The Arts / Pop Culture

The Arts and Pop Culture from a Christian Worldview

Art, music, literature, theater, film, architecture, and other forms of creative expression are not merely decorations added to life. They communicate ideas and can profoundly influence the way people understand reality, morality, beauty, humanity, and God.

Because human beings are made in the image of the Creator, creativity is a legitimate and important part of human life. Scripture also gives us reason to appreciate beauty and excellence rather than treating artistic enjoyment as inherently worldly. Christians should therefore neither abandon the arts to secular culture nor accept every artistic expression uncritically.

The arts can glorify God, challenge the way people think, and be enjoyed as expressions of God’s goodness. At the same time, artistic expression can communicate false ideas and shape our affections in ways that undermine biblical truth.

Biblical Principles for the Arts

Creativity Is a Gift from God

God is the ultimate Creator. Human beings create because we have been made in His image. Artistic gifts can therefore be used as legitimate expressions of creativity, craftsmanship, communication, and worship.

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
Colossians 3:17

Beauty and Excellence Matter

Christians should not be embarrassed by beauty. Scripture repeatedly calls God’s people to recognize what is lovely, excellent, honorable, and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8)

This means that artistic quality matters. Christians should seek to develop genuine skill and craftsmanship rather than assuming that good intentions automatically make something good art.

The Arts Shape Worldview

Art does more than communicate information. Stories, music, images, movies, and other forms of artistic expression can reach the emotions and imagination in powerful ways. They can cause people to sympathize with a character, celebrate a particular behavior, or accept an idea without consciously examining the worldview behind it.

For this reason, Christians should learn to ask not only “What does this work say?” but also “What does this work make me love, admire, desire, or believe?”

Content and Form Both Matter

When evaluating art, Christians should consider both its content and its form.

Content includes the ideas, messages, themes, values, and worldview communicated by a work. Form includes the artistic methods used to communicate those ideas.

A Christian approach therefore goes beyond simply counting objectionable words or identifying explicit themes. We should consider the whole artistic expression, including its craftsmanship, worldview, beauty, emotional appeal, and intended effect.

Christians Should Create, Not Merely Consume

Christians should not surrender artistic creativity to the secular world. Believers can create excellent music, literature, visual art, theater, film, architecture, and other forms of cultural expression that reflect truth, goodness, beauty, and the glory of God.

The goal is not simply to produce “Christian art,” but to produce excellent work that is faithful to Christ and communicates truth rather than falsehood.

Christian Books and Resources on Art

Art and the Bible

Francis A. Schaeffer

One of the foundational Christian works on art and aesthetics. Schaeffer addresses the legitimacy of artistic expression, the relationship between Christianity and culture, and the importance of artistic excellence. His broader work is especially valuable for understanding how Christian truth applies to culture rather than being confined to church activities.

Modern Art and the Death of a Culture

H. R. Rookmaaker

Rookmaaker examines modern art within its larger philosophical and cultural setting. He connects artistic movements with the worldview assumptions of the societies that produced them and considers the role Christian artists can play in culture. The book remains an important Christian analysis of modern art and culture. (crossway.org)

Imagine: A Vision for Christians in the Arts

Steve Turner

Turner’s book challenges Christians to think seriously about artistic excellence and the calling of Christian artists. Rather than treating Christian art as merely a vehicle for delivering an explicit message, Turner presents a vision of Christians producing sophisticated, thoughtful, creative work that engages the culture. (ivpress.com)

State of the Arts: From Bezalel to Mapplethorpe

Gene Edward Veith Jr.

A Christian examination of the arts, culture, and aesthetics. Veith argues that Christians cannot simply abandon the arts to secular culture and provides a framework for developing informed artistic judgment that is both appreciative and discerning. (crossway.org)

Recovering the Beauty of the Arts

R.C. Sproul

A teaching series examining the place of beauty and the arts in the Christian life. Sproul discusses music, literature, images, drama, cinematography, and architecture while challenging Christians to recover the biblical significance of beauty. (ligonier.org)

The Role of Art in the Christian Life

R.C. Sproul

A concise introduction to biblical principles concerning beauty and the arts. This is a useful starting point for Christians who want to think about aesthetics from a biblical perspective.

Music and the Christian Life

Patrick Kavanaugh

Patrick Kavanaugh

Patrick Kavanaugh was a conductor, composer, author, and longtime leader in Christian performing arts. His books explored music, sacred music, worship, and the spiritual lives of composers. His work is particularly useful for Christians interested in developing an appreciation for musical excellence and the history of Christian music. (loyolapress.com)

The Academy of Arts

A Christian performing arts organization providing training and opportunities in theater, music, film, and other creative disciplines. The Academy seeks to use storytelling and the performing arts to communicate biblical truth while developing artistic skill and Christian character.

Pop Culture

Popular culture is not merely entertainment. Music, movies, television, social media, video games, fashion, celebrities, and other cultural products communicate ideas and help establish the assumptions of a society.

Christians should therefore learn to engage popular culture thoughtfully rather than either absorbing it uncritically or dismissing everything popular as automatically evil.

All God’s Children and Blue Suede Shoes: Christians and Popular Culture

Ken Myers

A classic Christian analysis of popular culture. Myers examines how entertainment and cultural forms influence people and communities and challenges Christians to think carefully about how popular culture shapes their lives. Crossway continues to make the book available in ebook form. (crossway.org)

Popcultured: Thinking Christianly About Style, Media and Entertainment

Steve Turner

Turner examines popular culture, including film, television, music, media, and technology, and encourages Christians to become thoughtful cultural critics, consumers, and creators. (ivpress.com)

Redeeming Pop Culture: A Kingdom Approach

T.M. Moore

Examines popular culture from a Christian perspective and considers how Christians should understand and engage the cultural environment around them.

The Tattooed Jesus: What Would the Real Jesus Do with Pop Culture?

Kevin Swanson

A provocative examination of the relationship between Christian worldview and contemporary culture. Swanson challenges Christians to recognize the connection between ideas and cultural expressions and to practice discernment rather than simply adopting the assumptions of the surrounding culture. (generations.org)

Evaluating Art and Pop Culture

Christians can use several questions when evaluating a work of art, entertainment, or popular culture:

What is beautiful or excellent about this work?
What worldview does it communicate?
What does it say about God and humanity?
What does it present as good, desirable, admirable, or normal?
What does it portray as evil or undesirable?
Does the form reinforce or undermine the message?
What emotions and desires does it cultivate?
Does it encourage wisdom and discernment or celebrate foolishness?
Does it portray sin honestly, or does it glamorize sin?
What kind of people might repeated exposure to this work help us become?
Can the work be appreciated for its craftsmanship while its worldview is rejected?

These questions help Christians avoid two opposite errors: uncritical cultural consumption and unthinking cultural rejection.

The goal is not to develop a list of artistic rules that replaces biblical wisdom. The goal is to learn how to recognize truth, beauty, goodness, excellence, error, and corruption as we engage the culture around us.