by Jason Joyner | May 29, 2007 | Biblical worldview, Blog, fiction, music, writing craft
I posted a seven day discussion on the Christian Marketplace (convenient links: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7) and thought I was done with it for a while. Well, not quite.
Basically, I wanted to add a little balance to what I said. Last week I was reading in my devotional time when I came across this passage, 1 Corinthians 10:23-33.
“Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”
If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. But if anyone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience’ sake—the other man’s conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another’s conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.
I made the plea for freedom for the Christian artist to produce the kind of art that they feel led to produce, whether it was overtly religious or not. I still believe and stand by that, but this passage both supports what I was saying yet provides a little balance to my screed.
Everything is permissible, but should we ask what is the value of it. Obviously Christians shouldn’t make godly erotica, but I do believe that what we create should be “constructive”. What does that entail? Well, I think each sincere Christian artist needs to come to their own conclusion about that. One suggestion I would have is: there should be an overall building up in what we do. There’s a whole lot I could say on this, but that may be for another post.
Art has value in and of itself, and I want to see Christians produce the best music, the best fiction, the best of everything–because we have the great Creator as our inspiration, muse, and guide. However, we need to see if what we are doing is complying with this admonition from Paul: All should be done for the glory of God…For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they might be saved.
by Jason Joyner | May 29, 2007 | Biblical worldview, Blog, fiction, music, writing craft
I posted a seven day discussion on the Christian Marketplace (convenient links: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7) and thought I was done with it for a while. Well, not quite.
Basically, I wanted to add a little balance to what I said. Last week I was reading in my devotional time when I came across this passage, 1 Corinthians 10:23-33.
“Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”
If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. But if anyone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience’ sake—the other man’s conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another’s conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.
I made the plea for freedom for the Christian artist to produce the kind of art that they feel led to produce, whether it was overtly religious or not. I still believe and stand by that, but this passage both supports what I was saying yet provides a little balance to my screed.
Everything is permissible, but should we ask what is the value of it. Obviously Christians shouldn’t make godly erotica, but I do believe that what we create should be “constructive”. What does that entail? Well, I think each sincere Christian artist needs to come to their own conclusion about that. One suggestion I would have is: there should be an overall building up in what we do. There’s a whole lot I could say on this, but that may be for another post.
Art has value in and of itself, and I want to see Christians produce the best music, the best fiction, the best of everything–because we have the great Creator as our inspiration, muse, and guide. However, we need to see if what we are doing is complying with this admonition from Paul: All should be done for the glory of God…For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they might be saved.
by Jason Joyner | May 11, 2007 | Biblical worldview, Blog, books, fiction, music, writing craft
It’s amazing how sick kids and internet connection problems will kill your posting schedule. Be that as it may, here’s day 6 of “The Christian Marketplace”. (Once again, to see the discussion: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5)
I ended the last day with the point “Give [the artist] the freedom to make the [art] they want, whether their main motivation is creative or spiritual.” My theme was the idea of letting the artist proceed with the major motivation that is driving them. If a band’s goal is to make a worship album, then I would want them to make the best worship album they can. If they are writing about some of the hard questions in life, then make it to the glory of God, even if it doesn’t answer the questions in 2 verses, a bridge, and the chorus.
The church has always struggled with a balance of the sacred and the worldly in art. How long were artists not allowed to draw the human body or other aspects of creation so as to “not have any idols”? Then again, how many artists had God as their motivation to make some of the greatest works of art in Western civilization?
Today Christians struggle with the idea that if they don’t try to use art as a vehicle for the gospel, then they are not truly “using their gifts for God.” I don’t think I agree with that. I did a little series back in September on Art and the Bible. In that I discussed how esteemed Christian philosopher Francis Schaeffer didn’t believe it either. If you create art with the only idea of carrying a message, he said it is little more than a tract. However, he felt a body of work would reveal a person’s worldview.
Again, Becky had a pertinent comment:
The pastor (Allistair Begg) described two errors–one being Christians who isolate from the culture to cling to the truth and the other those who participate in the culture at the price of truth. In the first instance, he said, the Christians have the truth but no one to share it with. In the second, they have lots of people, but have lost the truth to give them.
This is true, but I would hope that any Christian worth his salt (pun intented) would find a way to speak of Jesus, whether through their lives or their art. I know that I could not write without at some point speaking of my faith. However, I am not prepared to make that the defining principle for anyone else.
Again, I use the example (again, which is extreme) of Britney Spears. In her early days she tried to say that her faith could co-exist with her sexual persona. Unfortunately we have seen how that has played out. I don’t pretend to know what the eternal state of her soul is, but it is obvious by the fruit that she is having problems. A different artist is Carrie Underwood. She sings standard country music songs about cheatin’ and lyin’, but her biggest hit is still “Jesus Take the Wheel”. Also, even though I am not a country music fan, she does not seem to be cancelling out her witness by having public problems like Ms. Spears.
