For thousands of years, the arts have had an enormous impact on culture. Today the story is the same: celebrities voice their politics daily, movie themes change the way people think, and song lyrics get stuck in our heads every day. For years, christians thrived in the arts (Sistine Chapel anyone?), but over the last couple hundred years we have taken a step back. The arts have become dangerous places where immorality rules and most Christians will not get involved in secular creativity.

Britney Spears just released a song titled “3″. It is extremely popular (top 5 on iTunes) and people all over the radio are talking about how much they love the song and Britney Spears. The only problem is, the message of the song is terrible. She sings about how great it is to have a threesome. One of the lines in the song says, “Living in sin is the new thing.” Another says, “Three is a charm, two is not the same, I don’t see the harm, so are you game.”

The problem is, there is a lot of harm. Sex is an amazing gift from God, but when we twist his gift and go away from his plan for it, we get hurt. This kind of blatant lie saturates our creative culture. TV shows, movies, music, and even video games teach things that are not the truth. We can say that it does not affect us, but ultimately, if you hear the same message 50 times a day, some of it is going to rub off on you.

Christians need to take back creative culture. The impact the arts have on society cannot be denied and is monumental. Imagine what would happen if movies were made, with excellence, and were full of truth. I am not saying we need to have more Christian music or more Christian movies, we have that. We need Christians in secular culture who are giving messages of truth for everyone to hear.

Hear are some great examples: Switchfoot and Owl City are both secular bands led by Christians. Their songs reach millions of people who do not know the Gospel and they hear truth. One of my favorite examples is the Lord of the Rings book. The author, J.R.R. Tolkien, was a Christian (he actually led C.S. Lewis to Christ). His book is not a christian book, but it is full of themes that reflected Tolkien’s beliefs. People love those stories, and the themes and truth in them are going to make an impact on people’s lives.

So let’s stop being afraid of the arts. Let’s infiltrate them and start spreading the truth of God’s Kingdom. If you know of any Christians who are already doing what I am talking about, post them in the comments section and let’s talk about it.

Also…AJ Passman just wrote a great blog about a recent movie that gives a message contrary to truth. He gives some great thoughts about it too, so check it by clicking here.