The Thomas Kinkade Dilemma

THE THOMAS KINKADE DILEMMA
"What we have here is a failure to communicate."

For those of you who may not know, Thomas Kinkade is a very popular Christian painter. Reproductions of his work fill Christian bookstores in the form of calendars, prints, Bible covers, greeting cards, etc. He is a very generous man who donates some of his fortune to worthwhile charities. He is a wonderful human being, husband and father with a fantastic talent. What follows is not an attack on this precious soul, rather a critique of the meaning of his art and its astonishing popularity among Christians.

I know I will get angry mail on this. But here goes.

Kinkade's paintings represent the problem with Christian art in the postmodern era. Most of his paintings are of isolated family cottages with gorgeously lit windows filled with light coming from within the home. He is called the painter of lights. Most of his paintings are devoid of people. On those rare occasions, when he does depict people, they are usually from some by gone era -the so-called good old days. All his paintings are pleasant, and peaceful, yet devoid of any kind of conflict or connection to the real world. This pleasant non conflict style is why the Evangelical Christian community has not produced one single world-class painter in the 20th century. Not one. And, there are none on the horizon.

Have we raised the home and family to the level of idolatry? This kind of art suggests that the home is the light of the world. The remoteness of these family cottages suggests the disconnection of the Christian family with the world. The absence of people and conflict suggest withdrawal from a lost and hurting world. In fact these cottages are surrounded by absolute beauty -flowers, and gorgeous landscapes -far removed from other people and neighbors. Is the family really the light of the world? Should the family be so disconnected from the world? Should Christians surround themselves with such purity?

There is also current an obsession with the all things Victorian. There is even a longing for the so-called family-centered 1950s. Christians seem to be escaping to fantasy worlds the really never existed. Historical amnesia has set in.

If you are a Christian who connects to the postmodern world you will get grief. It seems to me that the greatest value among certain Christians these days is to at stay home and away from the world. Surround yourself with flowers, Victorian knickknacks, pleasant print art, and attend Family worship centers. See no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil. I got this email the other day that really connects with what I am trying to say:

David,
I totally agree with your assessment of the Christian and film. I am an aspiring filmmaker and avid film buff. I always feel guilty when talking about the genius of Evil Dead or Transporting. So many young Christians are told that an R rating makes a film ungodly, and not suitable for our eyes. It drives me crazy. The other day I was telling my friend I wanted to see Moulin Rouge, his girlfriend starts making a comment about the women being scantily clad and thus I should not watch such a film. It made me so mad, that she could be so closed-minded. Of course she never goes to the theater, watches on videos.

Also when I tell people I want to make films, they all bring up examples like Prince of Egypt, Bibleman or Left Behind. I just want to shake them and say no, I want to make good films. I want to make films that not only entertain but have spiritual truth as well. I fear being pigeon holed into the Christian market. So I will go forth with my Lord and do what he has called me to do. I long to make a film that looks seriously at school shootings, but can you imagine the backlash from the Christian community.
--Dan Cramer

The state of Christians in the arts is in a sad state of affairs. If you are a Christian in Hollywood, or in any of the popular arts, it may be best to keep your mouth closed about that fact when you are around isolationist Christians. What we need are more connected artists like J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Hollywood producer Ralph Winter, Alternative U2 Bono, or even actress Dyan Cannon. We need more roaring lambs. Being salt and light is not optional.

BLAMING THE WRONG THINGS
The current thinking is that such things as movies and video games are responsible for much of our promiscuity and violence. These are easy whipping boys. People reflect back to Colonial America, the Victorian era, the even the 1950s -all times before our postmodern R-rated culture- and long for the so-called good old days. Historical amnesia has set in.

EXPLODING THE MYTH OF COLONIAL AMERICA
Long before any modern pop culture and sexual promiscuity on the big screen, one third of all children born 20 years before the American Revolution were born out of wedlock.

Following the Revolution, one third of all brides were pregnant (1780 to 1790).

