Pragmatism and Love

So, what wisdom would artists share with our churches? They would urge us to fight the pull of pragmatism and always to remember Jesus’ golden rule.

Questions for Reflection

1) All art is quite useless! Was Oscar Wilde right?

2) What are your favourite examples of how God interweaves function and aesthetics into his creation? What can we learn from this?

Scriptures to consider: Genesis 2:9
Other resources: Art and Faith by Makoto Fujimura

3) How can we balance a right sense of pragmatism and goal orientation with more aesthetic considerations (beauty, playfulness, spontaneity)? In our individual lives? In our churches?

4) Consider how you talk about our evangelistic mission as Christians? What images do you use for this mission? What words do you use to describe people who aren’t Christians? Do these words and images honour those people as humans made in God’s image or depict them as objects or products?

Scriptures to consider: Romans 13:8-10
Artworks to consider: Mark Laita- Soft White Underbelly youtube channel and photographic portraits