The Gutenberg Parenthesis

Until Gutenberg invented the printing press in the mid 1400s, the world’s people functioned as oral-preference communicators and learners. 

This means values and beliefs were communicated via dance, music, riddles, proverbs, poetry, and visuals more than monologue. Interactions occurred face to face. Then something happened.

Literacy took over the world. 

Due to the digital age we find ourselves in, many say we are heading back to an oral world. 

Tom Pettitt called the 500 year gap “The Gutenberg Parenthesis.” 

This is not to say we throw print out with the literary bathwater. The Old Testament always had its scribes, for sure. But before the Torah was read for morning devos, it was vocalized to the people of God. 

Artists, 100% of the world are oral learners. 

We need your gifts.

The Subsidiarity Principle

I used to think, “Man, if Eminem got saved, then he could evangelize the world and have an insane impact! So many people would come to Christ!” 

There’s, of course, some truth to this. The word of God has the power to change people. So, the math would go: the greater platform one has, the more people can hear God’s word. 

Fair enough.

But what about the rest of us non-Eminems? What about the regular Joe, socially awkward, artist who've never left the small town they grew up in?

The subsidiarity principle encourages us here. At the root of this principle is how governments solve problems. 

Should major problems be handled by the highest level of government? Some think so, especially after the past century of growing government control, notably under socialism.

The higher up one depends on for solving problems, the lower the local incentives become to address localized issues. 

Eminem’s conversion could speak to mass issues of domestic abuse, drugs, anger, sex, etc.

But the greater the audience, the flatter and more generic the answers.

Keeping things solved at a local level ensures that the complexities and nuances of our problems get worked on. 

When Jesus died on the cross, the guy living in the mountains of Papua New Guinea was still going about his day tending his pineapple garden. Large platforms don’t always equal ministry success. God calls us to be faithful with the lot he’s given us.

Reconciliation: A Gift & A Mission

For Paul, reconciliation was both a gift received and a mission we steward:

• Reconciliation was something Christians have received (Romans 5:11). 

• Reconciliation was the message preached (2 Corinthians 5:19).

• Reconciliation was the work Paul knew he was to steward (2 Corinthians 5:18) 

How you use your rights as an artist has everything to do with how you view reconciliation. To be a Christian is now to be a co-laborer with God in his mission.

Multiplying A Corpus of the Church’s Good Works

Since its inception in 2000, Sermonaudio.com now contains:

• 51,722 - Speakers from around the world

• 3,084,675 - Sermons

• 485M - total plays

Amazing.

Now, what would happen if we have flipped it from the teacher’s artifacts (sermons) to the peoples? Let’s imagine that every one speaker (51,722) represents 50 people in their congregations.

The new math would be 2,586,100 people.

And what if they made one new Scripture-infused artifact a week? How many artifacts would this little experiment manifest in the world after 1 year?

134,477,200.

Love is Custom Made

We possess custom made guitars, vehicles, houses, cities, and sculptures.

All the things which fashion our lives contain the world’s raw materials which are then customized to our benefit and liking. When something is custom made, we find it more valuable. We attribute greater care and finesse to something custom made.

Ought agape love not be the same?

Truth Telling

Isn’t it interesting that “speak the truth” isn’t a fruit of the Spirit? Preaching, teaching, prophesying. None of them are fruit of the Spirit.

Here is the question then about truth-telling: 

What does truth-telling look like with the fruit of the Spirit?

Whose Art Shoulders Do You Stand On?

I remember a European Christian leader telling me about their church history through a painting.

In 1916, Art Nouveau painter, Alphonse Mucha, created this painting entitled, “The Magic of the Word: A Brothel Converted into a Convent.” The Mucha Foundation describes the painting in the following way:

Jan Milíč was a learned young theologian who held positions of responsibility in the church and the court of Charles IV. Horrified by the immorality and indulgences of the clergy, Milíč resigned from his duties to dedicate his life to the city of Prague’s poor and preach against the transgressions of the church.

In 1372, his moral teachings resulted in a number of prostitutes repenting and devoting their lives to help the sick and poor. Charles IV and several wealthy citizens donated property to the cause and Milíč established a refuge, a chapel and convent dedicated to Mary Magdalen.

The Magic of the Word: A Brothel Converted into a Convent (Alphonse Mucha)

You will notice a few things in this painting:

• In the background, the image shows the remnants of the brothel and the crowd of onlookers.

• The construction of the refuge for penitent prostitutes. 

• Milíč, an unassuming figure in a blue shroud with a long grey beard, stands preaching from the top of the scaffolding. 

• The repentant women replace their jewellery with white clothing, signifying their new found purity. 

• The woman with her mouth bound symbolises repentance, rectification and doing good deeds.

The home for these women was called “The New Jerusalem.” 

I’m interested in what Mucha, himeself, did here. He took a story from church history and provided the world with an image of the Missio-gathering. He created an theological artifact showcasing the church in seed form.

Not all art is “church-art.” But all art paints a worldview for the imagination to grasp. Artists today stand not only on Milíč’s incarnational shoulders, but Mucha’s world-building shoulders as well.

Looking at Art

When looking at art, we think we’re critiquing something. 

Little do we realize, art critiques us.

• Why does that disturb me?

• Why does this frustrate me?

What is it exposing about my heart? My prejudices? My hatred? My lack of love for my neighbor? What I love more than God?