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 …

Why Do High Churches Get All the Good Artists? (Pt 1)

Several months ago, I was in a conversation with some book lovers and Inklings fans. We had wrapped up a discussion about Dorothy Sayers, when someone in the raised an interesting question: "You know, we talk a lot about Anglicans like Sayers and C.S. Lewis who wrote great books, and about liberal Christians like Frederic …

Are We Really Evangelicals?

The word evangelicalism has become a bit of a buzzword in the last few years. It comes up a great deal in conversations about where the church today. It comes up in political discussions. As Gerald McDermott noted in his book Can Evangelicals Learn From World Religions? it comes up a lot in the question …

Great Authors Who Wrote About Art and Faith

I've written many times about books that describe how art and faith connection (from books for small groups to books that you should read at least once). Here's a look at some of the authors who created these books, particularly ones who've written multiple books on the topic and therefore can't really be summed up …

5 Christian Books on Art for Small Groups

If you've enjoyed my past posts about books on art for small groups or best books to read about faith and art, I recommend checking this article I wrote for the Odyssey, "5 More Books For Small Group Studies On Christian Art": https://www.theodysseyonline.com/craig-j-hazen   (I am not entirely certain why the URL says "Craig J …

3 Tips for Writing like J.R.R. Tolkien

Some time ago I wrote about creating the kind of stories C.S. Lewis wrote – entertaining stories with very obvious Christian ideas. Now I’m going to talk about how to write like J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien, who famously said he hated allegory, usually wrote stories that had Christian ideas but they were express subtly, creating an …

Why Artists Need Community

I’ve written various blogs about great books that discuss faith and art. What I haven’t shared is the most shocking thing I learned from those books. As I researched how faith and art connect, I realized that a common thread connected all the resources I discovered. Somehow, even though many of them had very different …

6 Powerful Books On Christian Art

Some time ago, I argued in one of my articles that a great way artistic Christians can connect with other churchgoers is by studying books together about art. Here are some of the best books I've read about how faith and art intersect (including the classic Art and the Bible by Francis Schaeffer): https://www.theodysseyonline.com/6-books-small-groups-studies-christian-art If you're …

5 Greats Ways to Make Artists Feel At Home

If you've read many of my blogs, you probably know I enjoy writing about Christians who are also artists and how churches sometimes struggle to connect with them. In this article, recently published by the Odyssey, I suggest some things churches can do to better connect with artists. Enjoy

Doesn’t God Value Art And Beauty?

What is art? “Art” can mean many things -- in this context, art refers to any time people make things and use aesthetics, the study of beauty and ugliness. In other words, if people make beautiful things (buildings, stories, even clothing) and make them well, they’re performing an artistic process. The Guggenheim debate is a …