Yoke

(It is said that children who have been
abused have a greater likelihood of
becoming abusers themselves.)

She is a drooping rose
Weighted by the rain
Hunched,
Leaning above a younger bloom
Careful to pour out her burden
Beyond the newer pedals.

© 1994 Sean Taylor 

Is it possible for an artist to do something so detestable that his or her work should be banned?

Wow. That's a tough one, primarily because as people we find it difficult to separate the creator from the work itself. In a perfect world, the work would be able to stand on its own merits and the creator's life wouldn't be taken into account when analyzing whether the work itself held value. I believe even a detestable person has the capacity to create something good (after all, in my belief system, we are created in the image of a creator, so creating comes naturally to us all in some way). 

For example, had Charles Manson written a great play, would it be "moral" to perform it because of the awful, horrible person he was? 

Personally, as long as the play itself wasn't detestable, I wouldn't hold it against a theater company who chose to perform it. But I'm sure the families of Manson's victims might feel differently -- and with good reason. 

In my own life, I know that Richard Wagner's symphonic works are often associated with Hitler and Wagner's own anti-Semitic views, but it doesn't make me appreciate the simple beauty of the melodies any less. 

I tend to discourage wholesale banning on any official level anyway, and I prefer to leave it up to individual people and companies to make those decisions based on their beliefs, values, and clientele. For example, a family-run, community theater might find performing a Manson-penned play a distasteful endeavor and refuse to produce it, but another theater troupe might enjoy sharing the work in spite of the Manson connection. It becomes, at least to me, a matter for the individual and individuals of the company to decide for their circle of influence, not for the governmental powers that be to decide for the rest of us. 

True censorship makes me feel very, very uncomfortable, because it involves making decisions about what's best for the whole of society, and I'm not content to let others make that decision for me -- or for me to make that decision for others, except for perhaps minors in my own house.  

(Thanks to James Wynn for this question.)

Mike Yaconelli was a genius...

If you've not read Mike's book Messy Spirituality, you've missed out on something amazing and genuinely life-changing. Mike had a way of cutting through the garbage to get to the heart of the matter of what it means to have and live faith. These are just two quotes I found this morning as I was looking at some of the stuff he wrote. He died a few years ago, and the world is so much poorer for the loss.

I post these here because I think they have particular relevance to the issue of how an artist who is a Christian (note I didn't say the phrase "Christian artist") can and perhaps should approach his or her creative life.

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For the Christian, there is no distinction between the sacred and secular. Everything a Christian does is an expression of his faith.He does not make choices based on the religious significance of the alternative. As a Christian he makes the choice that is a logical extension of the values he has derived from his faith…

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What happened to radical Christianity, the un-nice brand of Christianity that turned the world upside-down? What happened to the categorysmashing, life-threatening, anti-institutional gospel that spread through the first century like wildfire and was considered (by those in power) dangerous? What happened to the kind of Christians whose hearts were on fire, who had no fear,who spoke the truth no matter what the consequence, who made the world uncomfortable, who were willing to follow Jesus wherever He went? What happened to the kind of Christians who were filled with passion and gratitude, and who every day were unable to get over the grace of God?

I’m ready for Christianity that “ruins”my life, that captures my heart and makes me uncomfortable. I want to be filled with an astonishment which is so captivating that I am considered wild and unpredictable and …well…dangerous. Yes, I want to be “dangerous” to a dull and boring religion. I want a faith that is considered “dangerous” by our predictable and monotonous culture.

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Predictability and faith cannot coexist.What characterized Jesus and His disciples was unpredictability. Jesus was always surprising the disciples by eating at the wrong houses (those of sinners), hanging around the wrong people (tax collectors, adulterers, prostitutes, lepers), and healing people on the wrong day (the Sabbath). There was no Day Timer, no strategic plan, no mission statement; there was only the eager anticipation of the present moment. The Pharisees wanted Jesus to be the same as they were.His truth should be the same truth that they had spent centuries taming. But truth is unpredictable.When Jesus is present, everyone is uncomfortable yet mysteriously glad at the same time. People do not like the surprises—even church people—and they don’t want to be uncomfortable. They want a nice, tame Jesus.

I get this a lot. (Dominatrix vs. God soapbox)

I got this from a fellow writer once, and I still get asked it a lot at conventions or online:

Do you mind if I ask you a slightly touchy question? I've noticed from a few of your posts that you are a Christian. Furthermore, I found a link that you had posted on your wall to the Christian Comic Art Society (which I promptly joined). Here's my question: How do you reconcile your Christian beliefs with writing the Dominatrix comic? I admit that I've never read the book so it may be rated G; but based off of the covers and the few things that I have read about it... I don't think that's the case.

I'm asking not to attack you; but out of genuine interest. I am mostly into art and there are a lot of jobs that I could go after if I were willing to do more graphic or sexual illustrations.

