Creative Christians

This is a talk I have been working on for the last week or so and which I gave as part of a small service at a sheltered housing complex in Aberdeen today.  The core issue is one I have been considering for some time and being asked to do this talk seemed to be a good opportunity to solidify my thoughts and seek the Lord on the topic.  I hope that it is, in some way at least, edifying.

Job 38: 4-7

Exodus 31: 1-11

            There has been something bothering me about the Christian community for a while now, an issue I cannot fully make sense of, a question that I gnaw at from time to time, hoping to find a satisfactory answer.  To my shame, or perhaps to our shame, I haven’t found one yet.

            It is a question that comes up every time a well-meaning friend recommends another Christian band or novel and I find out they are no more to my taste than any of the others.  It is a question which arises every time I read the works of C S Lewis, or see a spiritual painting by one of the masters in a gallery, yet see no analogue in modern Christian life.  It is a question cowering within me every time the world tells us that Christians are boring and that God is irrelevant.

            What is the question?

            In the simplest form I can muster it would be this: Why aren’t Christians today more creative?

As part of our life and worship we are supposed to become more like God every day, to reflect his image outwards into a world that doesn’t know him as it should.  We know that God is loving and merciful and so individuals seek to help those they can and Christian charities lead the way in many areas of humanitarian work.  We reveal the loving character of God in our practical Christian lives.  We also know that God judges the world with righteousness, and as Christians we are certainly very good at appearing judgemental, even if that’s not actually the same thing, or to be commended in any way.

We were made to reflect the image of God and whether we give a pure reflection or not, how we behave, how we react to situations and how we express ourselves will always help the world to form an opinion of our Heavenly Father.  We know this!  We strive to live better lives and to present an outward image of godly living that can serve as a witness to the world.  It takes up hours of sermon time, of bible studies and commentaries, and this is as it should be, but it is far, far less often that we will be spurred on to acts of creativity, or hear encouragement for the creative Christian.

We worship the God of the universe – the most creative, imaginative person in existence, who has ever existed and ever will exist.  This is the God who made stars and solar systems by the billion, dusting space with nebulae and galaxies over distances it is impossible for the human mind to comprehend, who created the awesome diversity, complexity and beauty of every living thing, from blue whales to amoebae, buttercups to redwoods. This is the God who sculpted the Himalayas, the Rockies and the Andes and gave the birds their song.

In the passage from Job we see just this aspect of God at work, explained to us in terms we can understand and which, it seems, God himself relates to: God as craftsman, a master builder perfecting his art.  Whilst God was making a different point entirely to Job, the description of his creative work is also a significant insight into God’s attitude towards creativity.  God does not consider creation a simple, one-off act of thought, but a work of care and attention and, as verse 7 clearly suggests to us, of great beauty.

God’s Creation is Art with a capital A.  It was made to be seen, enjoyed, investigated and debated.  It was made to have meaning found in it and it was made to transcend all meaning.  And, like all art, it is at times controversial.  If you’re not convinced try asking a group of Christians for their opinion on spiders, or Brussels sprouts...

My point is this: God is the ultimate artist and creativity is a fundamental part of who he is and how he acts, and yet I do not see all that much creativity at work in the Christian community today.

I do not deny that there is creativity, but if we are to be emulating God in this, being his representatives in this world, our art should be the most beautiful and diverse art after Creation itself.  We seem to get stuck in a rut, or think that only a very few media, styles or genres are really acceptable.  We shoot ourselves in the foot.

If we look at the Exodus passage, then, we can see the importance God puts on creativity within his people.

Firstly he chooses Bezalel.  As Christians we understand the significance of being chosen for God by any task, but the Hebrew is a bit more specific and many older translations reflect this.  The KJV, for example, says ‘I have called by name Bezalel’.  This turn of phrase denotes God choosing Bezalel for a specific and, above all, important task.  It is an extremely high honour.

Secondly God fills Bezalel with his Spirit.  This is in fact the first instance in the Bible where someone is specifically mentioned as having been filled with God’s spirit and whereas we might assume God might anoint someone in this way for a role as a great political, spiritual or martial leader, God’s aim here is quite different.  This is God commissioning an artist, but unlike any other patron in the history of art God not only provides the goals to be met and the means to meet it, but the very skills to be used on the way – ‘skill, knowledge and ability in all kinds of craftsmanship’.  As in all other good things, God sets the ultimate example.

