I hold firm faith in God, God identified on earth as one – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. At some point in the sifting process of value factors in my life, I may begin at the bottom of the pyramid of values that makes up the important matters of my life. Each block in the pyramid is important to me, but as I ascend to the high point some factors, although important are identified so but less so than those above them. At the top there is God only – into whose presence we prayerfully relate, with his assistance. One is reminded that all his/her values are important to the individual, but some more important than others. Arts, or what we call the arts, are somewhere along the way up. Commonly the arts accent something seen or unseen in us.
Value meaning may be revealed in our art forms. I must apply meaning, underlying everything in my life. I am not just Waiting for Godot (death). That meaning must have qualities in it relating to a number of factors. The most important factor relates to its contribution to carrying through the top value for me – God’s will which is God’s plan. I choose for my family those decisions and personal actions that best engage the top value for me – God. I presume to be objective about the matter by following the teachings of Scripture, which directives are quite detailed about the important factors for managing personal and family life to the honor of God. No family can be better treated than the outline for the members as noted in Scripture. This pattern of illustration may be repeated for a number of life contexts that honor God, and in process to the end honoring my faith. Do I have consistency? To be right and constant is near miracle.
It applies in my views of such matters as style (a theme itself seldom appearing in Christian literature and deserving of another Page). That style is dictated by what I feel would be God’s approval. What is my style of language, of clothing, of anything? It is revealed to me in modesty, longevity, quality, availability, service, and other related factors – even color. What values do I attach to the building we call the Church? I go to history, and Scripture relating to that history, to form my views. I discover from beginnings, that God is first in all things, as noted in the experience of Adam, to Eve, to their children. The story is embellished along the way undoubtedly beginning with the most simple in transitions. To begin, altars in the homes of the devout are the personal houses of God to the devout. Corporate devout representation began in the Bible with the tent known as the Tabernacle. It may have qualified as more than a tent in that it was the most magnificent tent among the people, who then lived in tents. Later corporate worshipers realized that they were living in sealed houses, and God was dwelling in a tent. With David’s plans, Solomon built the Temple. Its completion was the high point in the history of Israel.
Presumption followed. Vision and meaning faded. Taken captive, the people returned decades later to sacred rubble. A main goal was to restore the Temple. Done, it was enhanced centuries later by Herod, to please the subject Israelites. It was magnificent. Jesus noted that this was his Father’s house. Early Christians first worshipped there, but were soon banned. Persecuted, they began simply even to the catacombs for worship – with skeletal remains on the fringes of the gatherings. God was in their yearning for a world witness of a house of God. So it moved through stages to great cathedrals. The development process was repeated as in the tents of the frontiers, and simple framed buildings as Christians moved west, to the ultimate building of beautiful sanctuaries that graced even small villages. Dignity and perception may have faded. Churches became business architecture, clothing styles became casual, the vision of God as high and lifted up declined. At this writing, congregations have succumbed to the image of God’s house as a business house of honorable Christians limiting witness by lesser style in the arts, especially in arts of dress, music, architecture. Although I am an evangelical protestant believer in Christ, I tune in, from time to time, to programs from St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican to sense the magnificence and meaning of the artistic architecture and follow the reading of Scripture from that altar. I may find another with helpful reverential experience. I know Christians who have not found elevating emotional reverence. Reverence is an experience of presence which God grants to the truly devout – in sacred arts. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020