Participants:
Series Code: TCR
Program Code: TCR180007B
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00:03 Welcome back to The Creator Revealed.
00:05 If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, 00:08 it is certain that our next guest 00:10 sees the beauty of God's creation 00:14 and expresses it ever so well. 00:17 I would have to agree with you. 00:20 Nathan Greene is really one of the premier 00:25 Christian artists of our age. 00:27 And if you have an image in your head 00:31 of what Jesus looks like, 00:34 it could well have been painted by Nathan Greene. 00:37 So we're delighted to have him with us. 00:40 Absolutely. 00:41 And I'm hoping that we're going to be able to see... 00:44 Oh, yes, in fact, we can see some of these paintings 00:47 that you've been working on. 00:48 Welcome, Nathan. Thank you. 00:52 So we've be talking about the beauty 00:57 that's present there in the creation 01:00 and the encouragement that the Bible actually gives us 01:03 on obviously the biblical worldview 01:05 to actually see that beauty 01:08 and gain joy from it. 01:13 But what I'd like to ask you is, 01:17 as an artist, you know, 01:18 somebody who really appreciates beauty 01:20 and produces beautiful things yourself, 01:23 how is it that the creation 01:26 inspires the work that you do? 01:30 Well, you know, when you think about it, 01:32 artists study a lot of the same things that scientists study, 01:37 chemists, physicists, mathematicians, 01:40 they study things like symmetry, and harmony, 01:43 and perspective, and proportion, 01:45 and economy of design. 01:47 These are all things that artists study well. 01:50 And for me, in particular, as a Christian artist, 01:54 I look at nature and I see all these things. 01:56 I don't know, I'm not a mathematician, 01:58 I don't necessarily define things 02:01 or study things in terms of equations and numbers, 02:04 but I see symmetry and harmony in balance in nature. 02:07 And so it's evident to me that there is a designer 02:11 and a master artist involved in creating the world for us. 02:16 Yes. 02:17 Well, I have to admit 02:19 that I'm fascinated by these paintings 02:22 that you have up behind you, 02:25 and I'm wondering if you can tell us 02:28 a little bit about them. 02:29 I see that there's one that looks fairly complete, 02:32 that would be over your right shoulder. 02:36 So tell us, is this a series that you're working on 02:38 or where are those coming from? 02:42 Well, my agent and one of our clients, 02:45 our patrons who prefers to remain anonymous, 02:48 they came up with the idea of creating a new series 02:51 of paintings depicting the seven days, 02:53 seven literal days of creation from the Book of Genesis. 02:57 I'm almost done with the project. 02:59 The paint you see over my right shoulder 03:02 is day one of the creation series. 03:04 Okay, so this would be, "Let there be light," then. 03:07 Yes, let there be light. 03:09 And the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. 03:11 And so you see Christ the Creator standing, 03:15 really floating over the waters that were on the earth. 03:18 And you might notice in the background, 03:21 there are many equations 03:22 representing the laws of nature, 03:25 and other designs and things 03:28 that God truly had in mind as He completed our world. 03:30 I think I might see... 03:31 I think I might be able to see some DNA in there, am I right? 03:34 There is definitely DNA, there is photosynthesis, 03:39 there's many equations like Maxwell's equations, 03:42 Einstein's field theorems, and E=MC square, 03:46 there is the golden mean, 03:47 this ratio that is found often in nature, in many things 03:52 that is thought to be kind of an ideal proportion, 03:56 found in things like the nautilus shell, 03:59 the rose petals, the way they're aligned on a rose 04:04 are lined up according to that ratio. 04:07 It's even thought that that ratio 04:09 appears in the human form and human face. 04:12 And something that artists have been aware of for a long time. 04:16 You know, one of the things that I like about artists, 04:19 and I have a number of friends who are artists, 04:21 is really a point that you raised which is, 04:25 artists are trained to be observers, 04:29 and scientists are trained to be observers, 04:34 and yet we really are coming at things 04:39 from very, very different angles. 04:44 What I would be interested in is, 04:47 how you think the art 04:53 that you do would be different 04:55 if you didn't believe the Bible, 04:57 if you didn't believe that in the creation, 05:01 let's say, would things be different? 05:03 Would you be choosing different subjects, 05:05 painting in a different style? 05:07 That's an interesting question because I have many friends 05:10 who are artists that some are believers and some are not. 05:14 And even those that are not believers, 05:16 they often find the greatest enjoyment, 05:19 I think, in painting landscapes and wildlife 05:23 and things that are nature, 05:24 that are reflection of what God has created. 05:27 I think people, you know, 05:29 the idea would be for everybody to have faith and confidence 05:33 that there is a Creator and a Designer 05:36 for the world around us. 05:37 But even people who don't believe that seem to see 05:39 and appreciate the beauty that is there. 05:42 But I think because I was born and raised in a Christian home 05:47 and recognize the importance of this, 05:49 I see a Creator in everything around us, 05:52 and I believe that the beauty, and design, 05:54 and all the laws of nature 05:57 which are also reflecting beautiful design 06:00 are evidence of God as the master artist 06:03 and as the master designer of our world. 