VideoThe church has had a (by turns) rocky and rich relationship with the arts. At times it has treated artists and their work with suspicion; yet it’s also accused of demanding that people believe in an “imaginary friend”. Where does the imagination fit within the Christian worldview? Is art an essential part of what it means to be human – or a sometimes pleasant diversion – or even a threat?
Trevor Hart is a pastor and Honorary Professor at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. He has thought a lot about the relationship between faith and art, and was in Sydney to deliver the 2015 New College Lectures, “Taking Flesh: Christology, Embodiment and the Arts”. In this interview with Simon Smart, Professor Hart talks about the role of art and the imagination in bridging the gap between the material and the spiritual – the bodily realities of human life and the realm of meaning, value, and beauty.