“Back in the olden days, Christian art was king.[1. Photo by Jelly Dollar on Unsplash.] Top artists like Michelangelo and Da Vinci pioneered in their creative fields, and later composers like Bach and Handel revolutionized their day’s music. Then later, of course, Lewis and Tolkien did this for fantasy! So why today do all the Christian artists copy The World instead of leading in culture?” How often have you heard these questions? And how often have you heard solid, logical answers to them?

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Concession stand

• If you’re still asking these questions sincerely, we aren’t throwing shade.
• At the same time, we do believe these questions should help us grow.
• In this episode, we won’t just complain about our art not topping charts.
• Instead we explore exactly why Christian art isn’t as “big” as we’d like.
• After this, we’ll share some needed challenges to the question premise.

Answer 1: Because pop culture is a demanding field.

• Some jobs are more traditional, and others high-risk, like story-making.
• Stephen can testify to this. Much of what he does entails a lot of risk.
• For every A-list creator, there are thousands who haven’t made it.
• Open discussion

Answer 2: Because we’re called to other goals first.

• God commanded His people to start families and steward the Earth.
• That leads to and includes art-creation. But now we suffer pain and toil.
• This sin-cursed world does put a damper on our relationship with art.
• Open discussion

Answer 3: Because secular elites manage the charts.

• We can’t afford to be too naive about the biases in entertainment media.
• Many movies, games, songs get secular attention but little actual profit.
• In the past, Christian-made books weren’t often sold in secular stores.
• Open discussion

Answer 4: Because culture isn’t Christian-adjacent.

• In the old days, artists showed biblical imagery because this was trendy.
• Cultural Christianity was in. The churches held wealth and influence.
• If we want Christians to top charts, we’d first need cultural dominance.
• Open discussion

Answer 5: Some old top artists were not Christian.

• Again, the classic-art greats did their work in a Christian-ish culture.
• Some were Christian, but others were just going along with their world.
• Christians can’t “claim” artists just because they showed Bible pictures.
• Open discussion

Answer 6: Plenty of new Christian artists do great.

• It’s corny to repeat the “all Christian just follow the world” canard.
• These days, right now