William Dyrness on aesthetically challenged Protestants

You can do more with art than look at it. But don’t ignore the value of contemplation in worship, William Dyrness pleads in Visual Faith: Art, Theology, and Worship in Dialogue.

By contemplation in worship, he means far more than the perceptual contemplation that modern “high art” encourages.  

He’s talking about opening yourself to the beauty of holiness. As he explained in his 2005 Image Conference presentation for “aesthetically challenged Protestants,” real contemplation is an “active indwelling of forms and colors that spark our affection, even our love.”

Recovering our vision

Moses saw God and then gave the law. Contemplating God in the temple inspired David to write songs and psalms. On Pentecost, Peter affirmed what Joel prophesied, that the Holy Spirit moves the faithful to dream dreams and see visions. And, till the Reformation, all Christendom celebrated the link between faith and the visual in worship.

What happened to push contemplation from its central role in biblical spirituality and Christian worship?

“In Reformed Theology and Visual Culture, I say John Calvin is right in what he affirms. But Calvin denies how art makes possible an experience that I, as a Christian, see as a longing for transcendence with God.

“At that polemic moment in Reformed history, Calvin felt he had to deny art’s witness because of the abuses he saw. Maybe he’d have a different idea now, because idolatry of images is not a 21st century temptation,” Dyrness says.

He notes that for most Protestants, visual art supports and is subordinate to preaching.

“But why cannot art also stop us in our tracks in church—demanding attention, forcing us to contemplate the beauty of holiness? Why can’t art be an independent witness to the word?” he asks.

Dyrness says Catholic and Orthodox Christians understand that objects can be transparent and point to the divine. In Orthodox thought, icons of saints represent energies of God that believers can appropriate through standing together in prayer.

The easiest way to expand your view of what visual art can do in worship, Dyrness suggests, is to recall music you’ve heard or sung in church. No doubt you’ve experienced music that is not only splendid but also helps you pray. In the same way, a beautiful space with images can move you to prayer. Such music and art help yousee through to God.

Incarnation and Shabbat

“Contemplation doesn’t deny or undermine art as action. And I agree that art can create shalom and possible worlds. But Shabbat might be an even better biblical category to understand art and worship,” Dyrness says.

The basic meaning of Shabbat or Sabbath is to stop, to rest. Paul longs to see as he is seen, to rest face to face with God throughout eternity. In City of God, Augustine describes heaven as a place where “we shall rest and see, see and love, love and praise.”

Imagine worship experienced through the Shabbat lens. As Dyrness says, “There is no reason why richly embodied liturgies, dancing, and drama could not so inspire the worshiper that everyday life would be transformed.”

This type of worship could free believers to simply enjoy being with God—instead of only think about the work they do for God.

“Remember, this life is meant to be anticipation of a better life that will only be fulfilled when the new earth is a temple. Worship, as our Orthodox friends say, is to resonate with a heavenly liturgy. Surely this is the true end for which we are made,’” Dyrness says.

Seeing and loving

You have likely heard countless speakers talk about the rising importance of visual imagery in our culture. Dyrness says that watching fans at rock concerts and pro football games proves Augustine’s idea that what we see and love is what defines us.

In extensive research for All in Sync: How Music and Art Are Revitalizing American Religion, Robert Wuthnow showed that Americans have more leisure time, education, and discretionary income than their ancestors did. They often use these resources to seek spiritual and aesthetic experiences, including the experience of art as contemplation.

You might dismiss people attracted to the arts as having a vague “I’m spiritual but not religious” mindset. And it’s true, Dyrness says, that art “offers a surrogate eternity for some people. Their rapt attention to modern art suggests a hunger for the real one.”

But they aren’t the only ones thirsty for wordless drinks of beauty. In fact, if you’ve ever been transfixed by a sunset and then perhaps moved to prayer, you’ll appreciate something else Wuthnow discovered.

He found that congregations with a strong arts emphasis are more likely to have members who are committed to deep spiritual growth within their faith tradition.

This research suggests that exploring new ways to use visual arts in worship can strengthen and deepen a congregation’s faith. Also, art can be an evangelistic tool.

Emerging churches take for granted social activism and the use of arts. Willow Creek Community Church uses visual arts, especially dance and drama, to engage seekers. Coast Hills Community Church in Viejo, California, has a creative arts ministry department especially adept at technology. Grace Brethren Church in Long Beach, California, has hosted a gallery to reach out to art lovers who long for a transcendent experience that can only be fully satisfied in God.

“We have a way to go. Technology often competes with other art forms. Visual arts experiments are vulnerable to a new pastor or different budget priorities. I don’t have an agenda for art. What I dream about is seeing more people liberated to use their whole range of giftedness in congregations,” Dyrness says.