I had a student doing an art appreciation report for a college class where they had to analyse the design elements of a famous masterwork of art. She chose Bouguereau's The Return of Spring, a work that I have blogged about before. I was literally jumping for joy. I watched in anticipation as she described the elements of the work that made it good. She wrote details about the artist's use of line, the grouping of three cherubs, the golden mean and various other technical things... and never touched on what the work means. Bouguereau was making this work for a reason. He wanted to communicate something very important, something monumental, spiritual that relates to the very essences of human existence. He wanted to touch people.
The student explained that they weren't allowed to give opinions on what works of art meant or how they made them feel. This class was about things that weren't subjective, standards not style.
Isn't that sad?
We are human beings. We aren't robots. With art and poetry you can try to cut out the spiritual element but then its left hollow.
I took some grad classes at a bible college. The biblical studies classes felt the same way to me. In the dispansationalist view of the world, the Gospel is free of magic, mystery, and power. It was like studying a history book.... Boo!!!
The Spirit speaks through the Bible and touches the heart of man, just like a powerful work of art moves the us. That is the essence of the creative arts and the reason we are alive.
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1 comment:
thanks for this (I love that clip of DPS too). I spent six years listening to professors who wallowed in the historical-critical method of Biblical study. It has taken me five years and will probably take even more to recover my love for the Scriptures and stories and pure self-revelation of God found in those pages. I wish I could tear out those years of study and start with the passion I had for scripture before college!
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