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If we as Christians want our own great creative works, we’ll need to be the ones producing them. That means families raising up children to value careers in the arts. What does this look like in practice? Zackary Russell is joined by his wife, Naomi A. Russell, to share how they’ve been doing this with their own four children. From homeschooling to public school, to musical theater and dance classes, they’ll explore how Christians can better engage faithfully in the world and in the arts.

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middle grade • teens + YA • adults • onscreen • author resources • gifts • guild

Episode sponsors

1. Enclave Publishing: Estuary by Lisa T. Bergren
2. The Author Conservatory
3. Lorehaven Summer Reading Challenge

1. We need more Christians in the arts

• It’s part of our calling as believers, to be sub-creators with the Lord.
• From the very beginning, God gave artistic skills to his people to use in an expression of worship to him.
• The arts shape culture.
• Nowadays, the arts are often dark places.
• Our culture has been on a STEM craze for the last few decades.

2. Our own journeys through the arts

• There’s always a place for the arts, even if you’re a STEM major.

3. How we raise children who value the arts

• Experiment with different art forms, musical instruments, etc.
• Make books a privilege, not a punishment
• Ep 33. How Does Portraying Fantastical Characters Develop Christian Character? | with Julie Novak
• Shield kids from the anxious thought of, “How can you make money with this?”

Com station

Commenting on ep. 166 on YouTube, Victor DiGiovanni wrote:

As a Christian who is also a filmmaker, I can attest that if you limit yourself to exclusively Christian cast and crew, you will end up with a vastly inferior product. The cinematographer for the first season of The Chosen, Akis Konstantakopoulos, is an athiest. It can be argued that one of the big reasons why The Chosen made such a big splash is that the show LOOKS incredible. It looks like a prestige TV series on the order of Game of Thrones. That’s Akis Konstantakopoulos. You get an exclusively Christian cinematographer, you’ll likely get something that looks basic and flat, like every dull, flatly-lit, basic faith-based film you’ve seen. I don’t need to name any, because it’s true for ALL of them. The Chosen looked great and instantly said “This ain’t your father’s Christian content.” As long as the people working on the product are doing their best, and contributing their expertise to help the boss deliver their vision, then that’s all that matters in the end. I challenge anyone to go through the last two seasons of The Chosen (when the pride flag cameraman was involved) and point out his influence.

Next on Fantastical Truth

‘Twas the summer of 2008, fifteen years ago, when a little indie book took the Christian publishing world by storm. That book was The Shack, and yes, it’s fantastical fiction one way or another. This story by William P. Young (and guests) followed a man called Mack who sought spiritual healing from fictional representations of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Among legions of readers, this went over well, and among leagues of critics, this did not go over well. What now do we think of The Shack and its deconstruction of evangelical ideas, and arguably Bible doctrine itself?