Christians, Creativity, and One-Line Answers
Has anyone else asked a serious question to a Christian only to receive some cheesy, one line, pop-Christian answer? You’ve problem heard them far too frequently. Christians often seem more interested in knowing that they have an answer than they do in knowing that the answer is right, let alone the “why” behind it. Here are a few examples of what I’m talking about:
“Its alright, you can do all things through Christ…”
“God works everything for good”
“God gave Jesus, and we should give back”
How can I know the Bible is true?
“The Bible says it is true, and is the only document to never, ever, contradict itself”
“We’ve got to be in the world, but not of the world”
“Justified means that it is Just..if..I’d never sinned”
“We need to look nice for church, because you want to give your best to God”
“God helps those who help themselves!”
Some of these have some legitimate truth-value to them. But I wonder how many Christians even really know what the meaning of the words they are speaking. Take this one for example “in the world, but not of the world.” I first heard the phrase in middle school when dealing with Matthew 5. I think this “one liner” is right when put in its proper context and everything is drawn out and explained.
I used to use phrases like these. I honestly thought (to show you how naïve I was) that I could understand all the big, hard issues and summarize them with a quick, witty phrase.
Pulling out one-line prepositional statements from the Bible and apply them to everything is problematic. It takes the Bible out of context. The Bible is not a set of propositions to be used in deductive proofs! That was not what the authors had in mind when they wrote their respective books. I learned this the hard way. The other way the Bible gets misrepresented is when a “one-line” statement is used to sum up an entire doctrine, and no one is willing to go beyond that one-line sum up. I can think of no greater example than that of the God’s sovereignty coupled with free will. The debate has been raging for the last 400 years, but I know many Christians (I used to be one) who believe, not only can the issue be completely solved, but that the ending position can be summarized in less than a paragraph. But such one-liners are usually done out of a desire to land on an answer as opposed to a desire to landing where God wants us to land. I know this was the case for me. Most doctrines cannot be summed up in a quick whimsical fashion.
In theory Christians should approach every issue with the Bible in mind and with a great amount of creativity. There is little creativity in using one-liners we have been handed by a mentor or pastor. And perhaps that is the real heart of the problem, Christians are loosing their creativity.
Christians have fallen short in this endeavor. Whereas the Bible views man as creative, Christians have resorted to feel good “art” and piggyback slogans. Greg Laughery (a L’Abri worker) gave a sermon encouraging students to use their creativity to make metaphors illustrating truth.
This is because there is more value than the finished product; there is value in the journey. By taking the truth we have learned and developing an analogy or metaphor about this truth we come to know this truth far more intimately.
What do you think? Are Christians guilty of party one-liners? Have Christians fallen in understanding what art is? Is there value in the creation as well as the finished product?
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“This is because there is more value than the finished product; there is value in the journey.”
I think you hit on the key here: It is not necessarily that Christians lack creativity (although that can be true), we seem to value the quick answers rather than the growth and sanctification that comes with struggling for the right one. God’s Word itself is valuable, but the answers it offers is not all there is to it.
I think also that the church has often made an idol out of comfort. One-liners do not require us to enter into the hurt and pain of someone’s struggle. It doesn’t require us to roll up our sleeves and get messy. It gives us the illusion of helping without the cost of vulnerability and investment. Our Western individualism and the health and wealth gospel are probably the most damaging influences in this trend.
But a return to DEPTH in creativity would reflect the value placed on God’s truth. I can’t tell you how much I’d like to see Christian art having the kind of depth that is practiced in the wider culture. I’m tired of shallow lyrics, paintings of a pink-dress-wearing Jesus, and “safe,” PC depictions of the Christian faith. Where are the Christian rebels? Why do Christians seem to be so far away from the “cutting edge.” It’s time to stop letting the culture challenge us, and to start challenging the culture.
great post…i agree completely.
i know i am guilty of saying a few of those myself.
what i learned tonight over heartache and tears was that these things have meaning to each person….BUT at different times and different ways. and the Spirit is the one who convicts/comforts us with these “one-liners”.
so though truths may be shared, they are meaningless out of context, yes, but more importantly as each of us is in the place where God is using that truth to shape us. so when we try to play God by speaking these things, we are doing just that: playing God.
so maybe one way we can avoid such platitudes is by acting more than speaking. maybe we need to say “God is love” by loving another person in the way they feel loved, more than we need to say it in words…
what do yall think???
peter