To paraphrase Jean Jacques Maritain in his work "Art and Scholasticism", "We are created in the image of God; God is a God of creation. Thus, when we create we are imitating God. Art is therefore the highest thing we can do as humans because we are imitating our Creator." (This week's paraphrasing brought to you by the number 7, the letter Q, and, mainly, Alan Combs.) As we continue discussing God "the Father Almighty" and as we look to next week's discussion of God as Creator, it occurs to me that in our trying to understand and embrace the mystery that is God, art is the best language we can use when describing God. This week I challenge us to post links to examples of art (e.g., lyrics to a song, lines from a poem, scenes in a play, paintings, photos, sculpture...any medium is acceptable) that expresses something of the nature and identity of God. To start us off, the picture on the left is by Rembrandt and is discussed in this week's reading. (Oh yeah, here is a link to this week's Reading.) The painting is Rembrandt trying to capture the scene between the Prodigal Son and his Father.
2 comments:
Alan,
Is this particular story supposed to draw us into the mystery of God or is it just an accessible example of her work? If it is the former, I don't see it. All the characters are moored in their own pettiness, no one has a sense of other or even an awareness of self. They are all the same character in one way or another. If it is just an example of her work, then I would read more. I like stories where the lines of "protagonist" and "antagonist" are somewhat irrelevant.
Mayhem,
I didn't read it that way, wonderful insight...thanks! I guess when I read it I got caught up in the characters and how, to me, they basically are variations on the same character they all are somehow petty and caught up in a sense of self, not of other. I hope Alan (even if he is in Geneva) will offer some insight.
Great observation,
Chris
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