I was listening to a podcast of Ravi Zacharias, and he was asked if there was anything wrong with yoga or acupuncture. As he does so well, he answered yes and no. When he elaborated on his answer, he conveyed this meaning: If yoga uses truths that are God’s truths, such as stretching, using breathing techniques, and exercise, then there is nothing wrong with it, but if it starts out with trying to empty your mind to commune with the universe, then there is something wrong with it. He was much more informed and more succinct in speech than what I am conveying. However, this is the point. God has created the fundamental laws and physical laws of nature. How we interact with these laws and fundamentals determines our understanding of them.
In the above example, Ravi was talking about physical technique versus mental and spiritual action. A mistake I have seen numerous times, that Christians (we) make, is to use grace as a means to ignore or not learn these physical laws. A personal example would be, when I replaced the oil in my car, but forgot to put the plug back in place. No matter how much God will forgive me, I still had a mess on my hands. How does this relate to art, something that many people say is entirely subjective? I’m glad you asked.
Art is composed of the same physical laws that we interact with on a daily basis. If you were to play a single note, it would quickly become irritating; but if you were to introduce another note, then you quickly have variety. Once variety is introduced, you have another problem: Do the notes “work” together? This is where artists/musicians/poets/dancers/actors must develop their understanding of the fundamental laws of expression regarding their field. Your homework assignment: The next time you go to a buffet or for Thanksgiving dinner, think about what food you choose, the proportion, the drink (sweet tea or un:), and this will tell you about your taste. The next article involves taste, so enjoy.
Editor’s Note: This is part two of a series from David Matthews.
Great things to ponder, Matthew!