image (Genesis 1:26-27), and breathed His very breath of life into us (Genesis 2:7), cannot be contained. We have been made in His image, meaning that we, too, are creative and industrious and intelligent. If we are to honor and glorify God in all that we do, how can we neglect our creativity and imagination?<\/p>\n

It is this very quandary that William Dyrness addresses in Visual Faith.[ii]<\/strong><\/em> Dyrness argues that the church, particularly the Protestant church, has lost its sense of imagination and become entrenched in what some might consider petty disagreements about beauty, art and worship. Early in Christian history, art was often hidden and symbolic because public identification as a Christian could lead to persecution. But as Christianity grew, and Constantine adopted the Christian faith, religious\/Christian art grew. It moved away from the folk\/community based art that was familiar to the common man into mainstream, professional and \u201chigh\u201d art forms. Art was used in the community and the cathedral to communicate God\u2019s message. Gregory the Great, a sixth century pope, argued that art was the literature of the uneducated.[iii] Yet as the church moved through the Reformation and resultant cultural shifts, art was minimized. There was emphasis on the Word of God, which is invisible and unseen, versus the visible. Protestants moved toward simplicity, industry and labor in their expression of worship and a life honoring unto God. Investing significant time on the creation of art was viewed as less productive, and the use of visual art (and at times other forms of art) was limited or eliminated from the worship experience.<\/p>\n

I confess that at times as I read Dyrness\u2019 book, I was rolling my eyes, wondering why on earth this was even an issue. I tire of some Christian arguments, and struggle knowing that these types of arguments contribute to why people outside of the church think Christians are reactive and judgmental. At first I was just irritated. What could possibly be wrong with standing in awe of a piece of art, or in the presence of God\u2019s creation, and seeing God in that work? Why would we not want to prompt others to consider God\u2019s presence and glory through imagery?<\/p>\n

And then I called myself out for being judgmental. I was judging my fellow believers, and not practicing what I say I\u2019m trying to teach: the ability to empathize with the other; to understand not only the feeling but the thought process of another person. I was reminded of a family that went to my church when I was in high school. The parents were incredibly talented musicians. At one time they were professionals. But the parents began to realize that their own validation and recognition was becoming too important. Their public acclaim resulted in becoming self-focused and ultimately not honoring God \u2013 at all. For several years they neither played any music nor allowed any in their home. As a teen I thought this was a bit extreme. But I also came to value the sacrifice that they made. Here were Christians who wanted to make sure that nothing was more important than their relationship with God. Performance was a stumbling block for them so they removed the block. I can understand that \u2013 and honor it. But I also do not believe that this is true for most people.<\/p>\n

I remember visiting the Norton Simon Museum of Art for the first time and sitting in awe at Rodin\u2019s \u201cThe Thinker\u201d. It was huge and real and inspiring. As I wandered through the museum I would pause in front of certain pieces that would simply touch me. Interestingly, my friends who I was with weren\u2019t all inspired by the same pieces as I. But I think that\u2019s how art works. It speaks to each of us differently, which makes it no less valid. In fact, I think that it is what makes it even more effective. We all respond to different mediums, even as we all respond to different forms of worship. While some are more inspired by \u201chigh worship\u201d, others feel alienated by the formality and prefer a more casual approach. Is one better than the other? If the form causes the worshiper to honor, glorify and praise God, then it has done what it was intended to do. Art, and the format of worship, should prompt a response in the participant. But the beautiful thing is that our Creator was so imaginative that He gave us each unique personalities and preferences such that we see and appreciate beauty in different ways.<\/p>\n

When I travel, I try to bring home something that will remind me of where I was. Of course I take pictures, but what I really want is art. The reality is, I am not well to do, so I buy folk art often made by \u201ccommon\u201d people, or replicas and prints of artists that I can\u2019t afford. I look for something that reminds me of the people, the culture, or the experience. It prompts a response in me.<\/p>\n

Dyrness argues that worship should prompt a response in people.[iv] We know that we all learn, perceive and experience life, worship and art in different ways. What then should the church do? Perhaps the church should throw open its doors and embrace the creativity and imagination that reflects our God. Our worship should include a variety of media that inspires us to joy, to passion, to pain and even grief. It should prompt a response in us, and perhaps we westerners should ease up a bit and not be so afraid of losing control. Isn\u2019t that part of entering into relationship with God? We surrender ourselves to his Lordship. We submit all that we are to Him so that He may do what He will. It\u2019s a wild adventure! Perhaps we should stop trying to make it so within our grasp and controllable. Perhaps we should allow God to be GOD.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[i] William A. Dyrness, Visual Faith, <\/em>Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. 2001, p. 22.<\/p>\n

[ii] Ibid.<\/p>\n

[iii] Ibid, 52.<\/p>\n

[iv] Ibid, 84.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201c\u2026churches often appear imaginatively empty.\u201d[i] Such a statement breaks my heart. As Christians, we worship God the Creator of everything that ever was and ever will be. We worship the God who his greater than our imaginations and broader than we can understand. He is without limit. His creativity is without end. God, who created […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[289,489],"class_list":["post-2223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dyrness","tag-worship","cohort-lgp4"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2223"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2228,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2223\/revisions\/2228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}