06:08 I'm looking now at the painting that's immediately behind you, 06:13 and I can see that that one's not complete yet, 06:16 but it looks to me like you're actually depicting God, 06:21 I'm guessing, 06:24 creating Adam, shaping Adam, actually working as, 06:29 essentially, a sculptor in there. 06:32 Yes. 06:33 Yeah, this is day six of the creation series, 06:36 it's the last one. 06:37 I actually went ahead and did day seven 06:39 before finishing day six. 06:40 So this is my last one, and this depicts Christ 06:44 as the Creator forming Adam from the ground 06:48 and there'll be a glow over Adam, 06:50 almost like a supernatural glow, 06:52 and it was on day that land animals, 06:57 mammals were created. 06:58 And several days after all botanical life was created. 07:02 So this is kind of a flourishing 07:04 Edenic environment where Adam was first created. 07:10 You know, Nathan, 07:12 there's undeniable beauty and symmetry in God's creation. 07:16 And I see it everywhere, 07:18 but I wished I could look through your eyes. 07:20 I'm always so interested in a composition of your artwork. 07:25 It's beautiful. 07:27 God's given you a true gift. 07:30 Thank you. 07:31 One of the things that I do see in that particular painting 07:33 that jumps out at me as a biologist 07:36 is that tiger down there. 07:39 You know, I grew up in, 07:41 particularly during the time that I was a child in Malaysia. 07:45 If there was one thing I was taught to fear, 07:48 it would be tigers. 07:50 You know, you didn't go wandering off into the jungle, 07:52 for some reason or other, cobras were okay, 07:56 but those tigers could really get you. 08:01 So tell me a little bit about your thinking 08:04 in including this interesting collection of animals 08:10 along with God creating the human being? 08:15 Yes. 08:16 Well, to me, the design of the animals themselves 08:19 are remarkable and beautiful, 08:22 and to my mind they're evidence of the Creator. 08:26 The tiger is especially amazing to me. 08:29 I mean, we have house cats 08:30 that are a little hint of what a tiger is, 08:33 but just the thought of such a massive animal 08:35 and the fact that they are becoming 08:38 more and more endangered 08:40 is the reason why I wanted to show 08:43 one of the original tigers in my painting here. 08:46 But also a variety of life and not just North American, 08:49 but from other continents, got an elephant, 08:53 I got what I'm calling a gazelle. 08:56 I'm not from Africa. 08:57 I'm not sure exactly what species, 08:58 but I gave it a name Gisele the gazelle. 09:03 By the way, tiger reappears in day seven as well. 09:08 I guess it's just the tiger fell in love with Adam 09:11 and want to hang around for day seven. 09:14 There you go. 09:15 You know, when I was a little boy, 09:17 I had a pet monkey. 09:19 My mother didn't think much of that pet, I'm afraid. 09:24 But he was fantastic. 09:25 And, but I have to admit, I have to admit that 09:30 there was a desire 09:36 and the fear when it came to tigers. 09:40 I would love to have a pet tiger. 09:41 Yes. 09:43 And you'll get to in the new earth. 09:44 And this is one of the truly beautiful things about these... 09:48 You know, I'm sorry, we can't be showing the tiger right now 09:50 because we are having some Skype issues. 09:53 This is what technology is, right? 09:55 This is what technology does, yeah, 09:57 but...Oh, that's beautiful. 09:58 Oh, isn't that wonderful? This would be day five. 10:01 Yes. 10:02 I think that the thing that kind of strikes me 10:08 at an emotional level 10:10 with these paintings is in fact seeing... 10:14 Oh, what a beautiful tiger. 10:15 Yeah, that's the Sabbath there. Oh, that's beautiful. 10:18 It is seeing these beautiful creatures 10:23 that unfortunately, 10:26 in the current world, are problematic, 10:31 really problematic. 10:32 So I can still hear Nathan, 10:34 unfortunately we can't see him anymore, 10:36 but I want to thank you so much for sharing your art with us 10:40 and with the rest of the world, Nathan. 10:42 And it's greatly appreciated. 10:46 Thank you. 10:48 Thank you, Nathan, so much. 10:49 I have a beautiful picture. 10:51 Everyone always tells me that I have the heart of Mary, 10:54 I love to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn, 10:57 but I live in a Martha world. 11:00 So Nathan did a beautiful picture of Jesus, 11:03 Mary and Martha, and Mary sitting at His feet, 11:06 Martha's rattling the pots and pans, 11:09 and I feel like a blend of the two. 11:11 You know, I see these sorts of things 11:13 and I wonder whether I haven't done 11:14 something wrong with my life. 11:16 Maybe I should have succumbed to that temptation 11:19 to be an art major in college. 11:22 But there is so much beauty out there, 11:24 so much, so much that really glorifies God. 11:28 And it's fabulous 11:31 to see artists sort of worshiping God 11:35 through the work that they do. 11:37 And you do that with your photography. 11:39 With my photography. 11:41 But also I like to imagine with the work that I do in general, 11:44 you know, every one of us 11:46 no matter what it is that we do in life, 11:49 each one of us is called to worship the Creator 11:54 and that's not something that we do just 11:56 when we're in church. 11:58 That's something that we can do in our everyday lives 12:01 as we share the Creator with others. 12:03 Amen. 12:04 And I just want to encourage you 12:07 that when it come next Sabbath, 12:09 go out into God's creation after church 12:13 and look at what the Lord has done for us, 12:17 worship the Creator. |
Revised 2019-03-28