Rob and I had a wonderful opportunity to spend some time this weekend with David Dark, author of Everyday Apocalypse: The Sacred Revealed in Radiohead, The Simpsons and Other Pop Culture Icons and The Gospel According to America: A Meditation on a God-Blessed, Christ-Haunted Idea.
The title of Dark's session was "Jesus Thrown Everything Off Balance," which is an allusion to a line from Flannery O'Connor's story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find." There was so much goodness in this session that I'm going to revert to point form so I don't miss anything.
- Dark identifies a Christian artist with a bit longer name: an artist who aspires to be in continuity with the (biblical witness of the) Kingdom of God. "Christian" is a word that shouldn't be self-applied. Others should put the pieces together and call you a Christian, as was the case in the early church.
- Jesus as a "personal savior" or as a password into heaven belittles the historic, redemptive significance of Christ. As Bruce Cockburn says, "Redemption rips through the surface of time in the cry of a tiny babe."
- The life, death and resurrection of Jesus represent a "de-mythologizing" virus. That is, the Gospel breaks down the myths of human culture (that power is permanent, that life is expendable, etc.). The Gospel is Good News for the whole world, except those whose power it interrupts--though the Good News is for them, too, if they repent.
- The key statement coming out of Everyday Apocalypse is that "there isn't a secular molecule in the universe," having all been made by God. Madeleine L'Engle, when asked how one recognizes Christian art, responds, "If it's good, it's Christian." These ideas are based on the conviction that all good comes from God.
- We don't need to qualify truth with "spiritual," which is an over-used word. What is "spiritual" truth? Truth is its own credential and it can exist anywhere--in the Koran, The Simpsons, The Prayer of Jabez, etc.--and wherever it is found, it should be affirmed. Justin the Martyr said that whatever is true among the pagans is the property of us.
- "Interpretation" is different from picking a message--the Bible doesn't even have a clear, singular message.
- Jesus isn't "spiritual." We don't repent "spiritually," but with our bodies, our minds, with who we are.
- We need to be in dialogue with people and with art, rather than always moving toward a final decision: approved or disapproved. To worry about whether something is art, is literature, is objectionable, etc. is like arguing with the word choice of someone who's telling you your house is on fire. They're peripheral questions. Our questions should be, "What is the artist doing? Why?" rather than, "Is this good or bad?"
- We can't experience art without prejudice, but we can experience art with generosity.
- Apocalyptic art reveals the world not as we want it to be, but as it is.
- We are learners of the good, not knowers of the good.
That's all I had for David Dark. He is amazingly intelligent and well-read. Listening to him speak makes me want to immerse myself in the Bible, experience all of the art I can and then write books about what I'm learning. That's a pretty good influence, hm? Gives me something to work toward. If only I had such a cool name...
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