What Does the Bible Actually Say About Art? (Solo Deep Dive)

Chris McEachran: How does the Bible define creativity? How does the Bible define art? What does the Bible say is the purpose of art and creativity? And is that even the question we should be asking? All that and more in this episode of Creative Chapel. Welcome to Creative Chapel, a podcast exploring the vast landscape of Christian artistry across denominations and disciplinary mediums. Creative Chapel is building a space where saints can gather and celebrate their walk with Christ with their God given gifting, encouraging each other in their faith and their craft. Creative Chapel is the place for inspiration, curation, and revelation. Welcome to Creative Chapel. I'm your host, Chris Mack, and in today's episode, I am experimenting with doing a solo episode. This is the first time I've done this on this show. I've obviously done solo talks on my personal YouTube channel. ⁓ and I'm really proud of those videos and I really built those out to be YouTube videos very much ⁓ following a specific style. But for this, ⁓ it's a little ⁓ strapped together. I've just like outlined some thoughts. I haven't really scripted anything. and so we're going to just experiment with it. I'm kind of hoping for a 30 minute episode for you. Keep things a little bit shorter. if you like that, if I hit that mark, I don't know if I will actually. ⁓ but if you like the shorter episode, leave a comment saying that you like that, or if you like what I say and want more of it and want it to be longer, ⁓ communicate that as well. So thinking about these questions of how does the Bible define creativity and art and what does the Bible say is the purpose of art? I wanted to, of course, go to Genesis. That is a huge point of crafting a theology of creativity, of art, ⁓ is going to the place where we first see God create. And so within my research, I noticed that there is a difference between God creating and God making. That there there is ⁓ different Hebrew words for creating and making, and that those Two words are not just synonymous for one word translated from the Hebrew. And so the Hebrew word for create is bara, and the Hebrew word for made is assa. And so the Bible's original Hebrew text makes this distinction. And so even when we read portions of our translation, we'll see that illustrated. For example, if we if we look in Genesis 2, chapter 2, verse 3. I'll flip to it here. And so it says, and God blessed. the seventh day and sanctified it, because that in it he had wrested from his work which God created and made. Created and made. And sometimes translations don't include that. ⁓ but from my research, I hear that's kind of a lazy way of interpreting it. Or making an interpretation in text. Like literally translating words. Interpreting words. And so the original Hebrew would use the words bara and assa. And so my main point of research on this, I mean, anyone can do this. I'm not special by any means. I'm not a crazy scholar. I'm not reading some esoteric text to discover this. I simply just did a Google search of what these two words are, because I had heard that and I wanted to do a little bit of digging. And so I came across a article or an essay written by a gentleman named Frank W. Nelty. And he says this in his essay. The difference between create and make in Genesis 1. This is what says. The Hebrew word for create, bara, implies bringing something new into existence by using the Holy Spirit, the power of God, to do the creating. The Hebrew word for make, asa, generally implies bringing something new into existence by working with or making use of some things that were created previously. In other words, making, quote unquote. Generally presupposes that something used in the making process is already in existence before the new thing is made. Now, I don't get into that as a matter of semantics. I don't think that it's just like, ⁓ well, we should use this word instead of this word and and all that. ⁓ I think it's it's fascinating and important because God still places value. On creating with created things. And that might not seem very profound to you when you just hear that at face value. But when you think about it, all the times that God instructs the Israelites to create, He is commissioning them to create artwork that is an example of what is in heaven and that is just ornamental beauty. for the sake of beauty, not even for a purpose, oftentimes when we look at the the craft within the temple or the craft within the ⁓ the tent in the Holy of Holies. God is commissioning humans to create or I should say make. God is commissioning humans to make with the tools and resources that He has created in order to produce a work of art That glorifies him. And he enjoys that and he wants that. And that sometimes it has a purpose, and sometimes it's just ornamental and for for the sake of beauty. And I think that's really fascinating. And that places a value on our work as creatives. That when we go to make something, that ⁓ even though it's not some ⁓ crazy cosmic ⁓ appearance of something out of thin air, like. when God calls forth light in the first sentence of Genesis, it's still something