Grace, Peace, and Other Thoughts

On Creativity and Theology OR Why Research Papers Should Hang in the MOMA

February 24, 2011 at 4:20 am (Uncategorized)

There have been quite a few times where people I just met have told me that I must be an artist. They say that they just get a vibe from me. And they always look so dismayed when I tell them that, by no means, am I an artist. I’ve tried to paint, draw, sing, play music, and all the rest my high school electives could offer me. At the end of the day, I just had to admit that maybe the area of “creating” just wasn’t my specialty.
As it would turn out, in college, I made some amazingly creative friends. Painters, graphic artists, musicians, and all the rest. As I went from concert to art show and back again, I began to feel envious. The last semester in college, I was pouring over my thesis and my best friend was finishing up her eclectic portfolio of paintings and graphic designs. I was incredibly excited for her and ooh’ed and ahh’ed over all the hard work she put in her project. And she asked me what I was working on and I handed over my 25 page pager on kosher law. Though encouraging, I knew it was not going to be seen the way her project was seen: as art.
For me, research papers have been my creative outlet. Orchestrating different authors and theologians to have them clash or harmonize in a symphony to create a unique, soulful sound, as I too, somehow try to weave my voice in with theirs to create a cohesive melody. Theology is, in a way, my vehicle of expression. Coming into my class at GTU, Theologies of Creation,  I never thought of the “creative process” and G-d’s role in this process. Being made a co creator was G-d was somewhat of a new concept for me. Though I have looked at Genesis as poetry and a creative project- I never really thought about the process within that. However, now it all seems so obvious to me. Humanity has a desire to create unlike any other animal. I have realized a lot of the energy I have is creative energy that has not found an outlet. There is a need to express the inexpressible. Although my talent (or lack there of) in certain artistic expression falls short of what I imagine in my head, there is still a need to get something out. The rawness, honesty, or even simply emotion of coming to terms with what is going on- or not coming to terms- is where creativity flows from. We can never describe a moment, for describing a divine moment (one that is wholly other and intimate simultaneously), only restricts the moment and bounds it to our finite intellect and nails the experience with our infantile language. Thomas Merton’s journal says this about divine moments and experience, “The trick is to order your experience so it doesn’t get possessive, but is lost in the object instead of trying to contain its object. That way it does, in fact, contain the object, but only by not trying.”
Sometimes I wonder if when G-d spoke the world into existence, the word found in John, is somehow connected with this idea of describing a moment that is completely indescribable. As if G-d was able to achieve the impossible in speaking Her creative idea into existence, and it was created perfectly- just as She had thought it to truly be. And along with this plan, She invites us to join Her as co creators along with the process.

We are never done creating.
I believe creativity is G-d given blessing that all humans have and they are expressed in different ways. This is a part of the imago dei. It is when this creativity dies, that there can be great conflict among us. In Mark Kurlansky’s book, Non Violence, and Shane Claibornes, The Irresistible Revolution, creativity is looked at a way to diffuse violence and conflict. For example, Claiborne’s rough neighborhood in Philadelphia had an art project that involved having children give up their violent toys (fake guns and the like), smash them to pieces, and create a mosaic for all the neighbors to enjoy. Creative protests like sit ins, boycotts, and similar acts of dissension allow for the human spirit to be heard without succumbing to harmful violence.
The world needs people to be creative again. Creatiivity stirs up something very human in all of us. The Spirit of G-d moves us to create, sometimes inspiring in moments when we would much rather not be inspired – like the story of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible. Jeremiah 20:9 states,

But if I say, “I will not mention his word
or speak anymore in his name,”
his word is in my heart like a fire,
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
indeed, I cannot.

Sometimes we do not choose when inspiration, creativity, or G-d speaks to us. It happens through the chora and in the mystery. There may be things we do that helps this process get going (a walk in nature, reading an inspiring book, sitting still, etc…) but one cannot make the Spirit inspire. And so we live in the in between, trying to connect with the Spirit that reminds of our humanity and imago dei. Never quite possessing our idea fully, for if we try to contain and possess such divine creativity, it usually just runs away. Water through cupped hands.

Creative thought can be a fickle muse. For example, right now, I cannot think of a way to creatively end this blog post. So I can sit around and wait for inspiration or stick it in my draft box, waiting for a revelation for a conclusion as it rots away in inter-space.

Yep, I got nothin.