Travis the Writer

Divinity

This theme of this chapter is personal to me. Namely, I believe that art is chiefly a reflection of God's design and the purpose of an artist is to accurately define His character and soul. If you're not a theist, you may disagree from the start. I imagine some people reading this are angry at churches and religion in general, either from a misunderstanding or, sadly, because of actual abuse of clergymen. The point of this chapter is not to promote a particular church or really any certain theological system. I simply believe art is something beyond human understanding. A purely naturalistic understanding of the world is not enough to account for beauty - it is divine.

If you look back at history, art has always had a religious purpose. This is not to say other, more modern, purposes are wrong, but originally art and beauty belonged to the gods. The Neolithic Venus figurines, the tombs of the pharaohs, and the giant Olmec heads all had a religious connection. As time progressed, the Church is primarily what kept art and writing alive in Western culture with their imposing cathedrals, colorful Bibles, and joyous Latin chants. The same is true of the old Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu worlds. Faith propelled art because people realized a connection. I wrote earlier how art connects us to each other in many ways, but it also connects us to a world beyond our own.

Our imagination isn't tied to material world. We have reason and creativity because it is a gift from God, who ultimately is the source of all beauty. Divinity created the world with its majestic mountains, peaceful rivers, and dreamy forests. There is a natural beauty in creation that we can only vaguely attempt to mimic in our fallen nature. We cannot measure up to God's standard of beauty. Every artist tries to capture  a sense of divinity in their works, but it is quite arrogant to presume we are gods ourselves through art. We create things that appear beautiful and full of meaning, but we are not the Creator. We have to literally borrow from the original creation to make our canvases and brushes. Our themes our not unique. Truly, there is nothing new under the sun. Every story has been played out before in nature itself. The animals were here before us. Every emotion has been already captured in the sunset sky, raging seas, and the rest of creation. The heavens declare that we are not everything there is. We are, in fact, quite small.

It's interesting how the ancient gods of nearly every early culture focused on domination over an aspect of nature. All the river valley civilizations had a god of the harvest, the sun, and rain. The cycle of life, a purely natural and beautiful thing, humans have always attributed to the supernatural. The natural processes of the earth are so mysterious and beautiful,  man realizes he couldn't take credit for mastering it. The ancients knew well that nature could not be controlled indefinitely without appeasing the gods that personified it. Nature seems to have a will of its own. Floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions prove nature is sometimes not forgiving. Likewise, should we really receive praise and honor for art when we truly are not the source of it? Will God forgive this arrogance?

Or imagine a king lends one of his barons his palace while he is away at war. The baron acts as a good steward by caring for the royals family and maintaining the castle grounds. While he holds some limited power temporarily, he still represents the king. The baron, no matter how well he manages, does not own the king's property. How much then do we owe the Divine King of the universe for everything? It is only a gift for us to express ideas and beauty in a special way.

We ourselves are created in God's image. We are given the ability to reason and express creatively by grace of the Divine. We could be no better than savage apes, yet we are made a little lower than the angels. Our created bodies are art, not in some weird exhibitionist way, but as living symbols of the divine among us. The deep intricacies of our bodies are beautiful and beyond our ability to fully fathom. Our steady heartbeat is music. A smile is worth a thousand words. No drawing or painting  can really capture the emotion of childbirth as it really is. It's not called a miracle for nothing.

Now it is my personal belief that my writing should point back towards God. When people randomly read my stories and poems here, I hope and pray they see values that represent my Christian faith. Of course, the bad guys are still bad and I like to include crude jokes for comic relief. And, I don't always write in explicitly Christian terms. I don't have to say "Jesus" or "repent and believe" to express a Christian message. I tried to explain this in the poem God's Music: God already owns everything. Humans just twist it to serve their own, often wicked, purposes. I can write about a somber tale of a knight slaying an evil monster. I can also write a funny poem about making macaroni and cheese. Both inherently would contain a Christian message because it I am writing with the intent to give glory to God. I don't want anyone to single me out for praise or compliments. If I am famous one day, that's great, but I am not going to use my fame to draw people away from the source of my talent - divinity.

You might not believe in God or any religion. The point of this wasn't to convince anyone God exist, but I hope you learn that you really aren't that important. That seems like such a harsh thing to say in 2016. Our culture is all about respecting people's sensibilities. Parents, schools, and the media all teach us that our potential is unlimited. This idealistic promise builds false hope and entitlement in children. If you credit everything to yourself, you'll be crushed at the failure that is inevitable. It's not easy making a career in any form of art. Accept that you don't have control. Accept that other people deserve gratitude and respect for your success. God, I believe, is ultimately the fountain that I draw from for inspiration. Perhaps you believe nature is the prime source of worth and beauty. Maybe it's your family and loved ones. Whatever the case, you aren't important in the grand scheme of things. You're just an instrument of whatever force drives you. No one is their own engine of creativity. We are all fueled by something beyond ourselves. Remember, you are very small in a very big universe.