Redeeming the Arts: Revisiting the Historic Statement

posted in: Arts Articles, Inspiration 0

From Redeeming the Arts: “The gospel comes to us as a living word and draws us to think imaginatively of how things could be different. Imagination is capable of moving us closer to the truth about the world as we look through the lens of scripture. As an imaginative activity, art too can open our eyes to see old things in new ways. This important role for imagination suggests that our faith communities need to do their part in cultivating an imagination well rooted in the biblical narrative and the images of scripture.”

This year marks the 10th anniversary of a historic evangelical statement about the role of the arts in faith and in the redemption of creation. Written in 2004, Belhaven University and Colin Harbinson,* editor of their magazine Creative Spirit, published the Redeeming the Arts paper which was written by an international panel of Christ-following arts leaders. One of the most thoughtful and comprehensive statements on the role of the arts in the church and culture to date, it was commissioned by the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism, an international organization founded by Billy Graham in 1974.  It’s a must-read for anyone interested in how God designed the arts and creativity to play a role in God’s redemption of the world. It provides in-depth explanations and a strong biblical foundation for any artist or congregation interested in the power of the arts when coupled with faith, and can be a powerful tool to convey the biblical design of the arts to church leadership.  We’ve provided a link to  the complete PDF copy of it below; simply click on it and download. And please feel free to share and print. Enjoy!

http://stoneworks-arts.org/stoneworks/wp-content/uploads/2010/Creative_Spirit_Redeeming_the_Arts.pdf

*Colin Harbinson was a featured speaker at the 2014 Creative Church Arts Conference, Boise. You can download his powerful talk. “Dealing with Disappointment: An Eternal Perspective” HERE.

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