The Fredösphere

Part I dealt with a painting of a 700-ft Christ knocking the U.N.  Part II considered the lingering presence of Jesus' graduation picture.

Part III is all about Christ Our Pilot.



This theme was huge in the art and especially hymnody of 19th century evangelicalism. Now that ocean voyages have very low risk, the metaphor has lost its power, but for our grandparents a storm at sea seemed an intense illustration of life's uncertainties generally.

As I have previously complained about Sallman's art, I'll make the briefest of mentions of this positively creepy depictions of the sailor and Christ--so perfectly calibrated to appeal to the unconscious ideals of a old-ladyfied people of all ages and genders. No, that wasn't the briefest of mentions, was it. Here is the briefest of mentions:  Yuck.

I chose a pilot-themed hymn text for one of my choral settings and I expect I will choose more in the future. I recall Garrison Keillor devoted one of his hymn medleys to this topic.  Titles include Jesus Savior Pilot Me -- With Christ in the Vessel I Can Smile at the Storm -- Sail On! -- for more, see this list of hymns with nautical themes. Christ as an anchor is another important metaphor, and sometimes Christ is a harbor, a Haven of Rest:

I've anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest, I'll sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep o'er the wild, stormy deep, In Jesus I'm safe evermore.

Some of 19th century poetry's most annoying conventions were kept on life support well into the 20th thanks to these revivalist hymns.  Notice the indulgent use of "o'er."  Look around in these hymns and you'll find plenty an "e'er" too.

You know what a ship's pilot is, don't you? He is a specialist based in a harbor who knows its channels intimately. When a ship arrives, the pilot goes out to it by boat and assumes responsibility for steering it safely to its dock.  So the image of Christ the pilot bringing us safely through a storm on the high seas is a bit of a distortion. Oh well. Why did I point that out? Now I've ruined it for you, haven't I.

If you're tired of what you've seen so far and are looking for something with a bit more bite, hang on -- in our next installment I've got a very different kind of art from a very different kind of religion.  Stay tuned for VORA IV.