Creativity Is Rooted in Creation

Mike Cosper's fine essay on creation and creativity concludes with these words:

On a micro level, each of us has different tastes. On the macro level, cultures emerge in radical contrast with one another. The universal gift of creativity blossoms into a cultural mosaic, itself a reflection of God’s vast skill and imagination. The Scriptures give us an image for this variety. It’s one of all cultures—a spectrum of diversity—gathering around a singular object of worship—our enthroned Savior—worshiping not as a monolithic culture, but as every tribe, tongue, and nation.

Let’s keep the phrase “every tribe, tongue, and nation” in mind when we discuss creativity. Unlike God, who simultaneously embraces the beauty and integrity of snails and galaxies, we find it nearly impossible to find love for the unfamiliar, or for cultures that we see as beneath or above our position. The tendency to moralize our preferences, or to moralize the familiar in religious contexts, is almost a reflex. While some of the so-called worship wars can be attributed to theological issues, I think a vast majority of it was simply a matter of moralized and fiercely defended preference.

The result is a traditionalism that is hostile to the contemporary, a hipster church that is hostile to NASCAR references, or a Western-centric way of thinking about music and liturgy that believes Westernization is the goal of missions.

This is a key issue in the future for any conversations about art, culture, or creativity. Christians need to remember that creativity is simply a fact, and all churches embrace creativity in one form or another. Likewise, all churches are embracing some value related to beauty, creativity and aesthetics. What has often been said of theology is true of creativity too: It’s not a question of whether a Christian or a church will have creativity; it’s what kind of creativity they’ll have.