Introduction A professor once challenged me to write a theology of art. I was a student at Briercrest College, graduating with a Bachelor of Art in Theology. During my exit interview, from my statement of beliefs, the professor drew attention to an errant vacuum in what I had hastily drawn up. “You are an artist. Why isn’t this reflected here?” He asked. I was embarrassed. As an artist and theologian, I had failed. One of the most distinct characteristics of my person was left out of how I relate to God. What came after was grace. He, and the other professor attending, offered a conditional pass. From there he issued his challenge to me first as an artist (the manner in how he related to me) and second a theologian, was to arrive at a personal theology of art. It has been six years since I graduated. Challenge accepted. Chapter One What is Art? Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Art is necessary. I...
A comment was made on my recent post from a former colleague and friend. It cut at something I should have been more precise with. The very word “complexity” is multi-faceted. What I provided was an oversimplification. In terms of the nature of God, my use of complexity could be read and attributed to three things: character, oneness, and substance. What I was referring to was the latter, substance. God’s substance, his being, is eternal. The due criticism pointed to me using complexity as a misattribution to God’s character and oneness. Further points of the critique alluded to a traditional sense of the word complex: being comprised of multiple things. While I wholeheartedly agree with this critique, and am indeed in line with Him being one, if I am to harangue anything, it is that the understandability of God’s substance is on the line, not the complexity of his character, or His oneness. We know, through Scriptures, of God’s character, primarily His love towards us. ...