that God values nonetheless. And when we think about Jesus in the mix of this, like we we oftentimes theorize about like how exactly Jesus is doing some of his miracles. Like for instance, the ⁓ five loaves and two fishes. Like how is he duplicating the fish and the bread? How is he creating in in when I look at scripture in this moment and there's a difference between creating and making, I am under the impression that Jesus in that moment, his miraculous gifting through the Holy Spirit, is creating. He's re reaching into the basket and creating and pulling something out that isn't there. But then we see Jesus using wine and bread to seal the new covenant with communion, right? The Eucharist, in that he is using things that people have made, that that this bread and this wine were elements out in the world that he is now creating ⁓ or again I should say making into a sacrament for the church. And so the act of making that bread, the act of making that wine, of crushing the grapes, of getting the grain and And making the dough, all that is still valuable to Jesus. Jesus could have simply just created bread. He could have just created wine, a ⁓ cosmic wine that isn't even made of grapes and a bread that's not even made of yeast, but is made of some cosmic material that is completely new, like manna or something. ⁓ whatever that is, right? But instead, despite Jesus's Empowerment through the Holy Spirit to create, he decides to use the materials that man has used to make something, and use that in the ⁓ expression of joining him and and consuming his body. And so I think that's a very interesting thing when we think about creativity, when we think about art and how the Bible is teaching us to value. art, creativity, and craftsmanship. Within our finite world, the things that are going to pass away, the things that will no longer exist, the temple that has been destroyed and rebuilt and destroyed again and and the things that he is calling you and commissioning you to make, even though it is a finite ⁓ perishable thing, like the posters and pictures on my wall and the shirt over here that I had made. and and commissioned my buddy to make for us. ⁓ these books and and everything in here will fall apart one day. But nonetheless, God takes pleasure and enjoyment and and commissions us to create. And so I think that as we look to the Bible for a definition of creativity, as a definition of art, even though we search for these things, God is saying that they're valuable nonetheless. And I think that's an element of what ultimately I'm going to get at at the end of this. And so before I really get there, I want to focus in on something that ⁓ is pretty common across theological interpretations of Genesis and the Bible and the act of creating. Thanks for being an early listener of the Creative Chapel podcast. As a new show, it means so much that you're here. Please like, subscribe, and download our episodes to keep the momentum going. And share it with a friend. Could use encouragement in their creative journey. All right, back to the show. And so this plays more into those questions, really, of trying to provide an answer for those questions of what does it mean to create? What does it mean to ⁓ what how does the how does the Bible define art? How does the Bible define creativity? And to be honest, I don't think the Bible does offer a definition of creativity. I don't think it does offer a definition of art. ⁓ we like to approach the Bible and scripture as a textbook when I I just don't think that was God's intention. I think God's intention for scripture ⁓ goes beyond just a textbook and providing definitions and providing clean cut answers all the time. He's inviting us to interact with him and to be with him. ⁓ and that in itself is a work of art. And so even though I feel that way that that the Bible doesn't come right out and give a definition of this is biblical art, this is a ⁓ Biblical explanation of and definition of art in creativity. ⁓ there's this very common theology of creation, of creating, which is bringing order from chaos. That when we look at Genesis and the the first line of Genesis that we're gonna read in just a moment, ⁓ God is bringing order out of chaos. Even though it's not exactly using those words. ⁓ these are common theological perspectives that ⁓ actual theologians and well-studied people have deducted from scripture from reading it from cover to cover and and analyzing various stories and and noticing these trends of moments of chaos and God creating order from that. And so I think that's kind of the closest thing that we get when we look for definitions of art and creativity in scripture, that we get this example of creating order from chaos that we are taking elements, these chaotic elements, and bringing them into one formed idea, and that is the process of making and for God creating. And so I'll read Genesis one. So this is Genesis one one. When God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth was without shape or form. It was dark over the deep sea. And God's wind swept over the waters. God said, Let there be light, and so light appeared. God saw how good the light was. God separated