It Was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God

A Christian looks at the world through the eyes of one who has a restored relationship with the Creator, and receives a new vision affecting every area of life—including the creative process. So what does it mean to be a creative individual who is a follower of the creative God? It Was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God seeks to answer that question through a series of essays which offer theoretical and practical insights into artmaking from a Christian perspective. The Christian worldview is foundational to the approach a believer in Christ takes to making art and artmaking inevitably raises difficult questions. This book offers aid in developing some of the internal tools needed to work through those questions, and so to glorify and enjoy God while trying to speak with a clear and relevant voice to a fallen world.

Sandra Bowden / Foreword
Karen Mulder/Introduction
Ned Bustard / Good
Adrienne Chaplin/Beauty
Roger Feldman/Substance
Edward Knippers / Theme and Subject
James Romaine / Creativity
Tim Keller/ Glory
Mary McCleary/Craftsmanship
Gaylen Stewart / Language
Steve Scott / Truthfulness
Dale Savidge/Incarnation
Kimberly Garza/Color
Krystyna Sanderson / Light
Bill Edgar / Shadow
Charlie Peacock / Mission
Greg Wolfe / Engagement
David Giardinere / Community
Suzannah Bauer/Collaboration
Mako Fujimura / Form and Content
Ted Prescott / Identity

We recommend ordering this title through Hearts and Minds.

Shown here are some of the contributors to It Was Good who were able to attend the book signing held at the 2007 CIVA Convention. From left to right: Suzannah Bauer, Dayton Castleman, James Romaine, Bruce Herman, Kathy Hettinga, Edward Knippers, Krystyna Sanderson, Ted Prescott, Sandra Bowden, Tyrus Clutter, Kim Garza, Don Forsythe, Allison Luce, Ned Bustard, Karen Mulder, and Catherine Prescott. The artwork in the background is The Humilation of Christ by Edward Knippers (it is incorrectly titled in the book).

"Artists show how we can be the creators--not just critics--of culture. Thoughtful, insightful essays wrestle with theology and practice of the creative enterprise. You'll see hints of classics from Madeleine L'Engle (Walking on Water), Hans Rookmaaker (Art Needs No Justification), and Richard Niebuhr (Christ and Culture)." —Dick Staub "My Top 5 Books on Popular Culture" (see clipping here), Christianity Today Nov. 2007

"It Was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God . . . is one of the few books that I can say with confidence is one of the best we have had the privilege of carrying in our 25 years here at Hearts & Minds. It is a collection of great essays, and seems to be the perfect book for anyone who needs an introduction to thinking faithfully about the arts from a Christian perspective, or that needs more maturity after having read a bit of the classic stuff for starters (Art and the Bible by Schaeffer, say, or Art for God's Sake by Ryken or Walking on Water by L'Engle.) With pieces from working artists like Mary McCleary, Ed Knippers, Karen Mulder, Ted Prescott and others, it is the best collection of its kind in print."—Byron Borger, Hearts and Minds Books

" It Was Good is good, very, very good. For goodness’ sake, taste its goodness for yourself." —Luci Shaw

"This has proved to be a valuable, insightful and penetrating collection: a very fine “gateway” into a growing field." —Jeremy Begbie

". . . if you are looking for a single-volume collection of essays by contemporary artists and critics about the relationship between art and faith, this is the book you want to have. The first edition of this book was published in 2000 and featured essays such as “Form and Content” by Mako Fujimura, “Identity” by Theodore Prescott, “Creativity” by James Romaine, and “Imagination” by Image editor Gregory Wolfe. The publisher was Square Halo Books, a small, indie publisher that has courageously carved out a niche featuring exqusite art books (and books on art) by contemporary artists of faith. The first edition of It Was Good became a quiet, but persistent seller: it provided intelligent and bracing reflection on the meaning of art-making in the light of the Gospel. The brainchild of Square Halo editor/designer Ned Bustard, It Was Good struck him as a good that should not just be reprinted, but expanded and improved. And that's what we now have. New essays by the likes of Adrienne Chaplin (“Beauty”), Mary McCleary (“Crafsmanship”), Dale Savidge (“Incarnation”), and Roger Feldman (“Substance”) are now accompanied by four-color reproductions throughout the book. The art reproduced in the book itself is worth the cover price: you will find not only works by now-well-known individuals like Ed Knippers and Tim Lowly, but emerging artists like Anita Horton, Dayton Castleman, and Greg King, plus illustrations from classic art that connect the now with the great tradition. Even if you own the first edition, you will want to pick up It Was Good 2.0." —ImageUpdate #120 -- April 15, 2007

"One of the most thoughtful collection of essays around." — Donald J. Forsythe, art professor at Messiah College

