--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art cannot be used to show the validity…" description: "\"Art cannot be used to show the validity of Christianity; it should rather be the reverse.\" — Hans Rookmaaker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/hans-rookmaaker-38063_art_art-cannot-be-used-to-show-the-validity_1315550.jpg" --- # Art cannot be used to show the validity of Christianity… ![“Art cannot be used to show the validity of Christianity; it should rather be the reverse.” quote by Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/hans-rookmaaker-38063_art_art-cannot-be-used-to-show-the-validity_1315550.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/hans-rookmaaker-38063_art_art-cannot-be-used-to-show-the-validity_1315550.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/hans-rookmaaker-38063_art_art-cannot-be-used-to-show-the-validity_1315550.jpg) > “Art cannot be used to show the validity of Christianity; it should rather be the reverse.” [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art should not be employed to prove Christianity, but rather to express its truths and inspire faith. **In simple terms:** Art expresses faith, not proves it. Key Takeaway Use art to embody belief. Themes faith art expression Mood contemplative inspirational Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - church services - religious education - public worship - personal devotion Key Concepts theology aesthetics symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How can art convey belief without argument? - What risks arise when art is used as proof? A Different Perspective Art may be misinterpreted as propaganda rather than inspiration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-used-839444/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Christianity Reverse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity-reverse-4366553/) [Reverse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reverse/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Validity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/validity/) [Validity Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/validity-christianity-4366554/) ## Related quotes > [I grew up in a family that believed that art should be used as an instrument for social change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shabana-azmi/i-grew-up-in-a-family-that-believed-that-art-should-be-used-as-an/) [Shabana Azmi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shabana-azmi/) > [“Whatever in a work of art is not used, is doing harm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/whatever-in-a-work-of-art-is-not-used-is-doing-harm/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [Made in Catteland is a project that aims to overcome the boundaries of the work of art as we're used to thinking of it:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurizio-cattelan/made-in-catteland-is-a-project-that-aims-to-overcome-the-boundaries/) [Maurizio Cattelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurizio-cattelan/) > [Now Art, used collectively for painting, sculpture, architecture and music, is the mediatress between, and reconciler of, nature and man. It is, therefore, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/now-art-used-collectively-for-painting-sculpture-architecture-and/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [“Since art is considered a noble field, art should be used to promote all that is good and noble, and in a noble fashion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/since-art-is-considered-a-noble-field-art-should-be-used-to-promote/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Twitter is not art. But it inspires me in the way that art used to inspire me. Art used to make me see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-goldsmith/twitter-is-not-art-but-it-inspires-me-in-the-way-that-art-used-to/) [Kenneth Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-goldsmith/) > [“I wanted to tell you that art is the most harmless activity of mankind. But I suddenly recalled that art was often used for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-abakanowicz/i-wanted-to-tell-you-that-art-is-the-most-harmless-activity-of/) [Magdalena Abakanowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-abakanowicz/) > [Art used to be painting, sculpture, music, etc, but now, all technology has become art. Of course, this form of art is still very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/art-used-to-be-painting-sculpture-music-etc-but-now-all-technology/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [Modern Art is being used to index me. 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I used to have a painting of Gorbachev that was given to my family by Gorbachev.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armie-hammer/i-love-art-i-used-to-have-a-painting-of-gorbachev-that-was-given-to/) [Armie Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armie-hammer/) > [The general ideas which are expressed in sketches, correspond very well to the art often used in poetry... every reader making out the detail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/the-general-ideas-which-are-expressed-in-sketches-correspond-very/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [Photography is art when it's used by an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bernhard/photography-is-art-when-it-s-used-by-an-artist/) [Ruth Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bernhard/) > [A work of (whatever) art can be either 'received' or 'used'. ...'Using' is inferior to 'reception' because art, if used rather than received, merely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/a-work-of-whatever-art-can-be-either-received-or-used-using-is/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## More by Hans Rookmaaker > [Jesus didn't come to make us Christian. Jesus came to make us fully human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/jesus-didn-t-come-to-make-us-christian-jesus-came-to-make-us-fully/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) > [Art is a form of play rejoicing before the face of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/art-is-a-form-of-play-rejoicing-before-the-face-of-god/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) > [By means of the iconic, artists express their view of reality and show their understanding of the structure of reality. They see what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/by-means-of-the-iconic-artists-express-their-view-of-reality-and-show/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) > [Art tries, literally, to picture the things which philosophy tries to put into carefully thought-out words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/art-tries-literally-to-picture-the-things-which-philosophy-tries-to/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) > [Modern art did not just happen. It came as a result of a deep reversal of spiritual values in the Age of Reason, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/modern-art-did-not-just-happen-it-came-as-a-result-of-a-deep-reversal/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) > [Our world has changed for better or for worse. It is for us to find truth and beauty for today, constantly re-applying the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/our-world-has-changed-for-better-or-for-worse-it-is-for-us-to-find/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) > [We do not know what we see, but we see what we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/we-do-not-know-what-we-see-but-we-see-what-we-know/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) > [How can you say that modern art is ugly,when you worship the Lord in a building painted like this?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/how-can-you-say-that-modern-art-is-ugly-when-you-worship-the-lord-in/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) > [We are at home here. Alienation is unnecessary. Contact with reality at a deep level is part of the Christian's life. He enters into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/we-are-at-home-here-alienation-is-unnecessary-contact-with-reality-at/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) > [We may appreciate the efforts, and even the greatness of the men who have tried to find the universal, the general 'behind' appearances; yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/we-may-appreciate-the-efforts-and-even-the-greatness-of-the-men-who/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) > [What is Christian in art does not lie in the theme but in the spirit of it, in its wisdom and the understanding of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/what-is-christian-in-art-does-not-lie-in-the-theme-but-in-the-spirit/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) [Explore all 12 Hans Rookmaaker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Art cannot be used to show the validity of Christianity; it should rather be the reverse.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hans Rookmaaker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/art-cannot-be-used-to-show-the-validity-of-christianity-it-should/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/art-cannot-be-used-to-show-the-validity-of-christianity-it-should/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/hans-rookmaaker-38063_art_art-cannot-be-used-to-show-the-validity_1315550.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/hans-rookmaaker-38063_art_art-cannot-be-used-to-show-the-validity_1315550.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/hans-rookmaaker-38063_art_art-cannot-be-used-to-show-the-validity_1315550.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art cannot be used to show the validity of Christianity; it should rather be the reverse.” — Hans Rookmaaker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Hans Rookmaaker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art cannot be used to show...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/art-cannot-be-used-to-show-the-validity-of-christianity-it-should/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/art-cannot-be-used-to-show-the-validity-of-christianity-it-should/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```