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Communicating
Christ Through a Culture's Art
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-- Mary Lou Totten, Fellowship of Artists for Cultural Evangelism (FACE)
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Some questions to consider in seeking to communicate Christ through a culture's art:
1. Do any of the art forms in the culture convey any Christian principles that may already exist in that culture?
2. Is there an art form that reveals a deep need of the people and could that form be used to show how Christ can fulfill that need?
3. Can a local proverb be visualized or dramatized using a local art form -- and then related to Christ?
4. Can a metaphor, proverb or truth in the Bible be "re-clothed" in indigenous expressions, keeping the core message equivalent?
5. Have government agencies used the arts to teach health or farming methods? Can similar methods be used to communicate Christ?
6. Should Christian worship involve some form other than a single individual preaching to a group? What methods did they use to announce important news, or to teach the young or the newcomer?
7. What arts or ceremonies would help to make their new-found life in Christ become a part of everyday life? What forms kept their former belief system in their everyday lives?
8. What needs to be done to direct the new Christian community to create their own, biblical expressions for worship and then for evangelism?
9. Could Christians become teachers of appropriate technology, (e.g. better health care) and also include the message of Christ in their communication?
10. Are there special needs of second and third generation Christians that could be met by composing new forms of worship?
The above questions will assist Christians in using local art forms to share Christ.
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Mary Lou Totten is co-founder of FACE (Fellowship of Artists for Cultural Communications). FACE is an interdenominational, evangelical mission organization that exists to train and mobilize artists for cross-cultural mission. Includes short term teams working with Navajo Indians, as well as others.
Contact Info: Art4face@yahoo.com
818-794-7970 FACE, 1605 Elizabeth St, Pasadena, CA 91104 (article USED WITH PERMISSION)
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Can you develop your ability to tell stories/parables from the Bible as Jesus did? -- this seems to be very effective in most people groups, especially in eastern cultures where this is a common way of teaching.
Also effective is to ask a local artist/musician about the music/art of their culture -- ie. what it means in various aspects of life, and which aspects of life it is used in -- ie. weddings, funerals, rites of passage, festivals, etc. -- and how it's used...etc.