This blog was formally titled Faith, Facts and Fiction. The focus is on dealing with the Christian Faith in both Facts (Biblical Teaching, Apologetics) and Fiction (or in other words, the arts including music, novels, and visual arts.) Posts will include interviews and reviews.
Showing posts with label Christian worldview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian worldview. Show all posts
Question: If individual believers in Jesus, local churches, and Christian institutions dedicated themselves to living out the Gospel unashamed, would it not also impact society?
I'm a graduate of Southwestern College in Phoenix in the early to mid '80's, when the enrollment was between 150 and 200. Southwestern is now Arizona Christian University (aka ACU), and hit an enrollment of 1400 in Fall '24, making it the ninth consecutive year of record enrollment. Let this sink in - this consecutive record streak continued DURING the COVID pandemic. How in earth could you explain this?
If you think the President of the University would be a factor, then you'll be looking at Len Munsil, an attorney who ran for Arizona Governor in 2006, and has been the President of ACU since 2010. The story is told in "Transforming Culture with Truth" (1st edition in 2015; 2nd edition, which I'm reviewing, in 2020).
In 2012, Munsil brought a set of principles, called ACU's Core Commitments, to the Board of Trustees. This book looks at each of these 9 Commitments in the 8 chapters and Conclusion of this book. His goal is to make ACU the number 1 Christian worldview college in the country.
Nobody should be surprised if those Commitments are illustrated by what's going on at ACU, but there are other anecdotes which would help a church or a Christian organization to implement the same ideas.
After I graduated in '86 from Southwestern, I moved gradually east till I arrived in Indianapolis in '95, so I have not been following the transition of the school. However, after reading this book and hearing Munsil interviewed on the Natasha Crain podcast, I'm excited to be a Southwestern College/ACU graduate.
Just after the 2024 election, I learned of the Podcast "Truth Over Tribe" by Patrick Miller and Keith Simon (they also wrote a book by the same title), and listened to a few episodes. In the first, they were talking about their new book to be released early '25 titled "Joyful Outsiders: Six Ways to Live Like Jesus in a Disorienting Culture." When they mentioned the "six ways," my curiosity kicked in, and I looked forward to reading this book.
The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 (chapters 1-4) is titled "Outsiders," dealing with the fact that Christians are currently... well, outsiders in contemporary, secular society. They give a couple of stories that point to this fact, and point out some typical but not helpful ways to respond: namely, by being Conformist, Combative, Cloistered, Nostalgic, or Conflict-Avoidant Outsiders. The authors state that we're in Babylon, a society that does not share our worldviews, an environment we don't fit in.
The second part (chapters 5-11) is focused on the same ways. They start with a situation where there was tension between two Christians who had different approaches to deal with our culture. The book then looks into six ways the sub-title mentions. In each case, they define the way, give both a Biblical and a biographical example, and the weaknesses (called the Shadow Side) of each way. These ways are:
The Trainer, changing Babylon by Changing Habits (such as developing spiritual disciplines, illustrated by Ezra and Dietrich Bonhoeffer),
The Advisor, changing Babylon by influencing leaders (getting in a position to get the ear of leaders, illustrated by Daniel and Billy Graham),
The Artist, changing Babylon by making beauty (illustrated by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah and former missionary/artist Vincent Van Gough),
The Ambassador, changing Babylon by Winning Hearts (illustrated by Paul and Campus Crusade founder Bill Bright),
The Protestor, changing Babylon by Challenging injustice (illustrated by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and by Fannie Lou Hamer), and
The Builder, changing Babylon by building institutions (illustrated by Nehemiah and business man Peter Ochs).
At the end, he has six sets of 18 questions each to help you find which of the approaches fit you. I expected to score highest in the Artist category, which I did (67 points on a possible 90). I did not expect to do as well on builder, and was surprised to see that I scored 65 on. There was little surprise I was lowest on Advisor and Protestor.
The book concludes with a description of each of the six ways and suggested reading.
This book made good points and gave a lot to think about. For this reason, it earned 5 stars on my review. However, there were caveats that tempted me to drop it down to 4 stars. Mainly, this book seemed to take the ideas of the authors and then make Scripture fit them rather than it being Biblically based. For example, I would not consider the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to be the best examples of Artist or the three Hebrew children as being protestors. Likewise, evangelism seems to be presented as one way rather than being the answer.
