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I have zero idea where my reply went… I clicked “edit” and resubmitted it… and it disappeared… so (fortunately it was still on my profile. At the risk of having a duplicate:
Wow! I definitely got the replies I was hoping for, and I’m thrilled a lot of you seem to have put a lot of thought into this.
Let me share mine from the hip and off the top of my head, and then I might circle back to some of yours (because you guys have some really insightful thoughts).
I think there are two vantage points that we can bring God glory through painting with light.
The first is the creature-Creator relationship. When we create something, whether that’s a musical composition or a photographic composition, we reflect God. We create because God creates. We value beauty because God values beauty. And we even use some of the same rules for creating that He does (some of you might be familiar with the Fibonacci spiral). It’s all just imitation—and anybody can tell you one of the most flattering compliments you can receive is “I want to be just like you.” When we “copy” God in our creative endeavors, there’s an intrinsic glory that is received from that. God created us to create, and when we create, we show His design even in ourselves.
That’s another aspect of the creature-Creator relationship. I was watching the Super Bowl a couple of weeks ago with my siblings, and it blew me away that the quarterback could find a receiver amidst the sea of guys running all over the place and, not only that, deliver a precision hit to the moving target (while trying to keep an eye on all of the defenders trying to jump on him). I watched that, and while I did thought “Wow, what a great quarterback”, I was also thinking “Wow! how amazing is this creation! and how amazing must the Creator be!”. I get the same thing whenever I look at a bridge, or even right now, staring into the screen of my iMac. Never mind the people God designed to design something like a digital camera sensor—excuse me, how amazing is the human mind? And we evolved from… apes?? I don’t see any of them building rockets to go the moon! So there’s also an innate glory that God receives from His creation when we use our talents and giftings in whatever our craft may be, in the same way that even the “heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1).Now, what about the other vantage point: the God-man relationship. This is to be distinguished from the creature-Creator relationship. A fish can bring glory to God just by being a fish and having gills and swimming miles back home to lay eggs, in the same way as man can bring glory to God just by taking dominion of the creation and building bridges, rockets, and computers. But the God-man relationship is where we recognize that we are moral agents created differently than the rest of creation. Men have souls. Fish do not. Men have consciences. Fish do not. Men will live eternally in one of two places. Fish will not. Men have moral responsibility. Fish do not. We are specifically designed to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, to borrow from the old catechism.
Cleary, we do not bring God glory when we violate His commandments—and it’s possible to do that playing football, building bridges, using a computer, or taking pictures. I think there’s at least two broad ways we can do this in photography.
The first is by taking pictures of things that would cause someone to stumble (Romans 14:13). Many of you have touched on this, and I really respect a lot of you guys (and gals 🙂 ) on this forum making a serious effort to follow this principle (I’ve seen borderline photos pulled down voluntarily and willingly). I do think that there does need to be a limit as to how far we analyze each photo (i.e. I don’t hold computer sellers morally responsible for what somebody might do with them); forget portrait photography, we might as well stop taking photos of beautiful landscapes because it might cause someone to covet the opportunity to be there. Where that limit is, however, I don’t have a hard line to offer (just like there’s not going to be a hard line of what’s considered “modest” or not). Much of deciding what causes a brother or sister to stumble will depend on your understanding of Scripture actually says, what wise people say, and after that, your own conscience before the Lord.
The second way I think we can fail to bring God glory in our craft is by taking glory from Him. Nothing is wrong with having an art and being good at it (the creature-Creator relationship). But when we exalt ourselves as if we gave ourselves artistic talent, or that it was by our own doing and might (practice!) we got to be so good, we fall into the same error as the Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:30. God is the one who gives us talents, and the means to practice our art, and even the breath in our lungs (not to mention He made the first camera—you’ve probably got two of them, and they use some similar mechanics as your DSLR!). For us to even begin to be great at what we do, He has to give it to us.
Thank Him for the ability to shoot and to be good at it. It’s a valid pleasure and a great way to unwind.