God-centered resources from the ministry of John Piper

(This post is reason #4 in the series, “9 Reasons I’m a Photographer.”)

(Textures in Tree Moss, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon, USA)

All art has one source: God’s universe. We create nothing, but only imitate the creator.

In his essay "Christianity and Literature," C. S. Lewis writes,

[An] author should never conceive of himself as bringing into existence beauty or wisdom that did not exist before, but simply and solely as trying to embody in terms of his own art some reflection of eternal Beauty and Wisdom. (Genesis: Journal of the Society of Christians in the Arts, Inc. 1, no. 2 (1975): 22)

And Jerram Barrs writes in his article, "Christianity and the Arts" (PDF):

Our work in any field of the arts will be imitative. We will be thinking God’s thoughts after Him—painting with His colors; speaking with His gift of language; exploring and expressing His sounds and harmonies; working with His creation in all its glory, diversity, and in-built inventiveness. In addition, we will find ourselves longing to make known the beauty of life as it once was in Paradise, the tragedy of its present marring, and the hope of our final redemption. All great art will contain this element of being an echo of Eden: Eden in its original glory, Eden that is lost to us, and Eden restored. (pg 7)

(Near Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida, USA)