--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It would be a serious oversight to limit…" description: "\"It would be a serious oversight to limit our understanding of the impact of theology to strictly religious art, and overlook its pervasive role in shap..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3c/john-walford-30124_art_it-would-be-a-serious-oversight-to-limit_2909625.jpg" --- # It would be a serious oversight to limit our understanding… ![“It would be a serious oversight to limit our understanding of the impact of theology to strictly religious art, and overlook its pervasive role in shaping human understanding and artistic expression thereof within any given culture-regardless of the subject matter at hand.” quote by John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3c/john-walford-30124_art_it-would-be-a-serious-oversight-to-limit_2909625.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3c/john-walford-30124_art_it-would-be-a-serious-oversight-to-limit_2909625.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3c/john-walford-30124_art_it-would-be-a-serious-oversight-to-limit_2909625.jpg) > “It would be a serious oversight to limit our understanding of the impact of theology to strictly religious art, and overlook its pervasive role in shaping human understanding and artistic expression thereof within any given culture-regardless of the subject matter at hand.” [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Limiting theology to religious art ignores its broad influence on culture and expression. **In simple terms:** Theology shapes all art. Key Takeaway Recognize spiritual influence. Themes culture theology art Mood analytical thoughtful Type academic critical When to use this quote - museum curation - educational curricula - creative inspiration Key Concepts symbolism human understanding Questions to Reflect On - How does theology appear in secular works? - Can art be neutral? A Different Perspective Secular art also reflects values. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic/) [Artistic expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic-expression/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Human Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-understanding/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Impact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impact/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Oversight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oversight/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-art/) [Roles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roles/) [Serious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serious/) [Strictly Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strictly-religious-4183290/) [Subject matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subject-matter/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theology/) [Theology Strictly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theology-strictly-4183289/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Understanding Artistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding-artistic-4183291/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [What inspires me today is a desire to get closer to an understanding of what my artistic capacities are with the hope of organically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/what-inspires-me-today-is-a-desire-to-get-closer-to-an-understanding/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [“The spectacle shop was old, long, and narrow, with a glass front and a small thin door that opened onto a somewhat busy avenue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-m-alexander/the-spectacle-shop-was-old-long-and-narrow-with-a-glass-front-and-a/) [K. M. Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-m-alexander/) > [I had abandoned Catholicism, but even during my short militant atheist period I maintained an interest in western religious art and music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-crane/i-had-abandoned-catholicism-but-even-during-my-short-militant-atheist/) [Tim Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-crane/) > [“Classical education was only half the old system of European education--below it and above it there was the religious education that was common to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-henry-dawson/classical-education-was-only-half-the-old-system-of-european/) [Christopher Henry Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-henry-dawson/) > [Hundreds of years ago, Indian artists created visual images of dancing Shivas in a beautiful series of bronzes. In our time, physicists have used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/hundreds-of-years-ago-indian-artists-created-visual-images-of-dancing/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [“In the early twelfth century century the Virgin had been the supreme protectress of civilisation. She had taught a race of tough and ruthless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/in-the-early-twelfth-century-century-the-virgin-had-been-the-supreme/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [It's been so long now and so much has happened that I am able now to look back with much less emotion and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-colacello/it-s-been-so-long-now-and-so-much-has-happened-that-i-am-able-now-to/) [Bob Colacello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-colacello/) > [The headdresses of the Egyptians have great symbolic and emblematic importance, for they represent the auric bodies of the superhuman intelligences, and are used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manly-hall/the-headdresses-of-the-egyptians-have-great-symbolic-and-emblematic/) [Manly Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manly-hall/) > [Basically there can be no categories such as 'religious' art and 'secular' art, because all true art is incarnational, and therefore 'religious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/basically-there-can-be-no-categories-such-as-religious-art-and/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [The religious conflicts of the Reformation era were never simply and only about religion, because religion during this era as in the Middle Ages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-stephan-gregory/the-religious-conflicts-of-the-reformation-era-were-never-simply-and/) [Brad Stephan Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-stephan-gregory/) > [“I love the French and Italian church paintings from the Middle Ages. But I'm also interested to learn more about who was the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-lancaster/i-love-the-french-and-italian-church-paintings-from-the-middle-ages/) [Jen Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-lancaster/) > [Music, among those who were styled the chosen people, was a religious art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/music-among-those-who-were-styled-the-chosen-people-was-a-religious/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“Whether it is Bach or Mozart that we hear in church, we