The past few weeks I've been discussing the topic of art and beauty with a fellow believer (who is also majoring in Philosophy) here at UC Berkeley. The other day he mentioned something that I didn't quite know how to respond to. He said that for creatures to create, and especially beautiful art, some work of the Holy Spirit is needed. He says this because he can't perceive how fallen creatures can somehow begin to create grand, magnificent, beautiful art without some inspiration. That is, to create something that is not from them. He holds that to create requires inspiration, and since God is good, beautiful, etc., it must come from God in some sense.
My response was that I don't see why the Holy Spirit needs to be necessarily implicated in this. Why can't it just be that being human, by nature, entails that we can also create. Some create beautiful art because they have a special gift that others don't. But he usually counters that to create something like art requires inspiration, and since it is beauty and goodness that is being created, it must come from God.
I thought of posting this in the Philosophy forum, but I think it is more relavent to pneumatology, as I'm specifically asking if there is any role of the Holy Spirit in the creation of something like beautiful art.
What is the orthodox understanding on this issue of creation, and specifically, creating beautiful art?
My response was that I don't see why the Holy Spirit needs to be necessarily implicated in this. Why can't it just be that being human, by nature, entails that we can also create. Some create beautiful art because they have a special gift that others don't. But he usually counters that to create something like art requires inspiration, and since it is beauty and goodness that is being created, it must come from God.
I thought of posting this in the Philosophy forum, but I think it is more relavent to pneumatology, as I'm specifically asking if there is any role of the Holy Spirit in the creation of something like beautiful art.
What is the orthodox understanding on this issue of creation, and specifically, creating beautiful art?