Thus, I would say this is a book that deserves to be read, but I'm not as quick to endorse it as I am with other books.
Pressures to conform. Some give in so they can be part of the in-club. Some give in so they won't be part of the out-club. Such pressure is not new: Remember when Israel asked the prophet Samuel to give them a king so they can be like other nations? Or that a lot of people in Jesus' time believed in Him but not publicly for fear they would be kicked out of the synagogue?
"Faithfully Different: Regaining Biblical Clarity in a Secular Culture" by apologist and podcast hostess Natasha Crain points out that there is nothing wrong in being different if not fitting in is based in the truth.
In the first three chapters, Crain points out that a Christian world-view is now a minority view. She adds that secularism isn't just not being non-religious, but that this world-view is anything but neutral, pushing others to either join their lemming parade or keep quiet, at the risk of being demonized. And that pressure is affecting contemporary Christianity as well, where "compassion" is redefined as accepting what society claims is okay.
The remainder of the book encourages us to have our beliefs (Chapters 4-6), our thinking (Chapters 7-9), and our living (Chapters 10-12) to be faithful to the principles and doctrines of Scripture and resisting elements of secularism such as nationalism, individualism, virtue signaling, and "cancel culture."
One Who Came of The Waters of TIme by Grace Carol Bomer
JR: Welcome to my blog, Grace. Let me start off by asking how you came to Christ and how you became interested in art? Do you have any heroes and/or influences among artists and in your Christian faith?
GB: Raised by Dutch pioneers who immigrated to Neerlandia, Alberta Canada (1911) to start a Christian (Reformed) farming community, I was catechized early on in the Biblical faith of the Reformation. (You may recall that Holland's Prime Minister from 1901-05 was Abraham Kuyper, who was also a theologian and journalist. He is famous for the phrase, "there is not one square inch of this world that God does not declare, "Mine!") All of life, including the arts, is governed by a sovereign Creator. I make public profession of my faith in Jesus Christ after my second year at Dordt College. This liberal arts Christian college (now Dordt University) was very instrumental in solidifying my already planted faith. My World Literature professor from Yale introduced me to great literature which attempts to understand the human condition and deal with the "Christ-figure." The Incarnation is central to history. and this Biblical truth plays an important role in my work today as a painter.
Dordt College at that time had no Art department except one course for Elementary Education, so I dropped out after my second year because I was unable to pursue an art degree at Dordt. I enrolled in the University of Alberta, and two weeks before classes began, I reread an assignment I had to write at Dordt called "The Purpose of Christian Education." God convicted me. I returned to Dordt where I got my degree in Secondary Education (English Major/History Minor), and even managed to attend a neighboring college where I took two art courses.
My heroes in art did not develop until after college. I taught 9th-10th grade art as well as sixth grade and made my students study the entire history of art. I used Francis Schaeffer's How Then Shall We Now Live and Art and The Bible, and Rookmaaker's Modern Art and the Death of the Culture to hone their critical skills. Much later when I was already painting, I wrote monthly critical art reviews of most major artists (including modern artists) for my husband's weekly publication, It's God's World News. I was also studying art at UNC Asheville at that time so I was exposed to many artists and styles.
JR: How important is worldview in art? How does worldview enter in art (including yours)? Do the genres of art reflect a worldview consistently, or can one use any form for God's glory?
GB: As you can guess, a biblical world view is the reason I paint and teach and live! One of my contemporary influences is German artist, Anselm Kiefer. His work understands the human condition well and he questions evil in the world. His answers are not biblical or life-giving. He does not have a biblical world-view. His installation piece called "Palm Sunday" is a huge dead palm tree lying across the museum floor, He believes the artist is the mediator between heaven and earth. Not unlike Matisse who is said to have claimed, "I am God."