have a sense in either case of what gloria Dei, the glory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/whether-it-is-bach-or-mozart-that-we-hear-in-church-we-have-a-sense/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [I am also really into religious artifacts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-robertson/i-am-also-really-into-religious-artifacts/) [Kathleen Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-robertson/) > [I've wasted the last five years of my life dealing in religious articles. People today find spiritual solace in ballroom dancing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-katchor/i-ve-wasted-the-last-five-years-of-my-life-dealing-in-religious/) [Ben Katchor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-katchor/) ## More by John Walford > [Begbie offers an additional valuable contribution by rejecting the traditional emphasis on beauty, in its Platonic sense, and instead suggesting that beauty be reconceived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/begbie-offers-an-additional-valuable-contribution-by-rejecting-the/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Beyond the pervasive disinterest in the visual arts among the Protestant community, the core problem lies in the fact that the art world rejects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/beyond-the-pervasive-disinterest-in-the-visual-arts-among-the/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [As far as stimulus from the visual arts specifically, there is today in most of us a visual appetite that is hungry, that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/as-far-as-stimulus-from-the-visual-arts-specifically-there-is-today/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Advertizing, television and film all wield mighty powers to visually seduce us, while much fine art leaves us indifferent, confused or, at worst, repulsed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/advertizing-television-and-film-all-wield-mighty-powers-to-visually/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Beauty, therefore, for the modern and postmodern artist has become a highly dubious metaphor for a discredited belief system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/beauty-therefore-for-the-modern-and-postmodern-artist-has-become-a/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [In this same tradition, beauty is inextricably bound up with the principles of order and harmony believed to underlie the cosmos. Artists in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/in-this-same-tradition-beauty-is-inextricably-bound-up-with-the/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Narcissism and Christianity have little in common, yet the Romantic paradigm of artistic creativity, particularly in light of subsequent Freudian ideas, has tended to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/narcissism-and-christianity-have-little-in-common-yet-the-romantic/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Postmodernism has not overcome the problems of modernism, but only compounded them with a dosis of cynicism, relativism and indifference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/postmodernism-has-not-overcome-the-problems-of-modernism-but-only/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Beyond a narrow, elite audience, there is a pervasive sense from the side of the public that much contemporary art fails to connect -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/beyond-a-narrow-elite-audience-there-is-a-pervasive-sense-from-the/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Who is one's audience, the spiritually hostile professional art world or one's visually insensitive Christian neighbour?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/who-is-one-s-audience-the-spiritually-hostile-professional-art-world/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Redemption in Christ should give the artistically gifted not only a new orientation and a new sense of purpose, but also a new vision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/redemption-in-christ-should-give-the-artistically-gifted-not-only-a/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [In as much as Christ's mission was to bring all things into submission to God, and to restore not only humanity, but also the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/in-as-much-as-christ-s-mission-was-to-bring-all-things-into/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Put crudely, one is left with a choice between two unsatisfactory combinations: artistic integrity married to spiritual compromise; and spiritual integrity married to artistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/put-crudely-one-is-left-with-a-choice-between-two-unsatisfactory/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [The cumulative effect of the Romantic theory of creativity, as played out in the context of belief in the virtue of the avant-garde, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/the-cumulative-effect-of-the-romantic-theory-of-creativity-as-played/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Christ, as the ultimate Imago Dei is alluded to in scripture as being without external beauty in the Classical sense, and should better be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/christ-as-the-ultimate-imago-dei-is-alluded-to-in-scripture-as-being/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) [Explore all 17 John Walford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) ## 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": "It would be a serious oversight to limit our understanding of the impact of theology to strictly religious art, and overlook its pervasive role in shaping human understanding and artistic expression thereof within any given culture-regardless of the subject matter at hand.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Walford" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/it-would-be-a-serious-oversight-to-limit-our-understanding-of-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/it-would-be-a-serious-oversight-to-limit-our-understanding-of-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3c/john-walford-30124_art_it-would-be-a-serious-oversight-to-limit_2909625.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3c/john-walford-30124_art_it-would-be-a-serious-oversight-to-limit_2909625.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3c/john-walford-30124_art_it-would-be-a-serious-oversight-to-limit_2909625.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It would be a serious oversight to limit our understanding of the impact of theology to strictly religious…” — John Walford", "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": "John Walford", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It would be a serious oversight...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/it-would-be-a-serious-oversight-to-limit-our-understanding-of-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/it-would-be-a-serious-oversight-to-limit-our-understanding-of-the/#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 } } ] } ```