1. Kerry Nietz says:

    “I don’t know of any artists who paint futuristic cathedrals in the stars or robots praising God. Honestly, the notion is a bit silly. This doesn’t mean that Christianity and science fiction aren’t compatible (countless excellent books have already shown this compatibility) but as far as imagery goes, it would be hard for a science fiction artist to paint pictures that would make viewers think, ‘Yeah, I can really feel the worship in this piece'”

    Good post, Mark, though I have to say that I don’t agree with the statement above. I think science fiction is fertile ground for a Christian artist. How many Hubble images have you seen? Every single one of them is a testimony to God’s glory. An artist couldn’t paint something similar?

    Check out this image by Michael Whelan (used for an Asimov book). Can you look at that and not feel a little awe and wonder?

    http://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/trantorian-dream/

    • Mark Carver says:

      I certainly feel the awe, but there is nothing specifically “Christian” about it. However, some of Giger’s work, such as this image, are indisputably demonic.

      Atheists and Christians look at the same sky, yet the atheist is not compelled to tremble before God’s majesty. As you say, there is fertile ground, but I don’t know of anyone who has taken that artistic step of not just depicting the majesty of the stars but the majesty of the God who created those stars. Perhaps the stars themselves are enough 🙂

      https://vikisecrets.com/uploaded/large/hr_giger_the_spell_iv.jpg

  2. Sparks of Ember says:

    I’ve been thinking about this: “artists who paint futuristic cathedrals in the stars or robots praising God.” And it would be cool to see.

    But I was also thinking that part of the reason we may not have really seen it is our truth is so much more fantastic. When our reality is heaven and angelic choirs and spiritual warfare, the imagery is already pretty amazing.

    (Also, it may be out there – just lesser known. Look at the work by Kevin Carden! http://www.christianphotoshops.com/Surreal/

    I can’t speak for Akiane Kramarik’s faith but some of her pieces are pretty fantastical.)

What do you think?