I’m convinced that bad art derives, like bad literary theory, from bad theology. To know God falsely is to write and paint and sculpt and cook and dance Him falsely. Perhaps it’s not poor artistic skill that yields bad Christian art, in other words, but poor Christianity.
Tony Woodlief"Bad Christian Art" from Image
1 comment:
That was a really interesting article, Mike - thanks for linking it it. It reinforces my sense that, despite his intellectual and theological gifts, C S Lewis was an inferior writer of fiction to JRR Tolkien, because Lewis makes the Christian theology in his fiction explicit, whereas Tolkien writes from a worldview informed by his Christianity, but doesn't use his fiction to preach - someone might draw a Christian message from "The Lord of the Rings", but Tolkien leaves that up to the reader.
Incidentally, I would make exactly the same criticism of Philip Pullman as of Lewis - he's a fine writer, but the second and third volume of "His Dark Materials" are progressively spoiled by Pullman's tipping the scales of his story to serve as a proof of his worldview.
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