The Cedarville Review 2020

EDITOR’S FOREWORD | 5 entirely or explicitly, using Scripture or the Christian walk as a constant subject matter, etc. This expectation is mistaken. To ask an artwork to preach the way a sermon preaches is akin to asking a bridge to preach the way a sermon preaches. Bridges can’t preach, and we don’t expect them to. Bridges are the wrong medium for writing sermons. The same is true for artworks. But that’s not to say bridges and artworks have no evangelical function what- soever. They simply function differently. For example, the abstract artwork of 21st century artist Makoto Fujimura does little to preach in the sense we often think of preaching. However, his non-representational artwork does speak exceedingly well the language of his medium, the language of artists, and has allowed Ma- koto—a sincere and vocal Christian—to be salt and light within an international art community that might otherwise have none at all. Makato designs and crafts, cuts and carves, filled with the Spirit of God. Makato is salt and light. His paintings are his bridges. But what of subject matter, and message? Christian writer and thinker Gene Veith pro- vides a great way of thinking about the art and literature produced by Christians: It is not that authors are deliberately writing about their philosophy in life…rather they are writing about exciting stories or love or tragedy or something funny. Nevertheless, in doing so, they are presenting their subjects through the lens of their particular view of the world, that is, through their worldview (“Reading andWriting Worldview” 2002). In the Cedarville Review, you will find artworks depicting subject matters that are exciting, lovely, tragic, and perhaps funny, too. We can best respond to these works by understanding the spirit in which they were created. Each work was produced by a Christian artist in various stages of training, working within the language of a specific medium. The subject matter may vary to surprising degrees, but if we look close enough we will find that the presentation and treatment of subject matter is similar. Each work has a Christian worldview behind it. And each work can be viewed as a well-built bridge bringing Christian voice into wide spheres of influence.