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‘I am also an artist and creative, and what I do is driven by my faith experience.’- Makoto Fujimura (See article below…)

Isn’t that statement the essence of life for most people? Aren’t most people driven by some sort of faith experience? And isn’t what comes out of us an extension of that faith experience? And if that faith experience emerges out of a relationship with Christ’s Spirit that is embedded in our souls, isn’t that which comes out very Godly? And don’t we all create in a way?

That is why I love creating…

I am happy to see more people across the globe are getting it…

Evangelicals Start Push in the Arts

Thursday July 26, 2007 8:01 PM

By ERIC GORSKI

AP Religion Writer

There are no crosses in Makoto Fujimura’s paintings. No images of Jesus gazing into the distance, or serene scenes of churches in a snow-cloaked wood.

Fujimura’s abstract works speak to his evangelical Christian faith. But to find it takes some digging.

After the 2001 terrorist strikes on the World Trade Center, three blocks from Fujimura’s home, his work explored the power of fire to both destroy and purify, themes drawn from the Christian Gospels and Dante’s “The Divine Comedy.”

“I am a Christian,” says Fujimura, 46, who founded the nonprofit International Arts Movement to help bridge the gap between the religious and art communities. “I am also an artist and creative, and what I do is driven by my faith experience.

“But I am also a human being living in the 21st century, struggling with a lot of brokenness - my own, as well as the world’s. I don’t want to use the term ‘Christian’ to shield me away from the suffering or evil that I see, or to escape in some nice ghetto where everyone thinks the same.”

By making a name for himself in the secular art world, Fujimura has become a role model for creatively wired evangelicals. They believe that their churches have forsaken the visual arts for too long - and that a renaissance has begun.

Any other artists out there…?

p.s. Oh and for the sceptics questioning his faith - you might want to check out some of Fujimara’s essays on his website

Generally I don’t speak to people on planes.? I try and disguise myself as a chair or something.?? But on this trip I sat next to this very interesting guy on the plane?who has a church in Sandton somewhere.? You know sometimes you just connect with somebody and you can talk for hours - and you agree on so many things…? Well this was it.? So I decided to take my chair-face off and engage in conversation, which was such? a blessing.

One thing Pete spoke about was his concept of 4D Faith.? Which is something I’ve been thinking of for many years.? If we take the linear timeline out of our lives, a lot of faith issues make more sense.? We tend to forget that we are limited in our thinking.? One, because our brains are not much bigger than our fists and have a limited capacity (comparing with God).? And two, putting the restraint of linear time limitations on any given issue will necessarily limit any reasonable understanding of God’s activity in our lives.

Example - if Joseph had the ability to see outside of time, he would never have doubted while in prison.? Come to think of it, he probably had this kind of 4D faith or perhaps he wouldn’t have pushed through the way he did.

But we often doubt God because of that which happens today which is not in line (get the pun?) with our understanding of God’s ways.

Let us reflect a bit about this…any comments?

So 07/07/07 passed and when I realized it it was 08/07/07! I will have to wait another 1000 years to get another opportunity. Endless sms’s and text messages went around about the significance of this day - that somehow I missed. So I don’t even know what nonsense or wise words might have been running across the globe.

Yet there might just be a little bit of sense in it.

After all God found dates quite important. I’m not an expert on this but I know that those that know have a lot to teach about this and that. 40 years in the desert, 40 days in the desert, 3 days here and there, frequent detailed analysis of months and years that things happened and didn’t happen bla bla bla. Some of these I am sure were literal references and some were figurative. Because God is sometimes literal. And sometimes figurative.

So could God possibly have some special meaning to 07/07/07?

I think it depends on us.

Because we each have our own journey. Some of have new years resolutions. Some of us have fancy journals which depict seasons. I guess it depends on our walk with God whether we make it a special day or season.

But I think it can be significant. If we choose to.

Because God is a God of dates and seasons.

So what significance do you want to make of the time of your life that started after 07/07/07?