All Things New: Essays on Christianity, Culture & the Arts

Book Description:

This is a collection of essays on Christianity, culture and the arts, most of which appeared in Barnabas magazine over the past decade.

The essays are split into 6 sections, focusing on art & creativity, the artist's call, literature, music, cinema and faith & culture.

The idea of the essays is to engage Christians to think through how their faith impacts their interaction and involvement with arts & culture, specifically in seeing the value of the imagination, the enrichment creativity brings to all of society and the delight the arts bring to daily life.

Author:

Jeremy W. Johnston is a teacher of English and classical studies at Hillfield Strathallan College and a professor of communications at Mohawk College. He holds a master's degree in education and an honours degree in English literature and humanities from the University of Western Ontario. He is the arts columnist for Barnabas magazine, which is published by the Sovereign Grace Fellowship of Canada. He has been involved in Christian education-teaching, preaching and speaking-at local churches and Christian venues for many years. Jeremy and his wife, Laurie, have been homeschooling their four children for over 15 years. They live in Hamilton, Ont., Canada.

Endorsements:

This collection of essays, perfect for picking up and dipping into time and again, encourages us to recite poetry, gobble up great novels, wander through galleries, delight in gourmet food and see the fingerprint of the Creative One in all things good and beautiful.
--Karen Stiller, senior editor, Faith Today magazine

All Things New is what is known as a primer--an introduction to first principles on a subject. That subject is announced in the book's subtitle: Christianity, culture, and the arts. The strength of All Things New is threefold. The first is the accuracy of the author's thinking about the subjects he takes up. The second is the comprehensiveness of the book, as every important subject receives treatment. The book's third virtue stems from the original appearance of the chapters in a magazine: the book possesses an admirable moderation, as the author gives us just enough on each subject to be helpful but not so much as to tire us. This carries over to the published sources that the author cites: they are a roll call of some of my own favourite authors, but they are not so numerous as to become pedantic. This is a readable book designed for people who want to understand how Christianity relates to culture and the arts.
--Leland Ryken, professor emeritus of English at Wheaton College and author and editor of several books including Realms of Gold and The Christian Imagination

This book functions as both a guide and a model for how we should be engaging culture as Christians. Whether you are fresh to the subject or a seasoned explorer there is a lot to be gleaned for every reader. All Things New is written as a series of very short chapters allowing you plenty of space for pause and reflection. Together they cover a huge range of subjects related to what has traditionally been called 'high culture, ' i.e., the arts. We are introduced to the world of paintings, literature, music and film. Jeremy's own passion and love for this shines through, as does his love for Jesus. He writes with the expressed intention that we bring this domain of life under Christ's lordship. Here is a piece of writing that wonderfully combines the Bible and theology with many illustrations from the world of the arts--both old and new. Jeremy has the gift of word-smithing and expressing rather complex ideas with a wonderful perspicuity. All Things New deserves a wide readership.
--Andrew Fellows, director of Christian Heritage in Cambridge, England, and former chair of L'Abri International

Jeremy W. Johnston challenges and encourages the Christian writer, visual artist or composer, and their church community, to embrace and be true to this calling with art that is real and compassionate, that sees the true and complex beauty of the world but also its profound brokenness, within the context of a redeeming grace--to not let the world have all the fun with the gifts of creativity that have been bestowed upon us as human beings.
--John Terpstra, award-winning writer and poet

Additional Information: