When I say the words “Christian art,” most of you probably think of a tranquil cottage, windows alight and chimney smoking, with a snippet of a Psalm scrawled on the frame. But what if these things radically miss the mark of true Christian art? As Christians, we too often dismiss good art and accept mediocre substitutes just because they’re labeled Christian. We’ve created for ourselves a kind of “artistic ghetto,” and are willing to preserve it even at the cost of quality. In his book, “Bad Religion,” Ross Douthat quotes Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict): “The only really effective apologia for Christianity comes down to two arguments, namely, the saints the church has produced and the art which has grown in her womb.” Reflecting on Ratzinger’s words, Douthat added, “Today, we have too few of both.” [link]
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