The subject of Aesthetics has been around since the time of Plato when he asked what is the Beautiful? My theory on Aesthetics will be developed slowly over time on this site. Aesthetics really focuses on the observer's response to Art. It does not cover the subject of art history nor the biographical lives of artists. Its focus is on developing a value criteria for the art work itself -- whether it's literature, film, music or paintings. Now this is where you come in..... Why should I care?? How many times have you heard fellow Christians fussing about Christian music that sounds more like rock or rapp? How many times have you heard your friends question whether fantasy should be read?
All these concerns are related and I believe they are SO important for Christians to start exploring in a BIG way. This affects your decisions on whether a child should read, listen, or view whatever they have brought to your attention. Have you ever wished you could develop your Biblical discernment in this area and become more confident? That is my goal for myself and my readers. With this goal in mind, remember God loves you, your children, and the Holy Spirit is your Almighty teacher. We will learn to trust his promptings. Aesthetics is about our response to a work of art.... Censorship is about restricting access to ideas through art (usually censorship focuses on literature but it includes film, music and all forms of art). Censorship is also enforced out of fear! We are afraid of the response to ideas. We are afraid that the observer (your child) will imitate art and fall off the Christian path. We are afraid! However, there should be no fear in the Lord and as parents, we can trust the Holy Spirit to guide our children. Yes, even their responses to art. We cannot control our children's response to art and censorship always backfires. So how do we develop our Christian Aesthetic taste and teach children and ourselves better ways to evaluate art? That's what this journal is all about, I hope you'll stay with me....
I wonder if censorship is so pervasive because parents doubt their children's ability to trust in the Holy Spirit's guidance when the abundance of worldly ideals are so tempting.
ReplyDeleteI think you are right. There is a fine line we try to walk in this area of concerned protection vs a battle for control over thoughts. Parents need some help in gaining confidence and I am hoping this site can provide some assistance in this area. For clarity, my usage of censorship in the home referenced in my posts will be referring to the extreme style becoming more noticably prevalent of parents enforcing a very strict control over decisions regarding every exposure with art and ideas -- stories, music, visual arts etc. The situations of moms and dads saying "you know, I'd rather we not watch that..." with a loving tone are normal and healthy with families with protective parents. It's when the child is met with extreme censorship that their spirits become dampened and their countenances fall that is the scope of this blog. Thanks for posting, In Christ's love, Ann
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