the light from the darkness. God named the light day and the darkness night. And so when we kind of like zero in on verse two, and it says, The earth was without shape or form, and it was dark over the deep sea, and God's wind. Swept over the waters. The waters in the deep sea are this theme throughout scripture that ⁓ kind of represent chaos and and are a symbol for chaos. I think the Bible Project has a really great video on this. It's been a while since I've watched it or understood it, so I couldn't tell you which video exactly dives into it, ⁓ but I know for sure that the Bible project has covered this before, this aspect of deep waters. being a symbol of chaos. And so we see in that that there is these elements, that there's the earth, there is the deep sea, ⁓ and God's wind, or what could also be interpreted as his breath, is ⁓ breathing over the waters to create. And and it's from that act that he is from himself ⁓ bringing forth order. and I think Even on a surface level and a ⁓ interpretation of scripture that you know may not really be the most theologically ⁓ developed, is very interesting that God's breath is a part of this. And we we sing this on Sundays, right? It's a lot of worship songs about the breath of God him breathing into us, and likewise we return breath into him. But it makes me think about just the act of making and our physical bodies doing the work. Doing the work of creation of of making. I keep having to like I keep having to ⁓ correct myself to follow this teaching of of creation versus making. ⁓ and so this is obviously still a new topic to me and and something that I'm still studying, but I hope that ⁓ what you get out of this is valuable and helps you along your study as well as as I'm going. But seeing God's breath being part of his creation process ⁓ makes me think of my own breath and how just the act of breathing can be obviously so like simple to us sometimes, you know, especially if we if we don't have health issues with that. What I'm doing just right then is it taking air in Very basic thing that I don't even think about. It's just natural to I who I am. But when I do center in on like my breath being integral to my being and obviously making my body function to produce work and to produce output from my other ⁓ body parts, I think it's just a good practice of implementing breathing techniques into your creative. I don't even think that way. I don't even think about that often. But it's just this scripture and and sitting with it and meditating on it in this moment that's like, wow, I I should probably just take more time to recognize my breath. And there's this great spiritual practice that my pastor Lance Sherwood introduced to us a a ⁓ couple of Sundays ago, which is breathing in a prayer and breathing out the other side of that prayer. So for instance, ⁓ doing Not my will as you breathe in, breathing in. Not my will. And then breathing out, but your will be done. And so when you breathe in and breathe out, that's your prayer. ⁓ or even something simple like, ⁓ Jesus, breathing in and breathing out, have mercy on me. ⁓ and and bringing prayer into our breath, I think, is a really cool exercise. And I think it's something that I want to implement a little bit more into my creative process. And so in all my reading of scripture, again, I've never come across just a here's a definition that the Bible slaps on ⁓ to the page saying, like, this is creativity, this is what art is, saith the Lord. I've never come across that before. But when we look at Genesis and we see the act of creating that God is enacting upon, ⁓ we can We can have some takeaways and some things that answer the question indirectly, which I think is is more fitting for creativity. It's more fitting to actually make you think and stir and meditate and sit with and not just brush over the answer. Right? There's so many times that we're gonna be like, what does the Bible say about this? And we read it and we say, Okay, that's what the Bible says about this, and we just move on, versus sitting with ⁓ an indirect answer and being able to think on it and to meditate on it and to seep into what it actually means. But obviously that doesn't change the fact that we have questions and we want to bring these questions to the text to see what the text says, right? And so the next question that I kind of threw out there at the beginning is what does the Bible say about the purpose of art? That's a little bit different than what is art? What is creativity? What is the purpose of it? And to be honest, I don't really love this question. I think this question stems from a very ⁓ utilitarian and pragmatic place that it it reduces things down to its core ⁓ deliverable it says this is a this is a product that needs to be delivered ⁓ it's very much looking to get to like does it have a purpose at all and that the idea of purpose I feel like sometimes is is rooted into, well, if it doesn't have purpose, then it's not valuable. I think we even apply that to ourselves, right? And I I think when we ask the question of what is the purpose of art, it's pretty well connected, at least to me, to the same question of, well, what is the purpose of