A few weeks ago I wrote about A Jungle Full of Monkeys. In that post, I talked about the incipient reformation of aesthetics that may be taking shape among the young, restless, and Reformed. The interest in that post, and response to it, tells me that I am not just firing random neurons on this subject.
Here are just a couple of follow-up thoughts — cautions directed at two different generations.
There are saints out there of a more seasoned mien — old, listless, and Reformed — no, just kidding — who bring a great deal of experience to the subject of aesthetics. Those of them who care about it could easily miss this trend because the burgeoning interest in aesthetics is taking place in areas where they are not accustomed to look. If a church service takes place in a warehouse, it looks (architecturally) like there is no theological interest in aesthetics at all. But often it has simply been relocated — in this church, the fanatics of “standards” are all laboring at the sound board in the back. I am not here participating in a debate about where the standards should be manifested; I am simply maintaining that there ought to be such a discussion, and that we could easily find people to take up each side. In short, I am saying that there has not so much been an abandonment of aesthetic standards among the young and Reformed as there has been a relocation of where those standards are on display. But they care about it, a lot, and when committed Christians care about glorifying something, it is astonishing how much can be done.
But to those who are engaged in this kind of reformational work, I would say this — beware of the equipment. Back in the old days, buying a bunch of brushes didn’t make you a painter. The same thing is true now. The fact that the “brushes” are far more expensive doesn’t change the principle. In the realm of aesthetics, we are dealing with some permanent things, and it never will be possible to fix a bad story with good cameras. The best sound engineer in the world won’t turn a “Jesus is my girlfriend” song into “Love bade me welcome . . .” by Herbert.
Consequently, those who are laboring in the creative arts among the young, restless, and Reformed need to pray that God give them some words. They need poets, writers, wordsmiths, screenplay writers. Special note: this is not the same thing as needing people who desperately want to be poets, writers, etc. Still less is it a need for people who want to have written something grand, but are too lazy actually to do it. We need that kind of aspiring screenwriter like we need a sucking chest wound.
The lure of the equipment exists because the equipment is complicated and expensive. Having mastered the features of the complex tool, it is easy to think there is nothing left to master. But how many of us have had the experience of staring at a movie screen, thinking that thing up there the “dumbest thing I ever saw,” while at the same time reeling under the weight of the knowledge that the dumbest thing you ever saw cost 75 million to make? And somebody — let us call him Mr. Chump — coughed that money up.
So pray that God send you someone with the words. We are the people of the Word, and so it is a good prayer.