My first excursion to the Christian Bookstore was a big let down. I expected to go to the art section and walk through hallowed halls hearing the faint songs of angels as I gazed on Rembrandt prints and other gicled imagery of Christ in each stage of his life...
The annunciation- the angel appears to Mary and the splendor of this visitor from another dimension fills the room as in Van Eyck’s imagination. God I LOVE this painting!
Those wings are like a butterfly in iridescence! The floor has tiles engraved with scenes which foreshadow the life of the coming Messiah. THIS is art!
Back to my fantasy Christian bookstore. Amidst the masterful pieces I expected to see Rembrandt’s The Raising of Lazarus. Where Jesus stands at the precipice of the grave and bellows out “Come Forth!”. Every molecule charges up with life and Lazarus is ejected from the pit. Eye witnesses are blown backwards.
Rewind the tape..... That wasn’t my experience.
No, the first time I entered a Christian bookstore it was as if a trap door had scuttled me away to the stage of Willy Wonka. Rainbows and lollipops beset me. Chocolate rivers of baby kittens floated by.... Happy children’s faces, shepherds and rivers graced mugs bracelets and baby wipes. and of-course--- (new to twentieth century art)--Hand painted rocks reminded me "Jesus is my ROCK".