man? What is the purpose of humanity? And and obviously there's a lot that has been said. I'm I'm even writing an ebook right now on purpose calling an identity. so be on the lookout for it. But I understand the question, right? What is the purpose of man? Wha w what is my purpose? What are what am I designed for? What am I here for? What is my purpose? ⁓ and obviously there's great books out there like Man's Search for Meaning or Ruselon KD's book, Guideline, Touches on Purpose. ⁓ there's a lot to be said about purpose. I think sometimes though when we are asking that question, we're actually kind of reducing some things and reducing ourselves even when we're asking, like, what is mankind's purpose? What is humanity's purpose? It's as if man doesn't have value if it doesn't have purpose. And you could believe that. And that could be part of your doctrine, that could be a part of your theology. I am not at that place. I think that reduces what God has created. I think that reduces art once it's created. Obviously, I don't think all art is created equal. Sometimes art is valuable, sometimes it's not. I don't think art is ubiquitous across the board. But as I've gotten older and as I've sat with ⁓ scripture as well as just unique thinkers like Makado Fujimara here with art in the Bible or art and faith. Francis Schaefer wrote Art in the Bible. As I sit with people like these deep thinkers, it just kinda makes me re examine that kind of thinking. And also when I just sit with certain doctrines that have been around forever, ⁓ or maybe not forever, but for a very long time, that kinda make me just reexamine a question like that. For example, I I Think about Imago Day. And if you don't know what Imago Day is, it is a doctrine ⁓ outlining the dignity and value of human beings because they are created in the image of God. That could probably be a ⁓ very simplified definition of that. But ⁓ I wanted to read you guys an excerpt from my Bible. I have the ⁓ common English Bible. Study Bible, so there's little notes from the interpreters, and they ⁓ you know it's a study bible, so there's little bit more, and so it outlines this. Being made in God's image gives humans special dignity. According to this interpretation, the divine image refers to the worth of all human beings. In this view, all persons carry God's image and are to be treated with equal respect. Then later it says The image of God describes humanity's prominent position in the world. It shows humanity's responsibility to rule creation as God's representative. Human beings are thus considered mediators of God's presence in the world. Now obviously there is sin. Obviously there is original sin that were corrupted, and ⁓ you know, if you are from certain theological traditions, you believe in total depravity. ⁓ to be fully transparent, I don't know where I'm at with ⁓ total depravity. But I understand that all have fallen short of the glory standard of God, as Romans says, and so we wrestle with our sin, even though we have this ⁓ divine worth. As as divine image bearers, we have this worth and this dignity ⁓ that we are to extend to others and this helps us to love our enemies as well as to acknowledge that that God values us even despite our sin. That you, you yourself, that when you think of you, when I think of Chris Mac, I think God values me ⁓ because I'm made in his image, even despite my sin. He loves me. And he loves my neighbor. And so I should extend that love to them as well and share that respect to them as well. And so when I think about man's purpose and I also think about art's purpose, ⁓ Imago Day comes to mind that there is obviously intrinsic value and worth to humanity. I do not think that there is intrinsic value to every single piece of art that is ever made. But I do think that artistic expression is valuable in and of itself. Francis Schaefer illustrates this in his book Art in the Bible, that art does have value in and of itself, regardless of if it is pursuing a utility or a purpose or a ⁓ practical need. If you're someone who loves apparel that shows your creative side while sharing your faith, I've just the thing for you. Our sponsor, the printing ox, has hooked us up with some t-shirts I designed that we're planning to launch later this summer. If you want to support the show, go ahead and pre-order one of the shirts. It has the Creative Chapel logo on the front, and on the back it says you were made to create, with the scripture of Revelation 4.11 underneath. You might even recognize the design from our backdrop here at the studio. If you'd like to pre-order a shirt, visit the link in our description. And if you have any t shirt needs for your church, business, or event, make sure to hit up my buddy Forrest at the printing option. He does everything with quality and exemplifies the creative chapel spirit. Visit his link in the description as well. Alright, back to the show. And so to the question of what does the Bible say about the purpose of art, it is hard for me to not link that to humanity. As A.W. Tozer says in The Knowledge of the Holy, because we are the handiwork of God, all of our problems and their solutions are therefore theological. I