Echoes of Eden (Jerram Barrs)

In Echoes of Eden, Jerram Barrs provides some "reflections on Christianity, literature, and the arts." After background material on "God and humans as creative artists," he looks to build an understanding of what it means to practice, approach, and appreciate/judge art as a Christian. He discussed 'echoes of Eden' (see below) and the concludes by looking at 5 artists (and their key works): C.S. Lewis (Narnia), J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings), J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter), Shakespeare (Macbeth), and Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice).

In 1 Timothy 4:1-5, "Paul insists that . . . all the gifts of creation-are good and holy, for God himself has declared them to be so." "Man and woman, God's image bearers, are made to be sub-creators following after their Creator." Thus "We may describe a Christian undersatnding of the arts in the following way: Our work in any field of the arts will be imitative. We will be thinking God's thoughts after him." So "Christian artists need to regard themselves as creatures of God, using gifts given by God, delighting in the world made by God, needing the help of other artists, doing their work to the glory of God, and devoting their labors to the enrichment of the lives of others." 

It's important to note that artists serve not themselves, but "serve the needs of other people and to bring some help, enrichment, consolation, and encouragement to their lives." Through the gifts of an artist, "We may experience more of the wonder of God's world as we read and so enter into someone else's perspective on this world. This is true in all the arts . . . [artists see] something of the world that we do not see, and so as we look or listen or read, we are enriched by each artist's vision." "In the enjoyment of others' creativity, I enter into a vision and richness beyond my own: 'familiar things made new, and new things made familiar,' to paraphrase Samuel Johnson." C.S. Lewis would agree, and argues that art can include delving into fantasy/fictional worlds: "The value of the myth is that it takes all the things we know and restores to them the rich significance which has been hidden by 'the veil of familiarity.'"

We should learn to recognize the value in art from all, as "God has given his creative gifts to believers and unbelievers alike." As John Calvin eloquently put it, "The human mind, however much fallen and perverted from its original integrity, is still adorned and invested with admirable gifts from its Creator. If we reflect that the Spirit of God is the only fountain of truth, we will be careful, as we would avoid offering insult to him, not to reject or doncemn truth wherever it appears."

Ultimately, Barrs argues that "All great art will echo these three elements of Eden: (1) Eden in its original glory, (2) Eden that is lost to us, and (3) the promise that Eden will be restored." He repeats this several times using different words:

• "as a principle that the themes of all great art . . . are the world and human life as they came from the hand of God; the world and human life as they now are subject to sorrow, sin, and death; and the world and human life as we long for and look forward to their restoration."
• "all great art contains elements of the true story: the story of the good creation, the fallen world, and the longing for redemption."
• "What we are calling echoes of Eden is like this, for as soon as we experience a memory of the glory of Eden, there is also a sense of deep sadness intermingled with the glory, for any true echo will have both the beauty that was ours and the sorrow of its loss."
• "the three fundamental themes . . . [are] the beauty of creation, the appalling reality of evil, and the universal human longing for redemption and a better world."

----------

I enjoyed this book. I was pleased to see my approach/thoughts on the matter (the "content consumption" posts I did in October) largely align with Barrs. I gained from his insights and am thankful for them. The most value is found in the first half, where he does a good job explaining core concepts on how we should value and approach art. The second half, where he evaluates five authors, is also of value, but felt less structured and more conversational/meandering. And the book ends abruptly; I wish he had included a final chapter to wrap everything together. Overall, though, it is a good read.

Rating: A-