PENTECOST BY EMIL NOLDE

 PART 3 OF A 17 PART SERIES ON FAVORITE ART AND ARTISTS

One intriguing book I read was Saving Leonardo by Nancy Pearcey. She focused on two ways to secularism, and the book was full of artwork reflecting on those paths. However, she also mentioned contemporary art that reflected a Christian point of view. On one page, she had a painting from Grace Carol Bomer, whom Becky and I had the privilege of meeting and seeing her studio in 2000, and to its left, what has become my second favorite painting of all time, Pentecost by Emil Nolde (1867-1956) (I'll be sharing my favorite picture a few days from now.).

There are individuals who I have mixed feelings of. I like a lot of Nolde's art, especially those with a faith motif, mainly because of its expressionist use of color (though I usually prefer realist and Romantic style of art). However, there are problems with Nolde. Namely, the German Nolde was a Nazi, and shared in the party's anti-Semitism. Nolde and Hitler weren't mutual admirers, though. The regime condemned his work, and in 1941 he was forbidden to paint, even in private.. So he was an obedient and didn't paint during that time ... except, like a true artist would, hundreds of watercolors which he hid and called his "Unpainted Pictures."

Back to "Pentecost." I'll admit that I like the painting better than Becky does. But I find it very moving, and capturing the power of the event.

What are your thoughts about this picture? Which pictures based on Biblical/Christian themes do you find moving? Are there artists (novelists, painters, musicians, etc.) who you enjoy their work but find yourself at odds with their beliefs?

THE LIE OF "ARBEIT MACHT FREI" AND THE TRUTH OF THE EMPTY TOMB

Gate at Jourhous building, Dachau Concentration Camp. By Dorsm365 - Photographed by Dorsm365, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4526036

One of the highlights in my life was the two months in '80 when I served on a mission trip with Mission To Europe's Millions. We worked in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland working with Yugoslavs who worked in these Western countries to save up enough money to build houses back home.

Of course, we did some sightseeing. I was at a gift shop where they had postcards for the Oberammergau Passion Play, which takes place every ten years (including '80). We visited Neushwanstein Castle in Bavaria, which inspired Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle, and Slovenia's Postojna Cave. And one afternoon we stopped at Olympic Stadium in Munich after a morning at the most memorable site: Dachau.

How can someone not be moved after visiting a former concentration camp? If you don't believe that people have the capability of being evil, remember the Holocaust. You see the evil from those who committed atrocities against fellow human beings, and you see evil from those who ignore what's happening.

The one item that made the biggest impact was the gate the prisoners entered into the camp. Over it were the words "Arbeit Macht Frei" - "Work makes you free."

Did it? How much work would it take to be released from Dachau or the other Concentration Camps? Not enough. The goal of the Camps was to exterminate the undesirable. When Germany was defeated, the camps were given the orders to kill all the prisoners.

Even then, I realized the spiritual parallel. Are we saved by Grace or by works? One is a gift, the other is wages. If you pay for it, it's not a gift. "And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise, grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise, work is no longer work." Romans 11:6, NKJV.

Can we make ourselves free from sin? Both the Old and New Testament make it clear we can't.  

• "None of them can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him - For the redemption of their souls is costly, And it shall cease forever." (Psalm 49:7-8) 
• "Who can say, 'I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin'?" (Proverbs 20:9)
• "Jesus answered them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.'" (John 8:34-36)
• "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." (Romans 5:8-9) 
• "Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father." (Galatians 1:3-4)
  
• "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." (1 Timothy 2:5-6)
• "Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Peter 1:18-19)
  

 Is this enough? Or do you need more? Because there's a lot more!

We serve a living Savior. 

Happy Resurrection Day.