How do you reconcile the disparities in your mind? Or is it that you don't try. Just look at it like a job kind of thing and leave the morality for Sunday morning. Again, I'm not trying to attack you. I'm trying to understand and maybe learn something that I could apply to my own life.

My response:

I love that question actually. I used to work for the North American Mission Board, and no longer do. Was asked to leave for my PG book Fishnet Angel, actually. They'd freak if they read Dominatrix. I tell folks at cons the book is not porn, even if the marketing points that way. It's like a Tarantino film. Very modern pulp. And ultimately it has a redemptive message in it that is subtle. As for any language, violence, or nudity, my take is that the Bible I read is filled with violence, genocide, infanticide, incest, rape, holy sexual love, and yes, even course language in the original Greek (Paul, no less). To make the Bible into a literal film would be rated X not even NC-17, and so such topics are not off limits for Christ followers, when pursued with obedience and faithfulness.

If they cause other Christians to worry about me, I can live with that. If they cause non-Christians to worry and stumble, then that would be an issue, but honestly the fact that I choose to write redemptive tales in subjects the contemporary church would probably prefer to ban has only opened more doors to real relationships with people who would never darken the door of one of our churches.

The very question you asked is the one people ask me all the time at cons and particularly in online interviews and such.

My morality is a 24/7 thing, though many do "treat it as a job" and leave morality "for Sunday." I just choose not to ignore "dangerous" topics that the contemporary church has issues with.
 
It's like the art question for me. Is nudity okay? Sure, great art is filled with it. Is it appropriate for all people or all ages? No. But then again, neither are certain parts of Scripture, which is why you don't see Bible stories for kids based on Song of Solomon or Lot's nieces seducing him. Still applicable though. The modern church just has a view that everything should be sanitized and "kid safe" by and large, and I simply disagree with that based on my reading and understanding of God's Word.

I don't profess that all Christians should follow my take. There's still a place for Max Lucados and the Left Behinds. That's just not my calling.

I'm called to travel the most dangerous path that causes all kinds of misunderstanding and potential condemnation by the church. But I can live with that. I have good role models from Christ to Bonhoeffer.

Christian Comics?

What advice would you give to other Christians who are considering making comics?

-- Justin Martin  (from an upcoming interview with R-Squared Comicz)

I get this question a lot, actually, and I used to get it even more when I used to work for one of the major worldwide Christian denominations at one of its missionary agencies.

My response today is the same as it has always been.

If you are a Christian who is considering making comics, then be a Christian making comics. Don't make Christian comics. The world doesn't need more Christian comics. But it does needs more Christians making comics.

It's the same thing I'll say to musicians, artists, and actors. The world doesn't need another Christian band, or Christian paintings, or Christian movies. It needs more Christians being salt and light in the real world who are musicians, painters, and actors.

Just like it doesn't need Christian plumbing or Christian network installations or Christian stationary sets.

For all authentic believers in my chosen faith, it's impossible to hide what you really are through any art your create. (Ask Billy Tucci, for example. His new book "A Child Is Born" is a global big deal, thanks in no small part to his amazing Shi work) Trust that your nature will come through your work. Don't force it in order to fit into a certain market.

So I say: address topics about faith and forgiveness and grace as a writer and tell redemptive stories, but don't hide your stories and art in a Christian bushel (to flip the phrase over) in a subculture where only other believers will see it. Be Christian in all that means (not just the political involvements) in the world. Feed the poor. Help the helpless. Forgive others. Extend grace. Live an exemplary life. Be like Jesus. But for heaven's sake, please don't create any more so-called Christian stuff. We've already got stockpiles of it, both good and the lackluster and the blatant attempts at cashing in on Christians' dollars, filling up our subcultural landfills.

To put it in a more "spiritual" way, don't ever assume your art is your ministy. YOU are your ministry. What you say, what you do, how you live, how you treat people. You art is your art. It is not a means to a religious propaganda end. It's an outgrowth of who you are as the child of a Father who is also a Creator.

A caveat, if I may... If you are creating a comic book format to make a more effective teaching tool (i.e,. as in -- don't get me started on -- Chick Publications) , go for it and make the best tool you can, but don't call it art. You're creating a tool for a particular purpose, like a hammer or screwdriver. Art is more expansive than that. Art opens itself up to interpretation and takes chances that open it up to be misunderstood as often as understood. Just ask Jesus how many times he had to re-explain his parables.

The Language of the Arts

"The language of the arts, it can be argued, is a language born of faith. In other words, all art forms attempt to translate what is unseen into what is seen. Painter Joel Sheesley states, 'I... suggest that the definition of content in art is very much like that New Testament definition of faith that calls faith the substance of things hoped for.' Art... becomes an activity of faith, translating the 'substance of things hoped for' with words, paint and other materials into the content and form of art."

-- Makoto Fukimura, from the foreword to Scribbling in the Sand by Michael Card

What a beautiful definition, I think, and one that, for me, integrates art into the very fabric of a worldview, not just a mere addition to life, but an integral part of it.