like to spin that. And say because we are the handiwork of God, all of our art, its creation, and our interpretation is therefore theological. That spin helps me just to concretely say that what we make and what we consume has theological ramifications. Yes, we can just kind of like sit back, relax, and escape into whatever medium that we want, music, film. paintings, comic books, whatever. We can we can tune out for the experience of those things. But when we tune in, when we meditate and think back on those pieces, regardless of how ⁓ highbrow or lowbrow they are, we can still be intentional to bring those and and look through the lens of our faith when we think back on Or even when we're creating them. When I'm creating something that I feel like, ⁓ this is just a little skit. This is just something funny. This is just a reel or a TikTok. This is just a little piece. I you know, I didn't like pray or fast about going into this project. I just filmed something on my phone and I'm putting it out there. Because I am the handiwork of God, that creation process is somehow theological. If I'm intentional enough to tap in and review it and or just in the moment be like, ⁓ This is a theological process of what I'm participating in right now. But it just helps center me. And sometimes I lose sight of that a lot, especially in the filmmaking process. I think it's a lot easier in the writing process, but that's a a topic for another time. And so thinking about the purpose of man, the purpose of art, I like to think on Revelation 4 11. We have it on the back of our t shirts. ⁓ and so that scripture says I'm gonna read it off the t shirt here. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Imagine that. That's crazy. That's so crazy in our world to think about that the purpose of why you were created was for God's pleasure. He didn't He didn't try to meet a need of His. He didn't try to solve a problem. He didn't want to create you for the sake of this specific thing happening in the world, even though I do believe you have a purpose, even though I do believe you have a calling, ⁓ and that God has ordained you for something in this world, even though I do believe that is true in and of itself, I believe, paired with that, is God just enjoys you. God just wants to be with you. He created you just because he enjoys and takes pleasure in you. And so, in thinking about what does the Bible say about the purpose of art, I think on that verse. I think on that in the reading of Scripture, from what I've read and what I have retained and have seen throughout Scripture, from Old Testament, New Testament, it seems to me that the Bible is potentially saying that the purpose of art is for Enjoyment of pleasure, recreation, sabbath even potentially, ⁓ I would go so far as to say. I think that could probably use some refinement for sure, but definitely for pleasure. And I think in general, ⁓ just communication. That is and I I just feel like I I it's just such a reductionary viewpoint to get to that, ⁓ that this question kind of forces one to make. is just to to reduce it down to nuts and bolts. But when I think about what does the Bible say is the purpose of art, I think about enjoyment and pleasure, and I think about communication. Communicating feelings, communicating events, communicating feeling within those things. And to be clear, the Bible is full of art. The Psalms, Song of Solomon, ⁓ there's songs throughout the scriptures sung when you look at The songs they sing in Exodus or Paul and Silas singing hymns in prison. And so, with all that being said, the question of what is the biblical purpose of art just feels less important to me than the experience of art and my response to it out of my faith and out of my humanity. If I am experiencing with my faith engaged, everything should put me on a path. To contemplating its relationship to God and my relationship to God, my relationship to the work, and being a mediator, a representative in front of this work on behalf of my God. The experience feels more important than this question of what is the purpose of it. I think if one is wrestling with that question. They should just probably go experience some art and invite the Holy Spirit into that experience and say, Okay, Holy Spirit, what do want me to think about this piece? What do you think about this piece? How about we just drop the word think? What do we feel? What do we feel when we look at this? What do I feel when I watch this? When I listen to it. It's so interesting how art can create emotions that almost seem disconnected to the themes of a piece. Like have you ever listened to a song that's like the the lyrics? are almost not matching what the the instruments are making you feel and the way it's sung is making you feel even though it is a a piece that all complements each other. And so in that space of like, well what should I feel like feel conflicted. The the lyrics make me feel one thing. The music and the the the delivery of the lyrics makes me feel another it's a perfect space to invite the Holy Spirit into and be like, Holy Spirit, how are you in this? So yeah, I just don't think that that question is as important as actually