However Christians can take any form of creativity and use it to glorify God and display a biblical view. I believe Christians are called to "test the spirits of the age. While at UNCAsheville I created an installation, called "Be Lifted Up O Ancient Doors/Everlasting Doors." (See right.) Six door jams with "blood" on their lintels were hung in ascending heights from the ceiling leading to a final large painting on three doors. This painting is of "heaven" and the King of Glory. http://carolbomer.com/gallery.cfm?ID=20
My use of abstraction, which truly is not well appreciated by many Christians, can be very powerful when painting the unseen reality of faith. I blend realism and abstraction as well as words (the Word) to point to the God who is Spirit and flesh and Word and Image. Because I incorporate realism it helps the viewer understand the painting.
JR: Speaking of world-view, how do non-Christians - whether fellow-artists or just normal people - react to your art? Have they opened the door to you sharing your faith?
GB: My work is well received not only by fellow artists but also the general public. I have a studio where I meet many visitors. Because my work is abstraction blended with realism, it encourages the use of one's imagination. I allows the viewer, whether they are Christian or not, to "see" invisible realities! Words are always helpful but, I want viewers to discover the meaning of the painting. Jesus spoke in parables. Those with eyes to see will see. He also used metaphors like I am the good shepherd, the door, the pearl of great price when speaking about the kingdom of God.
JR: I noticed on your web-page that you have done commissions like "Believe," (see left) "Taste and See," and "The Fisherman." For those not familiar with being an artist, what is a commission? How do these come about? Are there differences between doing a commission and your other work?
GB: Commissions come about because someone is familiar with my work. They may have discovered it on my website. Commissions require that the artist creates an artwork that a client envisions.
One of my biggest commissions happened because clients "googled" Christian artist. They contacted me and we talked about their desire for a painting about "The Wedding Feast at Cana/ Water into Wine" for their wine cellar and then an even larger piece, "The Fisherman," (see right) for their living room. They wanted artwork that would begin conversations about the gospel.
The same can be said of "Believe" and "Taste and See." I worked closely with each client, making mock-ups of size and colors. Commissioned pieces require more work, but are always a great pleasure for me as well as a challenge.
JR: I first met you over twenty years ago. Needless to say, a lot has happened since, including two presidents being elected in spite of losing the popular vote, not to mention 9-11 and COVID-19 and the basic worldview of this country shifting. How have these changes affected you and your art?
GB: As you already know I am a history minor so politics interests me a lot. I also taught the book of Revelation several times so I know how the story ends 😉. I highly recommend the little 1926 volume called, The Drama of Christianity by S.L. Morris.
painted politically relevant paintings long ago. ("Babylon Burning" from the series on left.) I showed two paintings dealing with the issue of abortion at the Paul VI Institute for Art in DC in the early 90s and was also part of ART-FE in Madrid's in 2011 with the Catholic World Youth Rally there.
During the "lock-down" I painted a huge canvas called "Your Days Are Numbered," aka "The Fall of the Republic." You can read about it on my blog (which you can locate on my website. (https://gracecarolbomer.com/blog-sample/) This painting along with 20 other
paintings were shown at Cairn University in Langhorne, PA for the 2021 fall semester where I also spoke to the students about the antithetical battle for truth. Much discernment is needed today in our culture of manipulated words and relative truth.
I did not close my studio during COVID and our gals' Bible study met in spite of the "lockdown." In fact, art-wise, 2021, was my best year ever! I had both virtual (thanks to COVID) exhibits and in person exhibits! The AZUR Gallery show in Madrid, Spain happened and the virtual show was actually better for advertising. You can still see the six paintings on Artsy's website. (https://www.artsy.net/artwork/grace-carol-bomer-the-crossing).
I also exhibited and spoke at All Saints Presbyterian in Austin, Texas in conjunction with the Christians In the Visual Arts (CIVA) conference (Nov.4-6, 2021). Because of COVID more curators and galleries were on-line. I was contacted by an Asian Art Dealer in New York City who facilitated the purchase of four paintings for a South Korean client for a new art center/museum in Yongin. (southwest of Seoul). Note from Jeff: "One Who Came of The Waters of Time", pictured above, is part of this collection.
JR: Thank you for your time. Any exhibitions coming up? How can we keep up with your art and what is new with you?
GB: Because of travel restrictions and COVID issues, I have focused this year on monetizing my workshops. (My first workshop is still in process but will be available on my website soon. Stay tuned.) You can visit me at my Asheville studio gallery on 170 Lyman Street - in Asheville's River Arts District - where my work is always available. Also, visit my website at www.gracecarolbomer.com.
