The Bright Side of Blasphemy

It’s unavoidable—if you’re committed to analyzing art as a means to spiritual growth and learning, then at some point you are going to come across some very bad art.

 It could be a song, a movie, a book, a painting. Whatever the medium, the effect is the same. You feel that intense, unpleasant cringe of distaste. Sometimes the art is so bad that it crosses into the territory of offensive, alienating. You definitely do not feel like a better person for having been exposed to it. Bad art leaves a lingering pall of unhappiness. God is beauty, and this is the natural result of encountering the opposite of God in art.

So, what do we do about it? Obviously, the solution is not to just shut down and make our world smaller. Faith is not supposed to make us fearful and inhibited. Quite the opposite: faith provides us with the armor we need to go out there and confidently encounter the world. With the graces of Jesus Christ, encounters with ugliness do not change us—instead we change the ugliness into beauty. We are commanded to use these tools to go out and sanctify the world, not run away and hide in our bubbles.

Now to be clear: it is NOT a good thing to just go out seeking bad art and ugly experiences with some hubristic sense of invincibility. We are called to guard our hearts and be very careful about what we consume, and constantly be nourishing ourselves at the font of beauty so as to be fortified and edified. And also, the reality is that we live in a fallen world, so ugliness often comes to us, looking for the fight even when we don’t want it. So, what do we do?

My preferred option: Recognize it as a sign of the total victory of Christ! The Catholic lens sanctifies all things—nothing, not even blasphemy, can overcome true beauty. Take the tools that we have been given, the armor of God, and put them to good use. Never miss an opportunity to praise and proclaim the Lord and grow closer to Him. Bad art is such a great chance to do exactly that!

So how can we look at bad art through the eyes of Jesus Christ, and see the victory? Check out this video on approaching bad art with a holy attitude:

As we are about to embark on our 2025 journey through great art, it’s a perfect time to remember the incredible gifts the Lord has given to us: our intellect and our faith, working in perfect order when illuminating by grace. Let’s use these gifts joyfully!

Gloria in excelsis Deo!