Forbidden Art

I was explaining to a friend yesterday that I went to see a performance of Handel's Messiah and he gave me the weirdest look. I gave an astonished one back.

"You don't know what the Messiah is?"

"Karyn, not everyone grew up in choir like you did"

"I'm pretty sure Handel's Messiah is one of most well known pieces of music ever written. At least in our Western world."

I brought it up at family dinner tonight and my entire family, including grandparents, agree that the Messiah is a well known piece of music. Not to mention incredibly beautiful and breathtaking.

This got me to thinking. How are we educating our children in regards to the arts? Are they even being educated? As a Christian and an artist, am I showing Christ and truth in my art? Is the Messiah a piece of truth that reflects Christ and should be known?

I came across an article in the latest Christianity Today issue discussing the use of the Messiah in China. The Chinese government decided that "sacred music should disappear". The author of the article states that "the Messiah is one of the greatest examples of Western music; it is also one of the greatest expressions of the gospel (the libretto is pulled directly from Scripture)". Despite this, the government has started to ban seemingly Western sacred pieces such as Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, Brahm's Requiem, and Mendelssohn's Elijah. "While good music is valuable in itself, Christians contribute transcending value when they create beautiful art that carries the gospel" is the central idea or theme of this article and I have to say that I completely agree. There is something in the truth and sometimes awful grace of Christianity that brings us right to our knees in awe of the ultimate Creator. It outrages me that a government with such fundamentally high standards of living would find it acceptable to cut out an important art form from their society. John Nelson, a maestro who has performances around the world is quoted in this article. China may need to see action, "like Nelson's, to cultivate Christian art on the highest level- art for an audience of more than one, art that strives to be something with a long half-life, art that strives to be art, not propaganda. There is no small risk involved, because we never know at the time which art will, in fact, last. Yet despite the risk and difficulty, some of us should be deliberately creating it."

I think for me it is a little bit of both. Part of me is deliberate in creating art and what I create and another part knows that I need to, and out it flows, like it is the most natural thing in the world to me. It makes my heart sad that we live in a world where governing officials have say over what kind of art is created. Knowing that makes me want to create even more. What point is there in holding truth back from a group of people? None.

I will create because He first created, "If we love God with heart, soul, mind, and strength, the church as it worships will contribute to our cultures' riches. And it will have given people the means and motivation to praise God, even in the most unlikely places".

One thing I Love: prayers being answered
Song of the Day:
Worlds Apart by Jars of Clay