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Introduction to the Arts Final Exam Study Guide

Ch. 1
The 5 Christ and Culture Paradigms
1. Christ against Culture = very strict against culture (example Amish)
2. Christ Above Culture = Culture is neutral but God should be the
authority on culture ( synthesis of biblical standards with culture)

3. Christ and Culture in Paradox = Sin is what separates Christ and


Culture but they both coexist (Dualism)

4. Christ the Transformer of Culture = Make our goal to change


culture to meet Christian standards.

5. Christ of Culture = maintaining relations directly with the World and


interpreting teachings of Christ through worldly views.

Definition of Culture: that which man does beyond biological necessity


Richard Niebuhr: Christian Theologian who delivered Lecture Christ and
Culture. Came up with 5 Paradigms of Christ and Culture.
Ch. 4
Worldviews
1. Deism = believe God created then abandoned the universe
2. Nihilism = see no value in reality life is absurd
3. Aesthetic existentialism = sees life as absurd, and humans free to
make their own meaning of life in the face of absurdity

4. Christian Theism

Accept both physical and spiritual nature of man balanced view of what it means
to be human

Man is unique and is created in the image of God to glorify him

Man is depraved and fallen. God is the authority on morality and he has given us
an innate sense of what is right and wrong

Man will die only once and then face the judgment of God and spend eternity
somewhere whether in Heaven or Hell

5. Naturalism = 1. God is irrelevant; 2. Evolutionary process and change


are inevitable, 3. Human beings are autonomous and self centered and will
save themselves, 4. Education is the guide to life, 5. Science is the ultimate
provider for both knowledge and morals

6. Postmodernism = truth in any real form doesnt exist.


7. New Age = Western Pantheism; 1. all is one (there is no distinction
between humans animals and the rest of creation), 2. since all is one all is
god, 3. each of us is god, 4. humans must discover their own divinity by
experiencing a change in consciousness, 5. humans must travel through a
cycle of reincarnation to work off bad karma, 6. think in terms of gray so to
contradicting statements can be true

Ch. 7
Premodern = Used to denote the period before the Enlightenment of the 17th
century. This period is characterized by widespread belief in the supernatural and
religion. It was a time before people in general were critical of statements of truth. People
in this era interpreted truth with the correspondent method of truth and the coherence

method of truth. The correspondence method of truth evaluates truth on whether it meets
the observable physical phenomena. The coherence method of truth evaluates on whether
a story or explanation agrees with other accepted truth.

Modern = In the modern era people depended on the merit of human reason armed
with the scientific method to determine truth. Believed only in truth that could be proven
with the senses.

Postmodern = In the modern era people stopped believing in the existence of


absolute objective truth.

Ch. 8
The New Absolutes = a book written by William Watkins that said that despite the
many people who claim to believe in relative truth they really dont really believe in
relativism but are adopting a new set of absolutes. He claims that the behaviors of
Americans betray their belief absolute right and wrong.

Ch. 9
Definition of Aesthetics = a branch of philosophy dealing with the qualitive
aspects of the arts.

Nature as aesthetics of the infinite

Major premise of a Christian worldview


Created in Gods image = we are creative

Dichotomy between sacred and secular = the dichotomy between the secular and
sacred doesnt exist

Bible as a revelation and a work of art

Effect of the fall on absolute beauty = Because of the fall absolute beauty is gone
from the world

Ch.10
Newports 4 points about involvement in the arts

1. The Christian community can not cut itself off from the
characteristic vitalities of history----- past and present
2. the arts give a peculiarly direct access to the distinctive tone,
concerns, and feelings of a culture
3. the arts focus ( in a remarkably vivid and exciting way) on the
vital issues and concerns which are the central concerns of
theology.
4. the arts spell out dramatically the implications of various
worldviews

Psalms as lyrics merged with music


Can Music be Christian?

There is no Christian melody, rhythm, harmony there is only one


element that makes a piece of music distinctively Christian and
that is the lyrics.

5 components of quality music


1.

Movement = overall feel of continuity and flow within the music that is
progressive from beginning to end.

2.
3.

Cohesion = a sense of unity that permeates an entire piece

Diversity at multiple levels = a variety inherent in the piece.

4.

Dominance = the piece shows emphasis on some ideas or elements over


others

5.

Intrinsic worth = every aspect and element of a piece must have its own
intrinsic worth

Ch. 11

Prominence of image, sound, and moving picture


Film = narrative medium

Diversionary entertainment vs. works of art


Diversionary = made expressly with the purpose to entertain
Art = made with a purpose to reflect human emotion and to
call people to a more reflective existence

Art as humanities response to reality

People attempt to express the meaning of reality through art and to convey their
hopes, fears and ideas

Film as uplifting and inspiring

Film is not and should not be required to be uplifting or inspiring

Christian vs. non- Christian responses to film

Christians and non-Christians should not be expected to come to the same


conclusions on film

3 positions on Christians viewing of films


1. Prohibition: The belief that film and television and often other forms are
evil and should be avoided completely because they are harmful to the
Christian spiritually

2. Abstinence: The belief that it is acceptable for Christians to view films but
the person chooses not to for personal reasons.

3. Moderation: The belief that is alright to view films if done in the


framework of moderation.

Film vs. Movie

Film = artistic expression of cinematic medium


Movie = the entertainment expression of cinematic medium

Ch. 13
Pervasiveness of television

In a short period of time television has cemented itself in our consciousness,


started to take place shortly after WWII.

5 facets of response to television


1.

The Bible does not include any specific instruction on television and thus
we are left to make our own conclusions through Biblical study

2.

We should analyze television in light of the cultural mandate to convert


cultural forms

3.
4.
5.

We should realize the fact that television is still in its childhood.

We should consider the possibility that many of us our visually illiterate

Many of us should make decisions before we spend time with the medium.

Ch. 14
God-talk = talk of spiritual things included in a television show
Touched by an Angel
Chasm between God and Man

Objectionable Elements
7 Censorable Elements
1. Profanity
2. Scatological Realism
3. Sexual Perversion
4. Erotic Realism
5. Lurid Violence
6. Occultism
7.

Erroneous religious or philosophical assumptions

4 Positions on Censorable Elements


1. Permissive View = aesthetic qualities; honest view of life
2. Exclusivist View = avoidance of exposure to any kind of evil
3. Pragmatic View = each person must decide for himself how much evil is
too much

4. Biblical View = associates good or evil with good or bad behavior

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