Art and the Bible

Much modern art, like a Giacometti sculpture, portrays man in alienation, loneliness, despair. Was art always like this? Must it always focus on the lostness of man?Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer, a theologian with a deep interest in the arts, shows how the Bible records the use of various art forms in the Old Testament times. Then, turning to the contemporary scene, he suggests eleven perspectives within which a Christian view of art can take shape.For the Christian the arts can be a source of joy, a symbol of the creativity that marks the mannishness of man, man himself being made in the image of God the creator. For the Christian artist the sky is not the limit. Because he can distinguish between reality and illusion, he is the one whose imagination can "fly beyond the stars."