Words from Eugene Peterson

"As God's word written the scriptures are a great, but mixed, blessing. They are a blessing because each new generation of Christians has access to the fact that God speaks, the manner of his speaking,, the results of his speaking. The scriptures are a mixed blessing because the moment the words are written they are in danger of losing the living resonance of the spoken word and reduced to something that is looked at, studied, interpreted, but no heard personally. For from the moment that a word is written, it is separated from the voice that spoke it and is therefore depersonalized. Yet the very essence of "word" is personal. It is the means by which what is within one person is shared with another person.

Eugene Peterson, "Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John and the Praying Imagination"

Here is a good description of why the church needs to regain its love for the arts and be able to fuse them with our worship experience. If worship is to be the place where God's people hear the Word of God, then it needs to be spoken through the arts in order for it to be experienced in a way that is personal. The performing arts are one way for God's people to experience the depth of God's word and to feel the personal nature of this living book.

One reason why I am grateful for my experience at Western Theological Seminary where the scriptures came alive again to me in my entering the stories as they were acted out in non realistic theatre. The scriptures again came alive in this experience because the 'word' was heard, seen, experienced and the word had breathe and emotion. The word was made flesh through Christ's body...