The phrase, “Christian art just isn’t good,” is said so often it feels like a trope. But pretty much everyone I know feels this way, including me. So is it true?
It’s way more complicated than that. First, what exactly does the label “Christian" mean when applied to art?
Does it speak to its creator, to its purpose, or both? Perhaps it’s a genre or marketing niche? The answer is “all of the above,” which is why labeling it all as bad or good is far too simplistic.
If we are merely talking about Christians who happen to also be artists, then it wouldn’t be surprising to find a spectrum of good and bad within that subcategory.
But I think it’s a deeper, more systemic problem. There are shared mindsets and external pressures that negatively affect the quality of our songs, movies, and images.
I would like to highlight three main causes of the suckiness of Christian art.
A Lack of Dissonance
As a Christian artist, there is pressure to tell the whole story every time. If the song isn’t sharing the “end-to-end, John 3:16” Gospel, then what’s the point? But art can be about love, beauty, or a flower. It can share the hope we have in Jesus or the hardship of human relationships. A film can tell a story of hope and redemption but also of despair with seemingly no end in sight.
Followers of Jesus experience the full range of emotions, and yet the Christian artists that dare to explore them are labeled as “hiding the truth.”
It is true too few Christian artists use their platform to share the most important truth there is - the Gospel. Nonetheless, a healthy, thriving Christian art community should be free to honestly express everything that excites their senses and inflames their hearts.
Too often, Christian art feels unrelatable, out of touch, and pragmatic - because it is.
A Lack of Honesty
Good art is a diary made public. The more filtered and coded, the worse it is.
That’s not to say there isn’t a place for mystery. Part of the brilliance of art is the ability to express something without saying it. Jesus was a masterful storyteller, but He was rarely direct. His stories were filled with plot twists and misdirection - yet He told the truth.
The greatest obstacle to good Christian art is a lack of honesty. We are simply too busy trying to please everyone. We don’t create films or songs about struggle, doubt, or disappointment because we worry about what other Christians will say.
At the same time, we don’t call out or confront the lies of culture, as we are worried about how those outside the Church will react. Christian artists are too busy trying to be liked by everyone, resulting in hollowed-out, sanitized content that’s more wallpaper and less art.
A Lack of Passion
When I was a teenager, my dad introduced me to the band Rage Against the Machine. I was mesmerized. The music was great, but it was the passion of frontman Zach de la Rocha that was truly infectious. I wanted to believe what he believed. I wanted to fight for what he fought for.
In one live performance, the camera followed Zach off the stage, and emotions so overcame him he started to weep while leaning against a stack of Marshall amps.
This wasn’t art for him; this was war.
Followers of Jesus have the greatest cause and the surest hope - and yet our art often feels heartless and dull. Where is the passion? Where are the tears? Where is the anger?
Christian artists should be leading the charge against injustice, corruption, and evil - and yet we are stuck repeating the same weather-based tropes, devoid of anything remotely resembling what I had heard pouring out of Zach.
This is tragic.
Our desire to create art is a powerful gift from God and reflects a unique aspect of how He created us. As His followers, we should be in tune with the very source of art itself.
Our songs, films, books, and images should be the most unique, creative, and potent.
If we cast off the faulty narratives, fears, and external pressures that hold us back, we could lead the way in honest, authentic, and passionate art that would speak the truth and glorify God.
This is our rightful place.
Want to listen to the full conversation? Check out Do I Have to Listen to Christian Music Even if It Sucks?
