I’ve read the first 10 books of the bible in the last month, very slowly and carefully, and one of the conclusions I’ve come to is that the bible is very real.  The bible doesn’t paint for us an idealistic portrait of existence, rather, it paints for us an accurate portrait of existence, in all of its nefariousness and resplendent beauty.  And through this magnificent portrait we see a picture of the rescue and redemption of a corrupt people for the glory of God, through a nefarious and beautiful act on a cross on a hill outside of Jerusalem.

The bible paints its story in graphic detail, calling us to identify with what is happening in its pages.  It is difficult to read at times.  It doesn’t paint evil with kind and reserved language, but it depicts it grotesque graphic detail.  When we read the debase unpleasantries of existence, we identify with it, and in grace we look to the Redeemer it calls our attention to.  Yes, we not only identify with the evil, but in grace we identify with the rescue from corruption and the hope of redemption.  This redemption is preached clearly in the bible and is witnessed by a world that is not only corrupt, but is also beautiful.  A bible and a world of nefariousness and beauty.

Yet, much of the art produced by the church today does not bear witness to this schema of reality, as the bible does, and so, unlike the bible, it is difficult to identify with… it fails to draw us in.  When a Christian sculpts his art with the same detail as the bible, depicting corruption and redemption, it is seen as “inappropriate”… because, well, many times it is.  Most of existence is inappropriate.  At the same time, others, who have a fascination with being edgy, cross the line into being taken up with a certain addictive hypnotic melancholy over the more morose aspects of existence, failing to speak of the hope of redemption in correct proportion. The Christian’s purpose of depicting evil is to draw attention to the goodness and hope of the God of redemption. But a Christian who fails to portray evil in his art in any realistic measure, fails (in my opinion) to be a good artist, because he is not honest. And again, as I mentioned in my review of the movie Bella , there is a way to be honest and realistic about evil without forcing your audience to disobey Philippians 4:8.

Now it is for the redeemed artists to show me; what does biblical Christian art look like?