EXPLODING THE MYTH OF THE VICTORIAN ERA
(American before rock n roll, television and movies)
Drug abuse was more widespread in the 1890s than in the 1990s.
Prostitution and serious sexually transmitted disease were more prevalent.
Police routinely overlooked wife beating.
The percent of unmarried women over 18 was 20.4%, just as it is today.
Out of wedlock birth rate in North Carolina was the same in 1850 as in 1970.
The American abortion rate was one to every three live births in 1870.
The age of marriage is no higher today as it was then.
And, by the way, 99.9% of the world did not live in an isolated family cottages surrounded by colorful flowers of current popular fancy.

DEMYSTIFYING THE LEAVE-IT-TO-BEAVER
1950s In the fifties Hollywood produced only family friendly films. During the 20th century, despite the family centeredness of the 1950s, the highest rate of teenage girls having babies was in 1957 -more than 57 births per 1000! Today, within our R-rated culture, it is half that number.

EXPLODING THE MYTH OF THE FAMILY
It is believed that the family is the most important foundation of any society. It is believed that strong families are the key to the elimination of youth violence and school shootings. And yet, of the nine school shooters between 1996 and 1999, only two lived in broken homes, and one with stepparents. All the others lived in great homes, in wonderful neighborhoods, with both parents.

While the 1999 Columbine shootings were occurring, several commentators were speculating that the shooters probably came from broken homes devoid of fathers. What a surprise it was to the American mindset to learn that they were white teens from first marriage homes. Both sets of parents were involved with their kids in Christian worship and sports activities.

It should also be remembered that President Ronald Reagan was shot by a white youth from a very devout upper income Christian home -he had great loving parents.

VIOLENCE ON TELEVISION AND IN SOCIETY
Shamefully, the media does capitalize on violence. If it bleeds, it leads. Interestingly however, while the coverage of murders on network news broadcasts increased by 600 percent between 1990 and 1998 the actual murder rate declined 20%.

America had the highest murder rate of any industrial nation for a solid 100 years before television, 120 solid years before R-rated movies, and 130 years before violent video games (which I personally detest). Violence is now in decline. Go figure.

THE ABUNDANCE OF SEX ON TELEVISION DOES NOT NECESSARILY CARRY OVER TO REAL LIFE
There are over 100,000 sexual references on network television per year -a real disgrace in my mind. And yet, since 1979 there has been a decline in the percentage of under seventeen year old girls who have had sexual intercourse. Also, there has been a decline in the proportion of boys who have had sex before age 15.

Additionally, according to recent polls, 4 out of 5 adults report being monogamous. The average adult has had only one sex partner in the last year, and only 1.5 percent of married couples have had an affair.

THE GREATEST VALUE IS NOT DETACHMENT.
The greatest value is NOT putting the family in isolation from the world. Jesus taught that the two greatest commandments were to love God and to love our neighbor. So, a loving connection with our neighbors is the most important value in life. Jesus made this clear with the stories of the Good Samaritan, the Rich Man and Lazarus, and in his command to go into the entire world. Isolation is against what Jesus taught.

THE WAY WE NEVER WERE
All of the statistics in this newsletter come from a wonderful book by Stephanie Coontz, entitled The Way We Never Were, American Families and the Nostalgia Trap. She concludes her important book with this: "For despite all the difficulty of making generalizations about past families, the historical evidence does suggest that families have been most successful wherever they have built meaningful, solid networks and communications beyond their own boundaries. We may discover that the best thing we will ever do for our own families, however we define them, is to get involved in community…"

MOVIES FURNISH A GOOD CONNECTING POINT TO THOSE AROUND US.
It is a pagan world in a post-modern culture
It does not and will not live by any certain expectation
Movies are the native stories of our culture
Treat them like any missionary in any foreign culture
This is what Hollywood Jesus is all about
If you have no missionary sense about the culture
Stay home
Listen to Christian radio
Don't help, associate or talk to people different than you (your neighbor).
Attend an exclusive Family Worship Center (carbon copy look a likes)
Never go to an R-rated movie
Do not listen to pop music -especially with language
Listen only to so-called Contemporary Christian music
Read only Christian books
Put isolation art on your walls
Stay pure from the world.
Clean fingernails.
Teach kids to avoid the world -never discuss it.
When you die and face God...
God will be pleased.
Right? Hmm.