Paper Edition was voted 2002 Best Adult Religion Book of the Year! "It was art and it was theater at the same time, but it was more. It was what he did not say that spoke most powerfully to the mob that morning. It was a cup of cold water for a thirsty adulteress and an ice-cold drenching in the face to a group of angry Pharisees. "To this day we have not the slightest idea what it was Jesus twice scribbled in the sand. By and large the commentaries have asked the wrong question through the ages. They labor over the content, over what he might have written. They ask without ever realizing that the real question is It was not the content that mattered but why he did it. Unexpected. Irritating. Creative." (From chapter one) Singer, songwriter and diligent student of Scripture, Michael Card is well known for the depth of his lyrics and the artistry of his music. But far more significant than the songs he has penned is the source of his inspiration--the creativity embodied in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God. In this book Card explores the biblical foundations of true Christian creativity. Whether we think of ourselves as creative or not, all of us are created in the image of our Creator God, and thus creativity is a vital expression of our discipleship. With Jesus as his model, Card shows how understanding Gods creative imagination leads to a lifestyle of humility, obedience and servanthood. And he invites us to follow God's creative call through worship and community. Through Jesus, God has spoken to us in a word we can understand. Likewise, Michael Card has articulated the story of Jesus to others through his own scribblings in the sand. This book shows us how we can do the same.
Scribbling in the Sand: Christ and Creativity
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Card's stunning little book on creativity opens with a story about Jesus: faced with an adulterous woman that he was asked to punish, he knelt down and scribbled something in the sand. Card says that commentators have asked the wrong question what Jesus wrote rather than the more provocative question of why: "It was not the content that mattered but why he did it. Unexpected. Irritating. Creative." This same praise can be heaped upon his perceptive, original combination of storytelling and theological insight. Like Card's other books, this is profoundly biblical, teasing out fresh interpretations of Scripture through deep interaction with the text. Who but Card would imagine Noah's construction of the ark as a creative, imaginative act? Who but Card would then contrast this creation to the erection of the Tower of Babel, which demonstrates what happens when people create out of selfish ambition? Various chapters discuss the role of imagination in the prophetic books of the Bible, the activity of Jesus in helping to create the universe and the need for "a lifestyle of listening." Card's tone alternates between a gentle call to embrace God's beauty and a stinging jeremiad against the glib it's-all-about-the-artist approach to creativity that dominates both Christian and secular thinking. The book is not prescriptive; it doesn't help would-be artists and writers enhance their creativity through innovative techniques or exercises. It simply describes what it is like to know God and, as a result of that experience, to want to respond to him.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Inside Flap
"Every song I've heard Michael sing makes me think about Jesus. Every moment I've spent with Michael makes me think about Jesus. Who better, then, to make us all think more highly of Christ than Michael Card. May God use this book to do exactly that in your life." Max Lucado, author
"When Michael Card speaks on Christian creativity, the world listens. I think they listen first because he is a Christian whose faith is his reason to be. I think they listen next because he is creative. In every sentence he writes, his appetite for beauty devours his soul and leaves the rest of us hungry to acquire his taste. I think I personally admire him because he lives in that Promethean torture chamber where mediocrity is offensive and excellence exceeds the grasp. Yet it is his reaching toward aesthetic wonders that refreshes us with a widening vision of Christ. Then having caught the greater view of things, he generously passes the vision forward to us all." Calvin Miller, author of The Singer Trilogy
"This book reached my heart as few others. Every artist (which means every Christian) needs to meditate on Michael Card's message, not just read, but ponder, reflect, pray. The result will be a thrilling release of the Spirit from depths you hadn't before realized were there. At least, that's what happened in me." Larry Crabb, author of Inside Out
"Countless books circulate on what it means to be 'creative,' on what 'art' is; relatively few are written from a distinctively Christian perspective. There cannot be many more qualified than Michael Card to fill this glaring gap. Here we learn, powerfully, that creativity, rightly conceived, is a response to God: it is worship. To his own evocative reflections Michael Card appends the musing of several other Christian artists and critics. This is a book to be cherished and savored." D. A. Carson, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By Phil Wade
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Here is a beautifully published, inspiring work by a great musician who is a fountain of insight into God's heart and our imagination. Michael Card focuses primarily on Christ in this book on Christ and Creativity, and by doing so, directs our attention to the source and objective of our artist efforts. We, as Christian artists, are Christ's own possession, Card says, living for Him and through Him to accomplish everything by His inspiring strength. With personal, encouraging words, Card writes a wonderfully sound book that should be read by artists around the world. It isn't loaded with practical advice for building or working out creativity (though there are bits here and there), but the chapter of letters to young artists from a diverse group of accomplished, godly artists reads like Proverbs, line after line of memorable advice. That chapter and the bibliography of works on imagination and creativity are worth the price of the book.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Why should a doctor who can't carry a tune in a bucket and can't draw a stick figure love a book about the nature of art and creativity written by a musician? But I fell in love with this book from the first chapter, for it beautifully and eloquently puts forth a vision of Christianity that everyone needs to hear and embrace. As Larry Crabb describes the book, "Every Christian needs to meditate on Michael Card's message...the result will be a thrilling release of the Spirit from depths you hadn't before realized were there.." I had the pleasure of hearing Michael discuss the themes of this book in a coffee-house: he is a humble and wise servant of Christ, and his writing reflects it.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By L. A. Eddy
Format:Hardcover
When I read this book, I loved the ideas more than the excecution of them, in the literary sense. I guess I expected it to be more eloquent, with better excegetics, but I realized that it was not needed.
Some times as a painter, I would keep working on a painting too long, and really make it worse than better. What I was looking for was not needed, it would have muddied the colors Michael was trying to communicate to us.
Thanks for giving us your thoughts, and being willing to share those of others with us in the persuit of excellence in our gifts.
Some times as a painter, I would keep working on a painting too long, and really make it worse than better. What I was looking for was not needed, it would have muddied the colors Michael was trying to communicate to us.
Thanks for giving us your thoughts, and being willing to share those of others with us in the persuit of excellence in our gifts.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Illuminating
Thoughtful, provocative--a soul-song from the author to his Savior artfully illumined under his poet's quill. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Sophia
3.0 out of 5 stars
Confusing Listing
The book is fine; however the way it was listed on the site was a problem. I typed in Scribbling in the Sand and thought that what I was purchasing was the book. Read more
Published on October 27, 2009 by Lisa F.
4.0 out of 5 stars
An inspiring look at creativity
Michael Card does a great job at discussing God-given creativity, especially in the context of the arts (with an understandable leaning toward music). Read more
Published on May 19, 2009 by Lisa A. Halliday
4.0 out of 5 stars
Get it for the letters...
I have to admit, I was somewhat disappointed with Scribbling in the Sand at first... It's not that there was anything wrong with the book, but it struck me as being longer than it... Read more
Published on January 19, 2005 by Bret Rooks
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must read for Christian artists
Michael Card is well-known for his music, and as a Christian author he reaches down deep into the heart. Read more
Published on August 6, 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mallowcups for Mike
Yes, okay, Michael's book is great and I had quite an eloquent review in mind. Then I got to the letter by Harold Best at the end of the book and forgot all about it: get this book... Read more
Published on January 29, 2003 by Tracy Groot