Has God called any of us by name?  Has God filled us with the Spirit?

As Christians we are all called to use our different gifts and talents, and whilst none of us is likely to be asked to make a new tabernacle, we have all been commissioned by Christ to go out into the world and make disciples of all men.  As long as the world is inspired and encouraged by great art and music and literature it is part of that mission to see that at least some of that art glorifies the God who made it all possible.

We are not all Michelangelo, we cannot all write like Shakespeare, or compose like Handel; we might not have the design talent of William Morris, or the directorial talent of Hitchcock and, if I can expand our ideas of creativity a little further, we won’t all be able to program video games like Warren Spector or Peter Molyneaux, but somewhere in the Church there is a Christian who will.

So, two things:

            Firstly, as Christians we should reflect the beauty of the world and of our God in our creativity, whatever form, large or small that takes, to inspire others and glorify God in all his creative genius.  That creativity doesn’t always have to be overtly Christian, any more than the work we do might be, or the conversations we have each day, but in that same way it must be done with him in mind and for his glory.

            Secondly, we should encourage others whose gifts lie firmly in this area to use them and to exercise their God-given talent along with their Christ-won freedom to show the world that God still inspires, he still commissions, he is still endlessly imaginative and he is still the most beautiful, the most complex and the most meaningful of all.

A Night to Remember

The following is the text of a talk I gave today at a small half hour service I led at a sheltered housing complex in Aberdeen.  I post it here because it sums up a number of different things I've been thinking about recently and wanted to share, but couldn't quite find the words until this challenged me to organise my thoughts properly.  The Bible passage for the talk was Luke 22, 7 -19.

2012 is a funny year, isn’t it?  There are so many things happening this year, especially for those of us living in the United Kingdom.  The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.  The Olympics.  Lots of events are being planned to tie in with both of those.  And then there’s the one for those with a more outlandish taste, the end of the world as we know it on December 23^rd – or, at least, if you believe certain mis-readings of the ancient Mayan calendar...  There are lots of events, things to look forward to or dread, occasions to look to the future and those that recall the past.

            For me 2012 was always going to be a year that seemed centred on one of the latter, a link to the past.  Two weeks ago, on the 15^th of April, it was the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic.  For as long as I can remember I’ve been fascinated by that ship: a work of supreme Edwardian elegance, an engineering triumph, a terrible, unexpected disaster and a grave in the cold depths of the lonely Atlantic.

            I have no particular connection to the ship.  None of my relatives were passengers on her that I know of,  nor did they serve on board or help to build her.  She sank 71 years before I was born.  My only connections, as I see it, are that I was born in Birkenhead, on the other side of the Mersey from where she was conceived in the offices of the White Star Line, and I grew up in the small coastal town of Donaghadee in Northern Ireland, around the corner from Belfast Lough where she was born and first set sail with hundreds watching her.  They would have been able to see her from Donaghadee harbour, I imagine, waving and cheering in their best clothes.

            Despite this, I was haunted that weekend, two weeks ago.  The wreck of the Titanic seemed to call to me, to burden me with its immense weight, with its 1,514 lost souls.  It felt real to me in a very unnatural way and it was actually difficult for me to focus on much else.  I found it strange at the time, having, in a macabre sort of way, looked forward to the anniversary, but I was glad to see it finally pass, without ever knowing why I felt anything for it at all.

            Which brings me to another anniversary of sorts this month.  The week before it had been Easter.  I was privileged enough to have been part of the Aberdeen Passion and so, for once, I felt very strongly connected to the whole event, having, or so it seemed, relived the final days of Jesus’ life several times that weekend, albeit from the rather inauspicious role of a Pharisee.  In the midst of the all the emotions we experienced that weekend, excitement and nervousness, sorrow and joy, I couldn’t help but wonder why I didn’t feel like that all the time.

It highlighted for me how distant I can feel from the Easter story at other times, or even at other Easters.  After the Titanic commemoration I found myself wondering, why do I feel connected to a ship wreck that has nothing to do with me and yet can feel distant when reflecting on the core history of my faith?

            I thought about it a lot and in doing so realised something quite precious.  I was brought back to thinking about a different night to remember, the night of Maundy Thursday, before Jesus was arrested.  The night of the last supper.