"How we think about art is related to how we think about God. To confess we “believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth” is to acknowledge that the One we worship has revealed himself to be both truth and beauty, both life and light. His glory, expressed in his riotous creativity when he called all things into being, is essential to the gospel we are called to demonstrate and share in a world where glimpses of beauty are at best fragmented. It Was Good, like the comforting statement of the Creator who said it first, is like a prism that works in reverse, taking the fragmented glimpses and refracting them into biblical wholeness. The authors help us think clearly, creatively, about art and Christian faith, so that we can embrace the breath-taking wonder of living as if we actually believed we are created in the image of the One who declared beauty, creativity, and art to be “very good!” Read this book and love God and life more deeply. Then give a copy to all your friends." —Critique

"In the early and mid-1990s there were few books available about art and faith. Many of the old standards had already gone out of print. About that time I came across It Was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God. Since that time over a dozen new books about art and faith have been released, marking a rebirth of the arts within Christianity. . . . Even if you have the first edition, the new one, once again, will chart some new territory. New chapters and plenteous illustrations by both historical and contemporary artists are a hallmark of the revised edition. ... I guarantee that you will not only enjoy some old favorites but will be introduced to some artists you had not yet discovered. CIVA will let you know when It Was Good is available. It Was Good… now it’s better!" —Tyrus Clutter Director of CIVA (Christians in the Visual Arts)

"It Was Good is one of the best examples I know of the new day that is dawning in Christian conversation on the arts. What we have needed is a thick description both of Christianity and of art making. And both are here in abundance, along with generous displays of great art motivated by faith both from the present and the past. This will definitely be a part of my course syllabus."—W illiam Dyrness, Professor of Theology and Culture, Fuller Theological Seminary

"Neglect of the arts in faith communities has resulted in a diminished language to speak about the arts. It Was Good is a valuable resource to help us to renew our language about the arts. But more than this it provides insights into the meaning of the divine call to art making in our contemporary world. Rich with visual images these reflective essays will be of great value both for those just
discovering the world of the arts and the more experienced. The range of topics provides an excellent introduction to key themes in the arts. This is a book that is engaging and will inspire fresh appreciation for the God-given gifts of creativity and imagination." —John Franklin Executive Director of Imago, Toronto, Canada

"Wrought from years of reflection and practice this is a wonderful book whose pages are graced with an ancient wisdom. We are invited in to ponder the deepest and richest truths from a remarkably gifted faculty of visionaries whose vocations range across the divers arts, each one offering a window into what the arts mean and why they matter. For anyone anywhere who cares about beauty and truth and goodness, but who also feels the aches and sorrows and pains in contemporary culture, It Was Good is very good. ." —Steve Garber Author of Fabric of Faithfulness

"One of my spiritual Fathers, Saint John Chrysostom (c. 347–407), ascetic, preacher and finally Bishop of Constantinople, Doctor of the Church and ultimately martyred at the hand of his own bishops (something many an artist is familiar with) said: “God created the arts in order that life might be held together by them, so that we should not separate ourselves from spiritual things.” (Homily to the Philippians, 10.5) Art is liturgy, the holding of the world together, a glimpse of the presence seen. It Was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God signals the Second Renaissance, the second birth of all that is best in the Christian tradition’s vocabulary illuminating the human nature. For this we give thanks and praise." —David Goa Director of the Chester Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life, University of Alberta, Canada, and, Chief Curator of the international exhibition, Incarnation: A Recovery of Meaning.

"This anthology’s contributors unabashedly but thoughtfully love the symbiotic good gifts of Creation and creativity. As artists and friends of art, they know that the physical world is too good a gift to allow it to be reduced to an object lesson about “spiritual things,” and that the making and perceiving of art is too valuable to allow it to be reduced to politics or theology. They know as well that God is good but not safe, and that the urge for safe art is often a worldly temptation away from goodness." —Ken Myers Executive Director at Mars Hill Audio

"If believing Christians thought about it carefully, we would realize that there is a conversation we desperately need to have. When it comes to art, it appears we have limited ourselves to two unfortunate choices—pious schlock or impious relevance. It Was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God is an important book that I hope will help initiate the discussion that should have begun decades ago." —Douglas Wilson Pastor of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho

Following are website addresses for artists and organizations featured in this book or ones that are kindred spirits. There are, of course, many more that could have been included—and apologies are offered in advance for the inevitable broken links.

Arvo Pärt, David Wilcox, Over the Rhine, Brooks Williams, Sandra McCraken, Indelible Grace, Iona, Seventy-Sevens, Half-Handed Cloud, The Innocence Mission, Sufjan Stevens, Don Peris, Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA), Christian Artists’ Networking Association, The Episcopal Church and Visual Arts , Artis Divina , Christians in Theatre Arts, IMAGE Journal , Museum of Biblical Arts (MOBIA), Calvin Institute for Worship and the Arts, International Arts Movement (IAM), Tim Lowly , New York Center for Art and Media Studies. Shaun Fox , Allison Luce, Matthew Clark , Jeremy Botts , Kathy T. Hettinga , Stephanie Armstrong Gordon , Anita Horton, G. Carol Bomer , Eyekons , Guy Chase , Peter Mollenkof, Joel Sheesley