Below is the YouTube video "'Painting Grace' Asheville Artist Grace Carol Bomer" done by a pair of UNCAshville students that Bomer shared with me.
This week, I've seen the extremes of where the American Church is. One good via a pair of Christian Universities. The other? Well, let me continue.
One of the two is from my Alma Mater, Arizona Christian University. Actually, when I attended, the school was Southwestern Conservative Baptist Bible College (also known as Southwestern College, which is easier to write and to speak). Since then, it has changed from being a small denominational Bible College on East Cactus Road in the Paradise Valley suburb of Phoenix. Now, it is a non-denominational Christian Liberal Arts College in Glendale.
From two different sources, I saw a release from George Barna and the Cultural Research Center, dated August 31, 2021. I'm not going to give a detailed account (you can read it by clicking here), but I will mention that in it, it states between 6-9% American adults have a distinctly Christian worldview. While the report is discouraging, I'm encouraged that my Alma Mater was involved with this project. By the way, today, Becky heard of another Barna report on how many parents are actively making disciples of their children ... would you believe that's only 2%?😱
Are all Christian schools (whose health is not unrelated to the strength of the American Church) on board? Today, I've learned of another Christian University that is inaugurating their new president. Part of it is a prayer breakfast which states guests of all faith backgrounds will join in praying to the Lord for that Christian School. Uh, are they all praying to the same God? If that particular Christian School is training their students to go into all the world to preach the Gospel, wouldn't that put them in opposition to those inter-faith guests?
Could this be what James is talking about when he writes, "Adulterers and adultresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God?"
Now, one of my favorite Christian songs is by a group called Liaison titled "Friend to the World." Is that encouraging what James is condemning? No - the point of the song is we have the only source of hope for the world (meaning the people in the world). The best way to be a friend to the people of the world is to oppose the ungodly patterns we live with.
Are we trying to reach the world by fitting in? I mentioned one verse refuting that view - there's plenty of others that agree.
James Lawson, a Christian cartoonist friend (you can see a review of his book Therapeutic Insanity by clicking here), told me that Christians should be living Sola Scriptura, that is, by Scripture alone. I say a hearty amen, though I don't believe that we'll be able to live it out consistently as long as we are in the flesh. If we attempt to live it out, we'll stick out, and the world will NOT approve.
I need to ask myself where I fall short from living out Sola Scriptura, where my worldview is reflecting the world's perspective as opposed to the Word's perspective, where I'm uniting with those from whom I should be divided from (and vice versa). How many will join me?
I have read all five of Donna Fletcher Crow's Elizabeth and Richard Literary Suspense series, this being the most recent one; I've also read all six of her Monastery Murders and three of her five Lord Danvers Investigates.
A Jane Austen Encounter and A Most Singular Venture both deal with Jane Austen in England, and both give a lot of information about the famous author of two centuries earlier. (Note - originally, this was book #3, but the original book 4 occurred before book 1, and when she re-released them, she placed them in chronological order of action, with these two novels now being #4 and #5.)
I enjoyed the current second and third installments better (Shadow of Reality and A Midsummer Eve's Nightmare), partly because they focused more on the murder mystery plot than on the author of focus (respectively Dorothy Sayers and William Shakespeare) and partly because I had more interest in the other authors than I do Austen. (The Monastery Murders are similar in giving a lot of church history information in the novels, but again it falls into an area of interest. My hunch is that Jane Austen fans love it. Now, if she wrote "An Agatha Christie Encounter" or better yet "An Allistair MacLean Encounter"... Just a joke. I know enough to realize Austen's novels qualify as literature; I'm not so sure about the authors I just mentioned.
Even though I'm not into Austen, I found the aspect of Jane's faith being a driving force in her writing to be inspiring. I believe a person's true belief system will show up in their writing (or other forms of art).
The characters and their relationships keep the story interesting. Some would consider the plot to be slow moving, but patience pays off. There are plenty of red herrings (though in this novel they probably all drink tea).
I am a fan of Crow's mysteries, and look forward to the next one in this series.
