Congratulations To Chris Johnson, Whose Bad Vestments Blog Is Getting Deserved Attention

Besides CJ’s usual Mean Hateful Cruelty to clergy and bishops who long to express themselves and give free reign to their creative and spontaneous impulses through their vestments, he also has some comments on aesthetics, art, and Christians that I think are very much on point—here in this interview with a writer at The United Methodist Reporter.

What’s next for your blog?
I’ve recently expanded the site’s range to churches themselves and I’m seriously considering changing the name of the site to Christian Aesthetics to consider the whole range of Christian art, architecture and whatever, not just vestments.
Why?
Because I don’t get all that much in the way of bad vestments that I can come up with sufficient snark for. Because a lot of Christian art is worthy of ridicule. And because some Christian architecture is just as aesthetically appalling as some Christian vestments. Haven’t gotten to it yet but there’s a church here in St. Louis County that I’m afraid to even approach, never mind worship God in.
So much modern Christian art is derivative. Any theories about why that is?
I think Christian art tends to ape the culture around it because too many Christians think that they have to speak in that idiom or the culture won’t listen to them. So instead of starting a Christian band, playing music that you want to play in the way you want to play it and believing in your own artistic vision, you have to be Christian metal, Christian techno, Christian pop, Christian whatever.