Recent Reads: Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle
What the book's about: Walking on Water is about the intersection of faith and art. It's not a "how-to" manual, but instead, a series of beautiful reflections about encountering God through art and about the divine inspiring art.
Why I read this book: I read this book as part of an online writing class I took called Story 101, taught by Elora Rameriz.
My favorite quotes from the book:
- "If it's bad art, it's bad religion, no matter how pious the subject."
- "To be truly Christian means to see Christ everywhere, to know him as all in all."
- "In watching TV we are passive; sponges; we do nothing. In reading we must become creators."
- "There is nothing so secular that it cannot be sacred, and that is one of the deepest messages of the Incarnation."
- "Lie and story are incompatible. If it holds no truth, then it cannot truly be story."
- "If she is truly & deeply a Christian, what she writes is going to be Christian, whether she mentions Jesus or not."
- "We are co-authors with God in the writing of our own story."
- "That's probably the chief difference between the Christian and the secular artist - the purpose of the work, be it story or music or painting is to further the coming of the kingdom, to make us aware of our status as children of God and to turn our feet toward home."
- "All that new discoveries of science can do is to enlarge our knowledge of the magnitude and glory of God's creation."
Thumbs up or thumbs down? Thumbs up.
Who I'd recommend this book for: This book is ideal for both artists and Christians. It will inspire artists and make Christians think. The theology found within it is not only beautiful, but rich.
