Reproducing Chaos Isn’t Art

Chaos talks a good game. But where creation is proactive, chaos is always reactive.

It moves against what is rather than creating something original. Creation constructs while chaos deconstructs. Unable to create, chaos can only warp, mock, and try to undo creation. It’s a constant collision between the real and the unreal.

So many creative efforts fail because they think they are being most true in their art by reflecting the chaos around them. That may feel authentic, but it’s actually hopeless. Because it doesn’t reflect a God-view of the world he made. Yes, there is chaos all around us, but it is the minor theme. The major theme is how God is making all things new (Revelation 21:5).

Madeleine L’Engle describes this tension in this way: “Some artists look at the world around them and see chaos, and instead of discovering cosmos, they reproduce chaos, on canvas, in music, in words. As far as I can see, the reproduction of chaos is neither art, nor is it Christian."

May our art reflect our steadfast desire to “discovers cosmos” rather than “reproduce chaos”.

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