Am I beating a dead horse yet, or is this making sense? I guess my overall admonition would be that, in the field of pop culture, we (as a consuming audience) need to let Christian artists follow their call as best they are able, and give them grace if they do something artistically that doesn’t follow with our “preferred career course” for them. If Third Day wants to make a kicking rock album because they feel the freedom to, then by all means! If Ted Dekker writes a stunning novel that doesn’t spell out the gospel by page 300, because he has an artistic vision of what he is trying to accomplish, then kudos for him. If you don’t like it, leave it, don’t stumble over it, and see if you can pick up with them later. Michael W. Smith followed Amy Grant’s example in the early 90’s of writing wholesome love and pop songs, and had some mainstream success. However, that phase of his career has passed, and now he is writing the most worshipful music I’ve seen from him. This proves my point – over his storied career he probably has lost people on the way, only to pick them up later. If not, then he picks up new ones.
I don’t think I’ve exhausted this topic, but I believe I’m about done for the time being. Tomorrow I just want to wrap up some loose ends dealing with the question of “false teaching” and quality vs. the joy of bad books!
by Jason Joyner | May 11, 2007 | Biblical worldview, Blog, books, fiction, music, writing craft
It’s amazing how sick kids and internet connection problems will kill your posting schedule. Be that as it may, here’s day 6 of “The Christian Marketplace”. (Once again, to see the discussion: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5)
I ended the last day with the point “Give [the artist] the freedom to make the [art] they want, whether their main motivation is creative or spiritual.” My theme was the idea of letting the artist proceed with the major motivation that is driving them. If a band’s goal is to make a worship album, then I would want them to make the best worship album they can. If they are writing about some of the hard questions in life, then make it to the glory of God, even if it doesn’t answer the questions in 2 verses, a bridge, and the chorus.
The church has always struggled with a balance of the sacred and the worldly in art. How long were artists not allowed to draw the human body or other aspects of creation so as to “not have any idols”? Then again, how many artists had God as their motivation to make some of the greatest works of art in Western civilization?
Today Christians struggle with the idea that if they don’t try to use art as a vehicle for the gospel, then they are not truly “using their gifts for God.” I don’t think I agree with that. I did a little series back in September on Art and the Bible. In that I discussed how esteemed Christian philosopher Francis Schaeffer didn’t believe it either. If you create art with the only idea of carrying a message, he said it is little more than a tract. However, he felt a body of work would reveal a person’s worldview.
Again, Becky had a pertinent comment:
The pastor (Allistair Begg) described two errors–one being Christians who isolate from the culture to cling to the truth and the other those who participate in the culture at the price of truth. In the first instance, he said, the Christians have the truth but no one to share it with. In the second, they have lots of people, but have lost the truth to give them.
This is true, but I would hope that any Christian worth his salt (pun intented) would find a way to speak of Jesus, whether through their lives or their art. I know that I could not write without at some point speaking of my faith. However, I am not prepared to make that the defining principle for anyone else.
Again, I use the example (again, which is extreme) of Britney Spears. In her early days she tried to say that her faith could co-exist with her sexual persona. Unfortunately we have seen how that has played out. I don’t pretend to know what the eternal state of her soul is, but it is obvious by the fruit that she is having problems. A different artist is Carrie Underwood. She sings standard country music songs about cheatin’ and lyin’, but her biggest hit is still “Jesus Take the Wheel”. Also, even though I am not a country music fan, she does not seem to be cancelling out her witness by having public problems like Ms. Spears.
Am I beating a dead horse yet, or is this making sense? I guess my overall admonition would be that, in the field of pop culture, we (as a consuming audience) need to let Christian artists follow their call as best they are able, and give them grace if they do something artistically that doesn’t follow with our “preferred career course” for them. If Third Day wants to make a kicking rock album because they feel the freedom to, then by all means! If Ted Dekker writes a stunning novel that doesn’t spell out the gospel by page 300, because he has an artistic vision of what he is trying to accomplish, then kudos for him. If you don’t like it, leave it, don’t stumble over it, and see if you can pick up with them later. Michael W. Smith followed Amy Grant’s example in the early 90’s of writing wholesome love and pop songs, and had some mainstream success. However, that phase of his career has passed, and now he is writing the most worshipful music I’ve seen from him. This proves my point – over his storied career he probably has lost people on the way, only to pick them up later. If not, then he picks up new ones.
