Did you catch last week’s post, “There’s No Such Thing as a Christian Genius?”
That title came from a blog-responder some years ago who didn’t realize evidence refuted his opinion. Intelligence is to be found among believers in Jesus—in the sciences (as we discovered last week), and in the humanities, as presented below:
ART
Albrecht Durer (1471-1528)—considered by many as the greatest Renaissance artist of northern Europe. His career began at the dawn of the Reformation under Martin Luther, whom Durer supported.
One of his prayers penned five hundred years ago is just as applicable today. Included here are excerpts:
O God in heaven, have mercy on us!
Preserve in us the true genuine Christian faith,
Help us recognize your voice,
Help us not to be allured by the madness of the world,
So that we may never fall away from you,
O Lord Jesus Christ (1).
Self-portrait of Durer
Casper David Friedrich (1774-1840) produced more than 500 works. He is best known for his landscapes, all of which possessed a spiritual quality and meaning.
Friedrich expressed his convictions in poetry as well:
Through the gloomy clouds break
Blue sky, sunshine,
On the heights and in the valley
Sing the lark and the nightingale.
God, I thank you that I live
Not forever in this world
Strengthen me that my soul rise
Upward toward your firmament (2).
Two Men Contemplating the Moon by Friedrich, ca. 1824
Thomas Cole (1801-1848) was one of several who led the Hudson River School, a group of painters known for their realistic landscapes.
They desired to portray the presence of God in his creation. One technique was to include small human figures surrounded by mammoth trees and vast meadows.
Cole saw “the mission of the artist as a spiritual one, to spread the Word of God through art devoted to nature” (3). To that end, Cole prayed before he painted.
Dream of Arcadia by Cole, ca. 1838
MUSIC
George Frideric Handel produced numerous works in at least seven genres. His most remarkable effort is perhaps his most famous composition, Messiah, which he accomplished in just twenty-four days.
In 1759, while receiving an ovation after his last performance, Handel cried out: “Not from me…but from Heaven…comes all” (4).
He hoped to die on Easter, hoping to “meet his good God, his sweet Lord and Savior, on the day of his Resurrection” (5). Handel arrived in heaven the day before, in 1759.
George Frideric Handel
Johann Sebastian Bach, another prolific composer, is considered one of the greatest Western composers of all time.
While serving as a church organist and teacher, he set an impossible goal: write a different cantata for every Sunday, for three years. Not only did Bach create the music, but made sure his singers and instrumentalists had copies, and time to rehearse with him before each Sunday’s service.
Even on his secular works, Bach often wrote “I.N.J.” for “in the name of Jesus.” Finished manuscripts were frequently initialed, “S.D.G.”—Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone, the glory) (6).
“Soli Deo Gloria” in Bach’s own hand, bottom right
Felix Mendelssohn excelled in numerous fields: philosophy, linguistics, watercolor painting, poetry, gymnastics, and of course, music. During his brief life of only thirty-eight years, Mendelssohn produced approximately 750 musical works in nearly every genre.
He gained great popularity and prestige as a musician, yet maintained a humble and devout faith in Christ. In one of his letters, Mendelssohn wrote: “Pray to God that He may create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us” (7).
LITERATURE
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) had no equal in the literary history of any country, according to the Edinburg Review (8). Her literary works reflected keen intelligence and deep faith. As a teenager, she taught herself Hebrew so she could read the Old Testament with greater understanding.
Browning’s writings often explored Christian themes:
“Earth is crammed with heaven,
and every common bush is afire with God.
And only those who see take off their shoes;
the rest sit around and pluck blackberries” (9).
–from Aurora Leigh
And from the poem, “Comfort”:
“SPEAK low to me, my Saviour, low and sweet
From out the hallelujahs, sweet and low
Lest I should fear and fall, and miss Thee so
Who art not missed by any that entreat” (10).
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) distinguished himself as an essayist, columnist, humorist, poet, and novelist. About him, one evangelical scholar wrote : “There has not been a more articulate champion of classic Christianity, virtue, and decency.”
Articulate indeed:
“Just going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car”—original source unknown (11).
“These are the days when the Christian is expected to praise every creed except his own.”—from the Illustrated News, 8-11-1928 (12).
G. K. Chesterton
Clive Staples Lewis (1898–1963), professor at Oxford and then Cambridge, is considered one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century. He authored more than thirty books; many are popular to this day.
Lewis came to Christian faith out of atheism, through the reading of such authors as George MacDonald, G. K. Chesterton, and others. Also influential, other intellectuals of faith associated with Oxford, including J. R. R. Tolkien.
C. S. Lewis came to understand:
“Look for yourself and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you find Him, and with Him, everything else thrown in”—from Mere Christianity (13).
C. S. Lewis, ca. 1940
______________________________
As noted last week, it is a fact many acclaimed geniuses have chosen not to become Christians.
But it cannot be said there is no such thing as a Christian genius.
Again, who would you add to the list? Please share in the comment section below!
Notes:
- historyofpainters.com/durer/
- As quoted and translated by Linda Siegel in Caspar David Friedrich and the Age of German Romanticism, 1978, p. 48.
- https://www.equip.org/article/what-has-art-to-do-with-evangelism/
- christianheritageedinburgh.uk
- https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/musiciansartistsandwriters/george-frideric-handel.html
- christianheritageedinburgh.uk
- thirdmill.org/paul/impact_mendelssohn.asp
- poetryfoundation.org/poets/elizabeth-barrett-browning
- https://www.bartleby.com/236/86.html
- https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/comfort/
- http://famousquotefrom.com/g-k-chesterton/
- https://www.chesterton.org/quotations-of-g-k-chesterton/
- http://www.cslewisinstitute.org/cslewisonauthenticdiscipleshippage4
Photo credits: http://www.flickr.com; http://www.picryl.com; http://www.wikimedia.org; http://www.wikipedia.org; http://www.wikimedia.org; http://www.wikipedia.org; http://www.wikimedia.org (2); http://www.flickr.com.
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