The church and the contemporary art world often find themselves in an uneasy relationship in which misunderstanding and mistrust abound.
On one hand, the leaders of local congregations, seminaries, and other Christian ministries often don't know what to make of works by contemporary artists. Not only are these artists mostly unknown to church leaders, they and their work often ...
★ Publishers Weekly starred review
We live in a distracted, secular age. These two trends define life
in Western society today. We are increasingly addicted ...
Christianity Today Book of the Year Award of Merit - Culture and the Arts
For many Christians, engaging with modern art raises several questions: Is the Christian faith at odds with modern art? Does modernism contain religious themes? What is the place of Christian artists in the landscape of modern art?
Nearly fifty years ago, Dutch art historian ...
"Why do they hate us so much?" Many in the U.S. are baffled at the hatred and anti-Western sentiment they see on the international news. Why are people around the world so resentful of Western cultural values and ideals? Historian Meic Pearse unpacks the deep divides between the West and the rest of the world. He shows how many of the underlying assumptions of Western civilization directly oppose ...
Can relligion and politics mix? Many voices reply, "No way!" Yet in this provocative and timely book, Brendan Sweetman argues against this charge and the various sophisticated arguments that support it. As we witness the clash of religious and secular worldviews he claims that our pluralistic democratic society will be best served when the faith elements of secularism are acknowledged and the ...
"Scant decades ago most Westerners agreed that . . . Lifelong monogamy was ideal . . . Mothers should stay home with children . . . premarital sex was to be discouraged . . . Heterosexuality was the unquestioned norm . . . popular culture should not corrupt children. Today not a single one of these expectations is uncontroversial." So writes Rodney Clapp in assessing the status of the family in ...
Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year
Christianity Today's Book of the Year Award of
Merit
"Culture is not a territory to be won or lost but a resource we are called to steward with care. Culture is a garden to be cultivated."
Many bemoan the decay of culture. But we all have a responsibility to care for culture, to nurture it ...
The gospel of Jesus Christ is always situated within a particular cultural context. But how should Christians approach the complex relationship between our faith and our surrounding culture? Should we simply retreat from culture? Should we embrace our cultural practices and mindset? How important is it for us to be engaged in our culture? And how might we do that with discernment and faithfulness? ...
The modern age has produced global crises that modernity itself seems incapable of resolving—deregulated capitalism, consumerism, economic inequality, militarization, overworked laborers, environmental destruction, insufficient health care, and many other problems. The future of our world depends on moving beyond the modern age. Bob Goudzwaard and Craig G. Bartholomew have spent decades listening ...
The tension between Christianity and the arts is often real. But it also offers a false dichotomy. Many Christian artists think that they must choose between their faith and their artistic calling.
Drawing upon his experiences as both a Christian and a practicing artist, Cameron J. Anderson explores the dynamics of faith and art in this Studies in Theology and the Arts volume. ...