I don’t think I’ve exhausted this topic, but I believe I’m about done for the time being. Tomorrow I just want to wrap up some loose ends dealing with the question of “false teaching” and quality vs. the joy of bad books!
by Jason Joyner | Apr 30, 2007 | Biblical worldview, Blog, fiction, writing craft
Ever since the last fantasy book tour, I’ve been thinking about the paradox that is the “Christian Marketplace”. Never heard of it? Me neither – in that form. There’s no real term for what I’m going to discuss today. In Christian fiction we use the term “CBA” which stands for the Christian Booksellers Association. This is the group that is the gatekeeper for Christian publishing, as opposed to the American Booksellers Association (ABA), which is where secular publishing occurs (although the ABA is not exclusive against Christian authors, while the CBA is). The problem with my discussion today is that it goes beyond fiction, thus the term Christian Marketplace.
To me the Christian Marketplace is the sub-culture that has been created for (mainly) Evangelical Christians in entertainment – encompassing music and fiction primarily, but can include movies, TV, video games, and other mediums. I don’t know the history on how Christian fiction became segregated, but I have some understanding regarding contemporary Christian music (CCM).
CCM came about after the Jesus People movement in the late 60’s/early 70’s, when hippies were getting saved, and doing what came natural to them: playing rock and roll. At first artists were on record labels along with regular artists of the day. Unfortunately, these pioneers were in between a rock and a hard place (no pun intended). Their music was too religious for the mainstream labels, but too loud for the general church audience (and a lot different from the black gospel/southern gospel forms that had been around all along).
Specific music labels were created to be a showcase for these artists. Soon there was Christian radio to play this music, with Christian rock festivals, and Christian music magazines. Soon it became a self-sustaining phenomenon, and it the process turned the word Christian into an artificial genre description rather than what the intent of the term may be.
This has been going on for thirty some-odd years for CCM. Like I said, I don’t know when Christian fiction became a sub-category (after C.S. Lewis’ time, thankfully). But I do know it was mainly known for prarie romances and historical fiction until Frank Peretti came along in the late 80’s with his This Present Darkness and subsequent books. This has triggered a slowly burgeoning fiction landscape that has a pretty diverse selection of books at this point.
Whoa, didn’t know this would start with a history lesson. Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, the CSFF tour from 2 weeks ago. What really got me thinking was a review of Karen Hancock’s book The Light of Eidon on Amazon that was mentioned on Rebecca Grabill’s blog. Check out that review, and I’ll discuss what instigated all of this tomorrow.
by Jason Joyner | Apr 30, 2007 | Biblical worldview, Blog, fiction, writing craft
Ever since the last fantasy book tour, I’ve been thinking about the paradox that is the “Christian Marketplace”. Never heard of it? Me neither – in that form. There’s no real term for what I’m going to discuss today. In Christian fiction we use the term “CBA” which stands for the Christian Booksellers Association. This is the group that is the gatekeeper for Christian publishing, as opposed to the American Booksellers Association (ABA), which is where secular publishing occurs (although the ABA is not exclusive against Christian authors, while the CBA is). The problem with my discussion today is that it goes beyond fiction, thus the term Christian Marketplace.
To me the Christian Marketplace is the sub-culture that has been created for (mainly) Evangelical Christians in entertainment – encompassing music and fiction primarily, but can include movies, TV, video games, and other mediums. I don’t know the history on how Christian fiction became segregated, but I have some understanding regarding contemporary Christian music (CCM).
CCM came about after the Jesus People movement in the late 60’s/early 70’s, when hippies were getting saved, and doing what came natural to them: playing rock and roll. At first artists were on record labels along with regular artists of the day. Unfortunately, these pioneers were in between a rock and a hard place (no pun intended). Their music was too religious for the mainstream labels, but too loud for the general church audience (and a lot different from the black gospel/southern gospel forms that had been around all along).
Specific music labels were created to be a showcase for these artists. Soon there was Christian radio to play this music, with Christian rock festivals, and Christian music magazines. Soon it became a self-sustaining phenomenon, and it the process turned the word Christian into an artificial genre description rather than what the intent of the term may be.
This has been going on for thirty some-odd years for CCM. Like I said, I don’t know when Christian fiction became a sub-category (after C.S. Lewis’ time, thankfully). But I do know it was mainly known for prarie romances and historical fiction until Frank Peretti came along in the late 80’s with his This Present Darkness and subsequent books. This has triggered a slowly burgeoning fiction landscape that has a pretty diverse selection of books at this point.
Whoa, didn’t know this would start with a history lesson. Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, the CSFF tour from 2 weeks ago. What really got me thinking was a review of Karen Hancock’s book The Light of Eidon on Amazon that was mentioned on Rebecca Grabill’s blog. Check out that review, and I’ll discuss what instigated all of this tomorrow.
