CityView Magazine

Engaging Christian Spirituality &The Killers The pastor By The Rev. Dan Alger I dig The Killers. Not the Jeffrey Dahmer, Charles Manson kind Ð that would be creepy. I mean the band. Maybe you know some of their songs: ÒS omebody Told Me,Ó ÒM r. Brightside,Ó ÒH uman,Ó or maybe you donÕ t. Even though a lot of their lyrics talk about things that I either donÕ t agree with or donÕ t understand, thereÕ s something about the intricacies of The KillersÕ rhythm and the texture of their music that makes me ponder. I could say the same for the honesty of the Avett Brothers or the power of Social Distortion. Sometimes, those of us who are Christian make a false distinction between sacred and secular. There are definitely some things intended to bring honor to God and some things that are purposed for the opposite effect, but because God created everything, there is a glimpse of the image of the creator in all things. If Christians automatically reject certain art or music on the grounds of being secular, we might just miss something important. Who created rhythm? What about harmony, notes or tones? Who created the longing for beauty in our lives? All of these things point to the greatest artist of all Ð G od. God created us in his image and that means he wants us to share in his creation. We are called to do art and become closer to him in the process. One major difference is that we can only create out of something. We have to have raw materials, whether that be clay to sculpt, bodies to dance, oil to paint, or a music scale to compose; we can only create something new out of something that already exists. The greatness of God is that he creates all out of nothing. The raw materials were his idea, and it is his joy to see us use those materials to do amazing things. At the source of all art is the genius of the ultimate artist. The fact that much of art works not to bring glory to God but for other purposes shows that the world is skewed. That some art is used to celebrate things other than God as the source of all that is good, lovely and pure shows that the system is out of whack. Christians believe that Jesus came to restore purity and reconcile all of us to our creator. That would mean that in Christ the greatest art is possible because not only is it beautiful, it would be fulfilling its ultimate purpose: to point to God as the source of beauty. Christians should be involved in art, film and music and should strive to do them well. Too often, poor quality art and music is sold and consumed by Christians because it has the label Ò ChristianÓ or is sold in a Ò ChristianÓ bookstore. I think this does more to turn people away from God than show them his value and worth. Many people are shocked by the fact that I cannot stand listening to the vast majority of contemporary Christian music, but have you heard it? Most of it is subpar musically. Do I hear God in some of this music? Sure, but I also hear God in the brilliance of James Taylor, The White Stripes and John Mayer, and most of their stuff is much more pleasing to the ears. HereÕ s my point. Christians, letÕ s have a keener eye for God. Instead of creating false categories of Ò sacredÓ and Ò secular,Ó letÕ s believe that our God transcends that gap and find his autograph on every piece of art. For non- Christians in the art world, I encourage you to seek the true source of your inspiration and gift. As a Christian, I believe that you can know God more intimately than you could ever imagine. If what you create is beautiful, how amazing the God who created beauty must be.CV The Rev. Dan Alger is pastor of The Church of the Apostles. He can be reached at ecs@tcota.org. CityViewNC.com | 15

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