Check it out. This is a page from the Book of Matthew in the Book of Kells (it lives in Ireland and I have seen it with my own eyes!! It is freaking amazing). The characters XPI are the symbol of Christ in the early church because they are the first three letters of the name Christos (yeah, you guessed it, that means Christ). This symbol was used all over the early church... on shields, in cathedrals, illuminated manuscripts, etc, etc. It was meant to bring the favor of God on those who bore it, to worship and to honor Christ.
I think this would be some pretty cool imagery to use in the modern church. For one, illuminated manuscripts stand on their own as an astounding expression of love and worship. Pages took weeks or months to complete, and monks worked all day, every day by candlelight, devoting their lives to recording the gospel message. The complexity of design was meant to honor God, but also to convey the glory and the message to a general population that was largely illiterate.
When I look at something like this I am overwhelmed by the beauty of God's love for us. When you think of God as the ultimate creator, any type of creativity becomes an expression of worship. That he loves us enough to share the enjoyment of creativity with us is a beautiful thing. Every time I sit down with my paintbrush I am aware that everything I create is inspired by God's creation around me. He allows me to share in the joy of who he is by what he has made. How amazing is that?
For myself, there is no better way to worship God than to pick up a paintbrush, because it makes me aware of how small I am in comparison to how great and glorious he is.
The art of these early christians and the complexity and detail with which they glorified God is amazing to me. I am rambling now, and I recognize that, but that's because words don't really explain the feeling I get from this image, or others like it, or the creative process in general.
Anyway, my point in bringing all of this up is that I feel like this imagery is exactly the heart of worship for me. And I want to use it in the church. And I want to create it. And I want to worship God like this.
5 comments:
nate and i had a conversaton the other day about what constitutes "godly" art in this worship sense.
EX: i am a pornographer. i like making porn in a very artsy fartsy way; the lighting, scenes and dialogue are creative, interesting and unique. am i an artist? does this form of art constitute "godly" creativity?
on another related note: did you hear about the medieval psalter they found in a peat bog in ireland about two months ago? it is in near perfect condition.
yet another related note: have you read "how the irish saved civilization?" if not, do.
I would think godly art would at the bare minimum align with the Word of God and his heart. I don't see how pornography could be considered godly art when the Bible is clear about keeping away from sexual immorality.
Thanks for sharing this image, I really appreciate this kind of art.
As far as the 'pornography' example goes, I'm not sure that is the best example for your point, Terry. I checked the definition at dictionary.com and found:
por‧nog‧ra‧phy /pɔrˈnɒgrəfi/
–noun
obscene writings, drawings, photographs, or the like, esp. those having little or no artistic merit.
In light of that definition, it doesn't even qualify as art. It makes me think of that saying, "you can dress up a pig, but it is still a pig".
sorry maybe a bad example. my point is that i doubt all CREATIVITY is woship since you can be obscenely creative just as much as you can w/any other medium.
Agreed.
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