The Omen, Left Behind and the Value of Complexity (Sidetrails Pt 3)

A couple of weeks ago, I released a "Concluding Thoughts" post about a recent series, and said that "most artworks can’t cover all reality." Every piece of art has a theme or message - sometimes defined by the medium, sometimes intentional, and sometimes an unplanned message that evolves as the work progresses. From a moral …

What do Mothers Read? (Sidetrails Pt 2)

In the last few blog posts of my series on how evangelicals differ from high church Christians on entertainment, I’ve discussed several trends. I’ve talked about how suburban values inform evangelical institutions, how high church liturgy encourages a recognition of sin that evangelicals often miss, and other related ideas. Many of these ideas have been …

Sentimentality and Substance (Sidetrails 1)

In a recent post about "kid-friendly entertainment," I pointed out that for a certain audience, "Christian art" and "family-friendly" automatically go together. You can also use the term "sentimental," or "inspirational" to describe that kind of art, which dominates faith-based films and Christian Romance novels. There are several reasons why "Christian" and "family-friendly" don't always …

Why Do High Churches Get All the Good Artists: Concluding Thoughts

I recently finished a 7-part series on why evangelical Christians have often struggled to create good art, compared to Christians who come from high church traditions (Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, etc.). I will discuss a few points (such as the need for art that captures "the thinginess of things") in more detail in "sidetrail" …