            During the course of that meal Jesus did something very important for people like me, prone to forgetting the wonderful things he has done.  He instituted a sacrament, in which we are reminded of all that he has done for us, but he didn’t just give us a religious ritual to perform, or a trial to pass.  No.  He gave us a meal: a meal to share with friends.  Isn’t that astounding?

            Jesus has always known the full depth of human weakness.  He knew that we were lost to sin and deserved punishment, so he came to earth to take that punishment in our place.  He knew that we would struggle to repent of our sins, even in light of what he had done, so before he started his ministry he who was without sin was baptised in the river Jordan and repented for us.  And he knew that despite all of that, we would forget and we would let the enemy distract us with other fixations and ideas, so he gave us a simple, joyful thing to do, sharing a meal with our friends, to make sure we would always remember the path to our salvation.  What a kind, what a gracious God we have.

            God is a God who remembers.  That much is clear to anyone who reads the bible, especially the old testament.  His people cry out to him again and again, ‘Remember us, oh Lord!’ and he does, faithfully.  And he commands us to remember, over and over again: to remember the things he has done for us and the commands he has given.  Remembering, it seems is an integral part of both who God is and what we are called to do as Christians, living our lives following his pattern. But in the communion meal, the bread and the wine, Jesus body and blood, it seems to me that, once again, God is doing something for us because we’re no good at it.  He is remembering for us.

            I still don’t know why the Titanic calls to me so much.  There are lots of reasons, I suppose, the glamour of the ship, the portentous period in history, the tales of heroism and cowardice…  I don’t know.  In the end it’s just one instance in history.  One disaster.

            And I don’t know why Easter is sometimes more distant to me than that, an event confined to the pages of the bible, even though it’s an event which rewrote the universe and transforms the lives of those that follow Jesus forever.

But I know that God will keep reminding me, calling me back to him again and again as I partake of the bread and wine, and for that I am grateful.  What does it say to you?

Murkland live this evening!

Murkland will go live this evening at 6pm British Summer Time.

Coming Soon: Murkland

Seraphic Worlds has just received a make-over.  I'm not 100% sure that this is the look I'll be sticking with, but it is already looking a bit fresher and a bit more suited to the use I intend to make of it, i.e. a hub for my web fiction projects.

Which brings me to the point of this post - to announce the newest addition to my web fiction portfolio, Murkland, which will be up and available to read later this week.

Murkland is a horror story in the vein of Konami's Silent Hill series of video games.  Set in an ancient Scottish city on the longest night of the year, it will see four strangers have to come together to face their personal demons and the demons of the city's past.  It's update schedule is still to be decided, but it's likely to be updated twice a week with shorter updates than those you might be used to from Shadow.

Look out for more info in the coming days.

Just like startin' over

So, once again I make the attempt to resurrect this blog, although this time I have a more reliable purpose in mind for it and one which I think it will be better suited for.

So, from now on, Seraphic Worlds will serve as a sort of hub and commentary blog for my web fiction series, of which at this precise moment there is but one, but I am working on another at this very moment (well, not literally) and I have a few other ideas up my sleeve for further down the line.  Until any of these other projects surface I will use this blog for any news, commentaries or whatever that relate to Shadow, although I will still post news articles in the Shadow blog itself as well, just so no one is left out.

But what of this new project, I hear you ask?  Well, I can tell you that, just like Shadow, it's not really new.  It's something I was working on a few years ago and put on hold for a few other projects and, as is so often the case, I never got the time to go back to it.  So, it seems I am going back to it now and I'm rediscovering that I actually rather liked it and that it's format might lend itself particularly well to serialised web fiction.  It is very different from Shadow.  Here's a list of comparisons:

Shadow is a fantasy adventure story, [Project Name] is a supernatural horror story.

Shadow is aimed at a wide audience, suitable for almost all ages, [Project Name] is suitable for adults only.

Shadow has no definite end point, being an ongoing, TV series-like tale, [Project Name] was intended to be a Novella - it may get extended some in this format, but it will always have an end point in mind.

And those are just for starters.

So, if you like supernatural horror and particularly if you a fan of the Silent Hill series of video games/films/comics, then you will probably want to keep an eye out for when [Project Name] goes live.

That's all for now folks!