Beyond the Spiritual
In many ways beyond the spiritual (is there something beyond spiritual?) becoming a Christian has defined my life. I became ‘born again’ in 1976 in LA, right at the height of the Jesus Freak movement. I started going to the first Vineyard Christian Fellowship, got baptized in the Pacific Ocean and stuck with non-denominational churches and college fellowship groups all through my college years. I met my first wife, Kathy, in a college fellowship group, that brought me in contact with her family, who included the single best example of living the true Christian life I’ve ever come across, my father-in-law Dwight Johnson. Boy, did I learn a lot from that man, I am so grateful for him.
© Elliot Erwitt
Judgment and it’s Offsets
An interesting clarifying moment for me came when I went to art graduate school in Michigan in 1980. One the one side I was in a very intensely free and creative environment at school. On the other I was attending a Baptist church my wife and I had found near where we lived. And what did I find? Both groups tended to be a bit judgmental of the other, no doubt about it. But the art group, in spite of their liberality, were the more judgmental of the two, by far. I thought long and hard about why that was. What I discovered as I watched the two groups was, that in spite of the judgmental elements in the teachings at church, there was an even stronger element that offset that (at least in that church and the other churches I had attended), and that was teachings of mercy, compassion, forgiveness, humility, patience, kindness, and love.
Now, I don’t mean that no one in the art group had any of those traits, of course they did. But as a group they did not have any focused or guided attention paid to those things. i In this case, it was a very intensely judgmental art atmosphere. We were there to refine our art and that happened by putting it in the fire of judgment. But there was no teaching or guiding on the part of the main professor I had, nor the other professors I came in contact with, that offset that with the qualities I mentioned above.
Judgment #1 – © 2017 Marty Coleman
Both Can
Many decades have passed since then and I’ve been in the art world and the church world both for all those years. I like both worlds, and there are things I don’t like about them. Church can squash creativity and free thinking like it’s nobody’s business. But the art world, as odd as it sounds, can do the same. The church and art worlds can both make you feel like you don’t belong. They can both define the world and culture around them as unacceptable because it doesn’t fit their idea of healthy or happy. They can both be so sure of themselves that they feel superior and enlightened compared to everyone else.
Cross and Dagger – © 2017 Marty Coleman
Best of All
What are you suppose to do in that situation? What I reach for is to be the best of both as best I can. But how does one do that? By practicing. Just as my artwork is better because I practice it, so is my heart, my mind and my actions in all of life when I practice those things I mentioned above; mercy, compassion, forgiveness, humility (ok, not always good at that) patience, kindness, and love. It also means I practice judgment. Practicing judgments causes me to use it less, not more. It helps me to discern between pre-judgment, a judgment from a place of ignorance and a judgment from a place of insecurity and defense, and the more powerful and good limited judgment based on observation, evidence and necessity.
Art and Witness – © 2017 Marty Coleman
Practice
You don’t get better at something without practice. If you don’t want to get better, then…sorry, you still have to practice because you can’t even maintain your skills without it. This is true of creativity and spirituality and indeed, any quality of character you want to have in life. Finding a way to be inspired to practice any these things is one of the essential tasks of a successful life.
What do you think?
Nude Being Drawn – © 2017 Marty Coleman
Cathie, those are fantastic observations and a very good description of how a Christian (or other religious person) might think about things.
I wonder about the ‘molding and shaping’ being done by God directly vs indirectly. For example, I gain muscle because I do a workout, not because God does it. I also gain insight, knowledge, skill by my efforts in those area; reading, practicing, listening, etc. I deliberately decide to do those things and as a result better myself intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually (depending on what I pay attention to of course).
So the question for me is, is that God making me better or is it me making me better? If I read it in scripture or hear it in a sermon and apply it, I can see someone saying it is God doing it. But even then, it is indirectly since I have to make a decision to act on what I have learned, right? And what if it is not a religious-based teaching, is God still doing it, or is it me and my decision?
What are your thoughts?
This is a very interesting juxtaposition, Marty. I love that you search for and find the qualities of mercy, forgiveness, etc. in both communities. I have some experience with those as well, (music and theater) but visual art has some very distinct elements which are perhaps less present in my artistic context.
The main difference that I see between the visual art community and my church family, is just that: in art groups, the primary focus seems to be improvement through critique, technique, and skill, a process of growth for which WE are responsible. And there is the talent/ giftedness aspect. Within my faith community, we all (if we are honest) acknowledge that we are continuously ” in process”, toward a perfect standard, which is unattainable in and of ourselves. My goal is to become the best “Cathie” that I can be, but the molding and shaping is done by God. I am just an art medium, if you will. The Bible talks about all of us being moulded, (clay), being refined in fire, (gold/dross), pruned (vines and trees). So as a mere medium, which is being crafted, my role is to yield, and allow the process; a daily choice. And I’m terrible at it. So how can we as Christians, dare to stand in judgement of others? We are all in the same process, and are called to support, love encourage and help our fellow travelers on Planet Earth. God alone is the Judge.
In art, WE are the creators, acting upon the medium, whether it is sound, words, emotions, paint or clay. We learn the elements, skills, and the standards, and hopefully are then qualified to express opinions, suggestions, and perhaps, judgement. The best teachers are great at this! But sometimes, all of our messy human emotions get in to muck it up. Pride, envy, competitiveness, etc. as I see it, the goal is to be affirming, not judgemental, and to encourage others to be the very best person, artist, performer, poet, friend, HUMAN, that we can be. And that is honoring to each one with whom we come in contact.
What I have imperfectly tried to express is that, each of us is created in God’s image, and as he is creative, so we are creative. The difference is that as creators, we act, and as creation, we are acted upon. I’m constantly trying to get that straight. Thanks for bearing with me as I imperfectly try to process the Process.
Love you, Marty!