Philip Graham Ryken, Art for God’s Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts (Phillipsburg: P&R, 2006). $5.99.

Reviewed by Rev. Brian D. Vos

Dr. Ryken has done the church a great service in providing us with a short, readable, and engaging introduction to thinking Christianly about the arts. Only 64 pages in length (with endnotes!), the book is a quick read; most will be able to complete it in an hour or less.

Strengths
The brevity of the book, and the ease with which it is read, is a tribute to the organizational skills of Dr. Ryken, who has laid out the material in a way that is easy to follow. The author has also included a list of 13 books for further reading. These should be pursued, as Dr. Ryken’s book is only intended as an introduction. Though the book is introductory in nature, it thankfully does not adopt the rather lazy and embarrassing approach of so many Christians when it comes to art. Dr. Ryken writes, “The question becomes…whether as Christians we will aspire to high aesthetic standards. All too often we settle for something that is functional, but not beautiful….Sometimes what we produce can be described only as kitsch—tacky artwork of poor quality that appeals to low tastes. The average Christian bookstore is full of the stuff, as the real artists will tell us, if only we will listen” (p. 14). While Ryken clearly believes that the glory of God should be the aim of our art, he offers this refreshing caveat: “This does not mean that all our art has to be evangelistic in the sense that it explicitly invites people to believe in Christ. To give an example from another calling, the way in which a Christian who makes cars glorifies God is not by painting ‘John 3:16’ on the hood. Rather, he glorifies God by making a good car. Similarly, the artist glorifies God by making good art, whether or not it contains an explicitly Christian message” (p. 51). The greatest strength of the book is found in the final pages (pp. 54-58), where Ryken pushes us to see God’s artistry in the plan of salvation, where “we come up against a shocking reality, namely, that the center of God’s masterpiece of salvation [is] an event of appalling ugliness and degradation” (p. 54).

Weaknesses
The greatest strength of the book, however, is also its greatest weakness. Most of the book is centered around 4 principles gleaned from Exodus 31, where God calls and equips Bezalel and Oholiab to be the artists of the tabernacle. These four principles are as follows (p. 18):

(1) the artist’s call and gift come from God;
(2) God loves all kinds of art;
(3) God maintains high standards for goodness, truth, and beauty;
(4) art is for the glory of God.

While these principles may be true in and of themselves, in my estimation they do not build the strongest case for a Christian understanding of art. The strongest case for a Christian understanding of art is to be found (as Ryken rightly notes) in the plan of salvation, the history of redemption, culminating in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Ryken nails it in the last four pages, but I wish he had spent the entire book fleshing out the ideas in those four pages.

Recommendation
Nevertheless, I do recommend the book. It would be especially helpful in dealing with the second commandment in connection with Lord’s Day 35 of the Heidelberg Catechism (Ryken has left much room for thoughtful reflection here). Indeed, the last four pages alone are worth the price of the book. Buy it; read it; and let it lead you to further ponder the artistry of God revealed in Jesus Christ for our salvation.