Old Ideas, New Meme, 1,2,3

Sam tagged me with this:

1. Name one idea that used to be seen as a key Christian theme, but is nowadays regarded as either irrelevant or outdated, although you think it still has a lot to offer.

2. In two sentences say something about why you selected this, and why it should be recovered or renewed.

3. Tag three people.

I thought Sam's response was great and is well worth repeating:

1. Spiritual warfare (ie the spiritual reality of the demonic); and

2. I like what CS Lewis said about the devil, that there are two equal and opposite errors, of taking it too seriously, and not taking it seriously enough. I believe the impact of Modernist rationality has, in large part, meant that the church generally, and the CofE in particular, has fallen into the latter error, and that this has had serious consequences.

For my answer I would like to promote:

1. The conviction of Daniel Siedell (as developed in God in the Gallery) "that Christian thought and practice as it is embodied in the seven ecumenical councils can nourish a deeper and more expansive understanding of contemporary artistic practice."

2. An excellent Amazon.com review of the book summarises Siedell's thinking well: "The most lucid distinction Siedell states near the end of the book is particularly helpful in considering art: "the ultimate distinction, then, is not between Christian art and autonomous modern art but between art that in its union of form and content can bring forth or testify to an embodied transcendence, revealing our `amphibious existence' [C.S. Lewis], and art that denies such transcendence" ... It is a matter of seeing and being incarnationally in the world ... The engagement of the church with contemporary art practices, then, is to expand the vision of the incarnational reign of Christ; it is to deepen the ability for contemplation, for communion with God; it is to live in such a way that embodies the kingdom "not of this world;" it is to affirm that another world is, in fact, possible, and to participate in that reconciliation."

3. I tag Philip, Paul, and Peter.

On the subject of the Art & Christianity meme that I started a while back, I'm now getting around to following up some of the recommendations made by those who responded to the meme. So, I've got copies now of Magnolia (recommended by Sam) and Babette's Feast (recommended by Philip) either of which I had seen previously (clearly a major gap in my cultural education!). I've still got to watch Babette's Feast but found Magnolia very moving. Like Abel Ferrar's Bad Lieutenant, the film involves a sustained immersion in, as Sam put it, a "warts'n'all portrayal of modern life" before reaching a memorable and spiritual dénouement consistent with the characters and narratives depicted.

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Paramore - We Are Broken.