Zadok Catalogue 2007

Art and Music

Harry, Buffy and Jesus.
Gary Deverall
Zadok Perspectives 91, Winter 2006
Harry and his friends tackle Valdimort's schemes by the power of friendship, courage, humility and (above all else) self-sacrificial love.

Hollywood Fairytales
Mick Pope
Zadok Perspectives 91, Winter 2006
What separates these movies from much pulp fantasy is that they have something to say about the human condition.

Allegorise this!
Winifred Fallers Sullivan
Zadok Perspectives 91, Winter 2006
Recent news stories have highlighted the fondness of contemporary Christian conservatives for allegory. The new film version of C S Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia and its carefully targeted marketing campaign, has provoked articles in the mainstream press about whether Lewis intended the books to serve as a Christian allegory - and whether it is appropriate to regard them as such, no matter what he intended.

Narnia on the big screen.
Robert & Linda Banks
Zadok Perspectives 91, Winter 2006
If you over allegorise the Narnia story and before people are ready for it, it loses its wonder.

Philip Pullman: Author of Dark Materials?
Diane Hockridge
Zadok Perspectives 91, Winter 2006
We should not be caught of guard by people who challenge Christianity, or present an alternative viewpoint.

The pathetic pathos of Crash.
John W Vest
Zadok Perspectives 91, Winter 2006
In the embrace of pathos and invitations to grief, Crash perfectly embodies the first moment of prophetic ministy as articulated in Walter Brueggemann's classic work The Prophetic Imagination. Like the biblical prophet Jeremiah, Crash brings us to a point of despair and thereby frees us to imagine a new alternative, without giving us that alternative just yet.

Useless Beauty
Robert K Johnston
Zadok Perspectives 85, Summer 2004
While focusing upon the grimness of everyday life, we are invited to gaze as well at the gift of everyday life.

Finding God at the Movies
Catherine M Barsotti and Robert K Johnston
Zadok Perspectives 85, Summer 2004
More theology is conveyed in, and remembered from one hour of television than from all the sermons preached in a given weekend.

The Spirituality of Peter Weir's films
Robert K Johnston
Zadok Paper S135, Summer 2004
Movies provide a perspective, portray a reality, and thus, they invite a response. The paper illustrated the potential for dialogue between a film's centre of power and meaning and the viewer's understanding of the same, by considering the movies of Peter Weir. This is the text of an address given in July 2004 to the Australian Film, Television and Radio school, Macquarie University, Sydney. It is adapted from Chapter 9 of the book Reel Spirituality, Theology and film in dialogue.

Belief Under Fire.
Douglas Todd
Zadok Perspectives 83, Winter 2004
Legendary Canadian performer - pop-rock star and philosopher-believer rarely talks about his faith today because there is so much potential for misunderstanding, Yet as this profile reveals, he is deeply committed to being nobody's person but God's.

Harry Potter and the Living Stone: A consideration of Gospel Themes in J K Rowling's Books I to V.
Darren Cronshaw
Zadok Paper S127, Spring 2003
The young wizard, Harry Potter has become incredibly popular. His story is a fantasy series that takes its readers into an imaginative world of intrigue, drame and magic. Some Christians are concerned that he could lead children into an unhealthy interest in the occult. This paper reads the magic as a literary device and sees Harry Potter's popularity as an opportunity to discuss spiritual and ethical matters. Harry Potter's discovered what excites all of us - that there may be some special potential about us. When Harry's mother died to save him, those who follow Christ have protection they owe to their Saviour's loving sacrifice. Harry is aware of the reality of evil - it is dangersous, bad and to be conquered. He experiences humorous and exciting adventures that inspire positive choices for those trying to do right in our complex moral world. He is invited to walk by faith and enter into another realm; the gospel similarly calls people to rely on God's power, study ancient texts, and be formed into living stones. This is a message God wants people to know; imagination-gripping good news from which Children and people everywhere should not be kept.

An Analytical and Lyrical Voice: an interview with Kevin Hart.
Paul Mitchell
Zadok Perspectives 71, Winter 2001
Poet Kevin Hart talks about literature’s analytical and lyrical voice. We are not all disposed to write poems or paint portraits, but we are all able to live creatively with one another.

Hearing a Music You Would Never Have Known to Listen for.
Jeremy Begbie
Zadok Perspectives 71, Winter 2001
For centuries, when people have explored the things of God, they have naturally turned to the arts.

'Piss-Christ" Evangelism: the Scandal of Modern Art or the Scandal of the Cross?
John Rees
Zadok Perspectives 59, Summer 1998
Much controversy surrounded a picture of the crucified Jesus immersed in urine entitled Piss Christ which was shown at the National Gallery of Victoria. It raised more than a few questions about morality and religious censorship. Many opinions have been aired, both for and against the artist’s right to present such a sacred symbol in such a provocative way.

Poetry and worship
Fay White
Zadok Perspectives 59, Summer 1998

Vincent van Gogh: the Failed Evangelical
Lindsay Farrell
Zadok Paper S66, 1993
Farrell, a practising artist, offers some different insights into the spirituality and motivations of van Gogh. He challenges the popularly held opinions of the artist and his work, and suggests that van Gogh consciously connected his Christian spirituality with his paintings.

The Visual Arts
Dawn Mendham
Zadok Reading Guide, R28, 1992
This is a bibliography which would be most valuable for anyone interested in exploring the relationship between art and religious belief. It begins with an introduction considering why the religious quest has again become fashionable within art circles. About 70 books are listed, each with a short explanation.

A Kind of Weight in the Soul: Some Christian reflections on the arts
David Millikan
Zadok Paper S30, 1986
Is there such a thing as a Christian theory of art? This paper is a thoughtful answer to that question.

Rock n Roll is Music Now
Noel Giblett
Zadok Paper T15, 1980
A musician looks at the value and meaning of Rock 'n' Roll.

The Priority of Art
David Millikan
Zadok Paper S2, 1977
The case for a high view of art as a means of re-sensitising the human spirit, as a mode of knowledge, and as an expression of humanity's role as lords in the world.

Listening to Classical Music: an introduction
David Crawshaw
Zadok Paper T8, 1978

Perspectives in Art
David Millikan
Zadok Reading Guide R2, 1977
A guide for people who have an interest in the issues relevant to Christians in art and aesthetics.

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