Ah, but were you watching the coronation of King Charles in the Anglican ceremony at Westminster Abbey? No one would have thought to comment on the absence of art, sculpture, or beauty in what the King vowed to uphold as the Protestant Reformed church.

I don’t think I can find room to disagree with much in your statement. It seems to me that because the Protestant church has for so long distanced itself from art, it has, as a result, lost the ability to interact with imagery and thereby artists in a meaningful way.

Though the Orthodox Church isn’t the best for me, I can certainly appreciate the positive stimulation an artist of faith might receive through such a venue so rich in sensory input. I grew up in a faith tradition that placed little emphasis on beauty or visuals (which seems so uncharacteristic of God, to me) and have since moved to a tradition with a greater emphasis on visual expressions of worship, among other things. It’s been very nice to feel ministered to through all my senses.

Thank you, Jim. :)

Actually, I was meaning all artists, artists both secular or of faith. There seems to be a barrier overall. Is it because artists are viewed as unapproachable? As if not the artist, but the topic (art) that people seem to be uncomfortable with? It might be that because humans tend to prefer their neat little boxes, whereas artists typically are the ones picking up the boxes, shaking them, UNpacking them and trying to peer inside. ;)

You bring up a good point about perceived ‘rebels’ and ‘followers’ and how others might try to categorize an artist of faith in their head and hit an internal conflict of sorts because we may not fit neatly into either category which conflicts with the desire to have people ‘figured out’. I do think there is certainly an element of marching to our own beat, but I don’t think it’s rebellion for most of us, but rather a manifestation that we are comfortable in our own skin and we are ok being who we are whether others grant their approval or not. I rather appreciate that freedom.

I hear you about humanity, trust me. Hmmmm- art as a human expression which causes us to look more on the human plane and acknowledge each other and our joint condition (a sorry one) rather than heavenwards. That’s in interesting thing to ponder. Life is messy and I do think many try very hard to avoid it’s messiness. I, personally, don’t think it’s a very productive way to live.

The churches and cathedrals of old mesmerize me. I tend to view them as monuments of faith,sort of like the memorial stones the nation of Israel placed in centuries past. They are gorgeous and massive works of art that benefited the whole of society. If you never went inside one, you could still enjoy it’s beauty from the outside and it helped to add beauty to the city. If you ventured inside, there was even more beauty to see in the wood carving, sunlight spilling through the stained glass, the rich fabrics, etc.

I always appreciate hearing what others think on a subject and I appreciate your input here, even if you think you may be less ‘qualified’ because you have little experience in a community of faith.

Thank you for the information, Jonathan. :)

Here’s a couple thoughts from my perspective as an agnostic (or whatever I am haha). And, as usual, I FULLY ACKNOWLEDGE that I probably have no idea what the heck I’m talking about!

When you ask “Why do people seem to be so uncomfortable around art and artists?”, I’ll assume you mean for the question to actually be ” Why do people seem to be so uncomfortable around CHRISTIAN art and CHRISTIAN artists?

I think most people perceive artists, whether it’s true or not, to be people that are “rebels”, so to speak. People that operate outside the normal boundaries. They go at their own pace and march to the beat of their own drummer. At the same time most people, (again, true or not) probably perceive [insert faith of choice here] to be “followers”. These are people that congregate on a regular schedule, they follow a certain belief system, typically don’t question authority figures etc etc. So when people meet a Christian artist such as yourself or your husband, it kinda contradicts with everything they’ve learned about how “people are suppose to be”.

Moving on to the sparsity of churches;
One thing I’ve noticed about various faiths is that there is very little faith in humanity. Specifically, humans. Now that is all based on very good reason! Humans suck! We suck it hard! More than half the time we probably don’t deserve the moniker “human”. We do horrible things to each other as individuals and as societies. We rarely have the correct answer, and RARELY can we collectively pull our heads outta our @$$es to get anything done together. And I just wonder if the lack of art in churches is because art is such a HUMAN expression? See where I’m going with that?

But than again, I’ll probably have to re-direct you to my earlier statement that I probably don’t know what the heck I am talking about because A) I’ve probably been inside fewer than 5 churches my entire life; B) Lots and lots and lots of old churches in Europe are VEEEERY artistic in their appearance. Everything from painted ceilings, the architecture, and statues. OH! And let’s not forget about stained glass! And C) um… well… there was a “C”, and now I can’t remember what “C” was!