The success of The Bible miniseries has fueled an age old debate about the role of art in the church.

The debate picks up on whether or not Christians should be aggressive about making faith-based content in Hollywood.

Christianity Today, in its article on the subject asks: “Is another chase after Passion dollars a good thing?”

Pro-faith in Hollywood media watchers say Christian producers, screenwriters and content creators should move quickly to bring high quality religious programming to life.

They say reuniting Christianity and the arts in Hollywood is important because:

1. Big Hollywood hits spark water cooler conversation and anything that steers conversations toward Christianity is a good thing.

2. As with Mel Gibson’s The Passion, when adaptions of the Bible or religious programming do well on a large scale, it creates momentum to build other projects on.

3. Big hit Bible projects can shape the culture when their DVD’s seize the top spot on iTunes, their books reach the Top 20 on the New York Times best sellers list, or their clips become source material for sermon analogies.

4. Critically standing by with arms crossed is how Christians gave the arts over to Hollywood in the first place.

To other professionals, Hollywood may not be the ultimate solution for maximizing the impact of Christian-based content around the world, because:

1. Biblical faith has many nuances and Hollywood doesn’t like nuances, especially when it comes to Christianity, creating the potential for approaches to faith stories that are too heavily man-centered.

2. The real power isn’t in Hollywood, it is in dramatic story lines, no licensing fees, and a built-in audience of believers and supporters that can be reached through a variety of Christian media channels outside Hollywood.

3. Hollywood’s interest in and commitment to Christian-themed projects will never be stronger than a project’s strong balance sheet.

4. Christians should take their art to the highest levels, but making it into mainstream media should be a secondary aim.

Good art, multiple purposes

Both sides make great points, though it can be frustrating to hear people say they wish things would change but  then be unwilling to do anything about it, whatever their views.

I believe Christians should support the making of good art. Wholeheartedly.

It is worth nothing, I think, that there is a distinction between projects designed to literally teach the Bible and projects that are primarily inspired by its themes and values for entertainment purposes. The first will strive for accurate transmission of the source material. The second aspires to be an authentic representation. So whether biblical or non-biblical, it is a worthy enterprise to make Christian art that is decent and God-honoring and excellent.

Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17

The role of the Internet and a united Church

The Internet is integral to the future of art in the church. It is bringing barriers down on how content is created, shipped, and received. Over the coming decades and across the world Internet TV will grow from millions of viewers to billions. That makes video media an entirely new thing for Christians to think about, to program, to curate and build new platforms.

With so much opportunity, some are calling for the church to reassume its ancient and proper responsibility and productivity with reference to all the arts.

Jonathan Bock, founder and president of Grace Hill Media (a PR firm that helps Hollywood studios reach the faith market),  founded the nonprofit organization As1 to encourage the church to embrace its historical role as patrons of the arts—particularly movies and tv.

Bock has put his finger on the big idea. Christians united will be better equipped to seize opportunities to make and support good art. That’s true in Hollywood or anywhere else.

Note: The Decent Films Guide offers a thorough treatment of the Catholic church’s views on ‘decent’ art versus morally objectionable art in its article “Entertainment, Art, and Culture in Church Teaching.”