5 More Books for Small Group Studies on Christian Art

A while back, I wrote an article about 6 books that work well in small group studies about Christian art.

Since then, I've found some other great books on that topic.

These books cover different subtopics than the previous books but still have Biblically-based perspectives.

1. Modern Art and the Death of a Culture by H.R. Rookmaaker

This book, along with Francis Schaeffer's "Art and the Bible," is one of the key books everybody should read about Christianity and art.

Rookmaaker talks about how to analyze art (films, poems, and especially paintings) and see the underlying philosophy behind a work of art.

Then he explains how various philosophical movements have led to art that shows a world without God or meaning, and how it's affected Western culture.

His insights, particularly his thoughts on how Christians should combat this problem and engage with culture, are brilliant.

2. Me, Myself, & Bob by Phil Vischer

If you grew up in any Christian home after 1990, you almost certainly heard about VeggieTales, the cartoon series Phil Vischer created.

In this book, Vischer tells the story of his childhood, his journey to creating VeggieTales and how he ultimately lost control of his company in the early 2000's.

His explanations of why VeggieTales worked and how he lost control of it provide smart, sober tips about how to make great art and how to avoid making it an idol.

3. Jesus the Hero by Leland Ryken

In this book, Wheaton professor Leland Ryken looks at the Four Gospels from a literary perspective.

He analyzes them, showing the elements of poetry, proverb and other literary forms that they use.

Along the way, he explains everything in a simple fashion that resolves misunderstandings writers have made over the years.

He particularly does a better job of explaining what an allegory is than anyone else I've read.

4. Apologetics for a New Generation edited by Sean McDowell

This book covers a range of topics, from evangelism to combating sexism in the church.

Two particular chapters, by Craig J. Hazen and Brian Godawa, give great insights into using creative gifts to lead people to God.

Hazen explains how appealing to people's imagination can sometimes have more effect then appealing to their intellects.

Godawa analyzes Paul's speech to philosophers in Act 17 and how he took pagan ideas and redefined them to show people God's truth.

Their ideas go deep while also being very readable.

5. Popcultured by Steve Turner

Turner's written some excellent books about spirituality and art, particularly "Imagine," which gives the history of Christian art and explains misconceptions many Protestant evangelicals have about art.

Here Turner talks about the wider field of popular culture, how Christianity applies to things like fashion or video games.

His ideas about pop culture items, their history and their underlying philosophy, really make you think about how pop culture can change how you think and what Christians could accomplish with it.

If you liked this, check out these other articles or list of books about Christianity and art.