I-L  Western art is steeped in Christian motifs, symbols, and meanings that are largely lost to modern audience. Why is it that high art has been largely hostile to and abandoned by Christians and what can we do to reclaim it?

D.S. The creation of rich art requires an artist with a spiritual, intellectual foundation for whom creativity and unique talents are the artist's way of glorifying God. It also requires a theology that places "evangelism" in the context of glorifying God by creating a richer culture. Many Christians begin the Bible at Genesis 3, seeing the fall and God's redemption of sinners as the whole gospel narrative. When you begin the Bible at Genesis 1, you realize the first verse in the Bible is about God's creativity and then describes humans as made in the image of this creative God. Jesus saves us so we can rediscover our humanity as created in God’s image, not just so we will go to heaven when we die.

I-L  Why isn’t the story of Christianity told in a more compelling way in our society? For instance Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Mary Doria Russell seem to find plenty of deep, compelling truth in the Christian story, but it seems that few Christians are able to articulate our story with the same sort of depth. To what do you attribute this lack of a sense of story associated with contemporary Evangelical Christianity?

D.S. The richness of the human story is in understanding the vast potential of each human and the tragedy of our condition as bent, broken and fragmented image-bearers. By reducing the gospel to a cookie-cutter, one-size fits all storyline we have failed to take individual humans seriously. The richness of the gospel can only be understood by exploring its applicability in the billions of human stories, each with their unique nuance. Dostoyevsky understood the depth of the human dilemma and therefore was able to plumb the depths of salvation as applied to the complex texture of one human's story. A reductionist gospel will produce a reductionist understanding of the story we are in, which in turn will produce superficial literature.   

I-L  Why is most Christian literature today sappy Christian romances? Why are we not writing other genres (other than apocalyptic fiction or spiritual warfare books like Frank Peretti novels)?

D.S. First, when the gospel you understand is a kind of sappy, country and western kind of "Jesus is my main squeeze" kind of gospel, you will produce those kind of stories. Compare the great hymns with today's choruses.  Second, a lot of Christian art is essentially propagandist in motive and not well crafted. I agree with Flannery O' Connor who said, "Christian writers should be much less concerned with saving the world than with saving their work" or with C.S. Lewis who argues that we don't need more Christian writers, we need more great writers who are Christian. A good writer has something important to say and knows how to say it well. Third, we operate in a "dumbed down" culture. Today's popular writers are cranking out undemanding, "page turning" fiction and much of today's writing by Christians is written to satisfy the bottom shelf, undemanding appetites of a dumbed-down Christian reading public. With the advent of electronic media we've seen the disappearance of "middlebrow culture," that space between academics and the less educated. Because Christians are called to love God with our mind, we of all people ought to be the first line of resistance against the "amusing ourselves to death" culture Neil Postman warned of.

I-L  Is there a place for masculine Christian literature? How would we capture this segment of literature do you think? Chaim Potok does an admirable job telling strong stories from the Jewish community. Who is doing this for the Christian community and what do we need to do to foster more writing like this?

D.S. I'm not sure what you mean by masculine literature, If you are talking about serious literary fiction the answer is, of course we should be producing it. Interesting you should mention Potok, because he illustrates a point made by Paul Elie in his study of 20th century Catholic writers (Thomas Merton, Flannery O' Connor, Dorothy Day and Walker Percy). Like Potok, each operated outside the contemporary mainstream of faith and culture. They knew how to explore the intersection of faith and culture, because their eyes were open to the strengths and weaknesses of both worlds. Living and writing in this tension is fuel for the good writer, but it requires an honesty and openness that few can muster.

I-L  Other than A Walk to Remember, why do we see so few Christians in the cinema? Is it a conspiracy to lock Christians out or something else? Do you foresee a day when Christians will be able to win at Sundance or the Oscars?

D.S. We're seeing more Christians in cinema and often in unflattering ways. (Like "Jesus Camp"). Christians are often caricatures in film, because the screenwriter or filmmaker knows about Christians, but does not actually know many personally. This is the same problem the cloistered Christian has in trying to create art that takes unbelievers seriously without really spending any time with them! When we start exploring our common interests and concerns as humans created in God's image, instead of starting with an us/them, Christian/not-Christian paradigm, we will create more interesting art that resonates. This is not to say I don't take my identity as a follower of Jesus seriously, it is to say that I, like Jesus, want to start the conversation with people where they are, which is in human skin. I believe gripping stories, told well and displaying the highest and best cinematic art and craft, can win Sundance or an Oscar, regardless of the spiritual affiliation of the work's creator. When we allow God through Christ to make us fully human, when we are aglow with God's image, when we hone our craft and pay our dues, when we fully understand the story we are in--then we will be at the starting line in the race towards making better art that connects with culture.

I-L  What advice do you have for encouraging us to cultivate more artists and writers capable of engaging the culture?

D.S. Become a culturally savvy Christian who takes faith seriously (God is of no importance unless of Supreme importance), is savvy about faith and culture (not conformed, but transformed through a renewed mind) and is skilled in relating the faith and culture as a countercultural, communicator who makes well-crafted art. Tell the hard truth about the dark side and acknowledge it dwells within believer and unbeliever alike; as Ken Gire said, " I would rather be exposed to an a R-rated truth than a G-rated lie." But we should also deliver hope and grace as Madeleine L’Engle said, "We don’t want to feel less when we have finished a book; we want to feel that new possibilities have been opened to us. We don’t want to close a book with a sense that life is totally unfair and that there is no light in the darkness; we want to feel that we have been given illumination."