experiencing art with my faith engaged and responding to it. And likewise, ⁓ I don't think that question is as important as the act of creating or making. I again I have to I have to keep correcting myself, but the act of making I think is more important than that question. And so I want to leave you with this quote from Art in the Bible by Francis Schaeffer, because I think it's important as creatives that we keep this in the front of our mind. ⁓ when we're going into creative projects, when we are ingesting creative works or art, ⁓ I think it's super vital for us to remember this quote. There is a very real sense in which the Christian life itself should be our greatest work of art. Even for the great artist, the most crucial work of art is his life. I'll read that again. There is a very real sense in which the Christian life itself should be our greatest work of art. Even for the great artist, the most crucial work of art is his life. This little book that Francis Schaeffer wrote, Art in the Bible, is just exquisite. I love it. I I revisit it a lot when Entering these conversations of creativity, art and faith. And obviously there's ⁓ Makado Fujimara's book, Art and Faith, that I bring up so often on this podcast, and I'm sure every other Christian creative brings up whenever discussing ⁓ Christianity and ⁓ creativity. But whether you are an audience member or you are a creator and ⁓ You find yourself in either of those arenas throughout your day or your life, ⁓ I hope you just remember that your your greatest work of art is your life. And so maybe maybe somewhere in there in the the newness of the morning is ⁓ a part of us creating. And I mean that in the sense of the Hebrew word, ⁓ bara. That maybe there is something mystical in our everyday life that Day by day as we make choices and intake the experiences around us, we are somehow creating. We are creating something new with each new step and choice that we make and the Holy Spirit infuses itself within that. I don't know. I'd like to think so. And so I want to ⁓ leave you with Two things in this episode. some journal questions of responding to this episode. And once you journal it, I'd love to see it in the comments on YouTube or Spotify. ⁓ and so one of those questions I have is can humans actually create anything? What do you think about that that last thought that I left you with of day by day, maybe our our choices are making and doing more than making or creating? How do you think the Bible defines art? I would love to know your opinions. I'd love to add on to my definition and and bring more clarity to it. And then I love to just end the show. Typically, you know, I ask a guest what they're being inspired by. and I think I'll just kind of mention a few things I'm interested in right now that are pretty dope. ⁓ I've really gotten lately, I've always been a fan of Social Club, ⁓ the Christian rappers. ⁓ rap group, Social Club Misfits, Marty Fern. Really been grooving on Marty's stuff lately. He has a a new album in the works and he just created this cool thing, Apollo, his record label that he started with these new talents, which is cool to see. ⁓ his song Wow with Propaganda, been really liking it. So if you're into Christian rap, ⁓ check that out. And even if you're not, I would recommend you checking it out. I Marty's work is really cool and has a lot of ⁓ great elements and themes to it. ⁓ I've been really grooving on Forrest Frank's collaboration with ⁓ I forget the gentleman's name, but they started this project called Dawn Patrol, I think. ⁓ and it's just this kind of like California surf rock, ⁓ real vibesy. It's a little bit different than his normal tunes, ⁓ which to be fully transparent, don't always connect with me. No shade. ⁓ I'm not trying to yuck anybody's yum. But my yum is definitely ⁓ Dawn Patrol. I'm really grooving on it and I would recommend you listen to that. And so yeah, w with those two things, you know, I encourage you to check those out. That's the the curation I like to do for you as a listener. ⁓ recommend some some good tunes and good music, movies, art, whatever. I would love, absolutely love it if you commented ⁓ who you think should be on the show, who you want to see. Get that curation going. Who you want other people to listen to and other people to be fan of. ⁓ comment down below. Comment on our reels and shorts. ⁓ I wanna I want to experience new people. I want to experience new talent, new voices. I want to hear from all the OGs and the the ones that everyone loves. I want to hear from them. So comment who you want to see, and I'll try my best to get them on the show. With that, I hope you enjoyed this episode. Pray that you are blessed. I pray that you create well, that you create with the Holy Spirit, and that ⁓ this helps you just be a better maker. Thanks for watching this episode of the Creative Chapel Podcast. If you enjoyed it, make sure to like, subscribe, and follow along to stay up to date on more episodes. We're shooting out of Communion Church in San Diego, California. If you're looking for a great church to be a part of, this is the place to be. Stay faithful, stay creative, and I'll see you in the next episode.