Dear friends,

Maybe it is not my business now that I am in the midst of this suffering and body/emotional therapy but this mind of mine hm...

What I thought right now.

Many Protestants/evangelicals...(f.e. Richard Foster, Dallas Willard,...) write since long very good books on Jesus and the gospel, the imitation of Christ, preaching, prayer...
I was an evangelical/pentecostal before and I have always appreciated the power, fervour, passion and love they display in spreading the gospel.

But as I said before, in a country such as Belgium most of the people are traditional nominal Christians and they need to know the Bible as good as other people. Protestantism is quasi non-existing over here, at least I don't see them or hear them anymore.

I think you guys cannot imagine what a difference this makes as to evangelizing and so forth... There is a lot of talk about a new evangelization but...
So when you try to be a friendly human being here, it seems to be enough for a Christian.

On the other hand, when I consider monastics they try to find God in small things of every day life, they go a long path of conversion while living contemplatively. But they don't go from door to door as I used to do as a JW.
Of course the latter is extreme and not to the point in this world of today.

My joy is in painting and playing theatre. Am I serving God in these ways by trying to create some beauty as with our last play?

http://www.catholicherald.co.u...tures/f0000531.shtml

PAX,
Fred

Hi Fred,

I'm from a pretty Evangelical background, though my perspective is probably rather looser and less evangelical than most. I have to go now, but I'd like to reply later when I have time.

I'm a full time artist now, doing non-religious work, and yes, I thought about this quite alot--just doing something beautiful and unnecessary does say something about God.

I haven't read the link yet, but I'll read it when I can, and give my thoughts.

quote:

Originally posted by Fred:


So when you try to be a friendly human being here, it seems to be enough for a Christian.

I would tend, personally, to basically agree with that. However, I know I'm grateful for those whose faith has been more explicit-- for example, C.S. Lewis' Narnia stories played a big role in helping me see God as Someone to wonder about and be interested in when I was young. If Lewis' purpose in writing them hadn't been at least partly evangelistic, that would have been a loss to many people.

It's God's business to call people to know Him. But I see it as my business to be true to Him as a friend, and not be ashamed of Him, or deny and dismiss what He's done in my life. Just doing that is hard around here at times---the majority of my "horse friends" are almost pushily New-Agey, and simply standing my ground can be tough. I mean, they're kind and fun people, but they sometimes just assume that I will agree with the idea that we are all God. More oddly to me, one gardening friend has told me firmly that water is a living entity. To my chagrin, I haven't yet had the guts to clearly say I disagree, as I'm trying to be friendly.

On the other hand, two of my closest horse friends I felt more free with. And at times I'd talk about what I believed about God because it was relevant to our conversation. It turned out they both had Catholic up-bringings; they returned to their childhood faith, and they thanked me for helping them in that.

quote:

Originally posted by Fred:

My joy is in painting and playing theatre. Am I serving God in these ways by trying to create some beauty as with our last play?

Yes, I believe so. That was a good article about art and the Church. Although, I don't think I believe that most artists are artists because of an inner wound...maybe, maybe not.

I'd like to say more tomorrow.

Fred,

In brief, and not elaborating with my own thoughts about being an artist, here's something to think about.

In Exodus 32, there's the familiar story of how Aaron and Israel make a golden calf as a tangible object of worship when Moses is slow to return. Exodus 31, however, has this to say:

Then the Lord said to Moses, "See, I have chosen Bezalel...and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts---to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver, and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship. Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab...to help him. And I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you: the Tent of Meeting, the Ark of the Covenant..."

I've read a good number of attempts by (scientifically) fundamentalist evolutionary biologists to explain the origin of the arts, and why beauty in nature or people moves us the way that it does, and they seem very contrived, strained, and weak. Whether or not someone accepts Exodus literally, I believe all the varied and particular gifts people have originate as a reflection of God.

It's been a busy few days here for me--maybe I can say more later. Thanks for that article.

Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote two of my favorite poems about various kinds of beauty: "Pied Beauty" and the well known (and my favorite of all poems) "The Windhover: To Christ Our Lord". Maybe I'll post part of them later.

Thanks Ariel for your posts.
What you say is what I indeed also feel is true.
I once read a book (I'll give the title later because I am not at home right now), which exposed a helpful diagram about different sorts of Christian mystics. And you have of course the Greek, Platonian and Christian trinity of beaut, truth and charity. von balthasar even wrote his bulky 'Theological Aesthetics'.
Maybe we can elaborate here further on this aspect of beauty?
I like Hopkins, Donne, Herbert...

PAX,
Fred

Fred,

One thing I think beauty does is it gets through to our hearts sometimes when other means fail. In Hopkin's "The Windhover", part of it is "My heart in hiding / Stirred for a bird: the achieve of, the mastery of the thing". Later Hopkins contrasts that graceful power of the falcon folding its wings in its dive to earth, comparing that to the greater beauty of Christ humbling himself, but I know God has certainly gotten through my defenses by both kinds of beauty.

Dear Ariel,

Yesterday I looked at a DVD 'Leonard Cohen Live in London'. Simply fantastic!
The old man of 76 brings his moving songs with such simplicity, egoless as it were... after his years as a Zen monk!

Fred

http://www.ru.org/81brady.html

http://aras.org/artandpsyche.aspx

http://aras.org/docs/00026Fremont.pdf

.................

Fred

From the first link to Veronica Brady's essay:
"Art reminds us that life is stranger, more beautiful, demanding, joyous and painful than common sense knows."

I thought that was well said.

Yes, please read also the essay by Fremont.
It is tmho excellent!

Fred

Hi Fred,

I've read part of the Fremont essay already, and it is really interesting so far. Spring has finally arrived here, giving me a case of spring fever---meaning most of my free time will be spent outside until it rains here, so I'm not reading much of anything right now. There are,IMO, a few good things about winter; one of them being that when the first fair spring days return, they're intoxicating.

From George Herbert:

Grief melts away
like snow in May
As if there were no such cold thing

--A pale but powerful foretaste of Heaven, maybe, faithfully returning every year.

I will comment later on the Fremont essay--thanks for that.

Hi Fred,

I'm having trouble accessing the pdf document for the Fremont essay. I tried last evening and tonight. I was able to read about 6 pages of it before I had to go on the first day you posted the link.

I do want to talk about it whenever I get it to download properly. I liked your abstract paintings and it seemed the essay gave some insight into abstract art, so it was interesting to read. In sculpture, I work in a quite realistic manner, though the stylizations in Etruscan, Babylonian, and Egyptian sculpture have influenced me since I was a young girl. But abstract art does interest me, and I think I'll have a question for you after I'm able to read that essay.

I was reading about Odilon Redon today. I've liked him since art school.