The Candlestick
When analyzing a passage from the bible, Schaeffer quotes a section that encourages the creation of a candlestick. For the author, this candlestick symbolizes "a work of art" that is encouraged in the bible.
Pictures of nature
Schaeffer quotes a biblical passage in which a person is asked to make a candlestick. He emphasizes that the person is encouraged to decorate this candlestick with "a knop and a flower," stating that these ultimately symbolize the beauty of nature:
"And how is it decorated? Not with representations of angels, but with representations of nature, flowers, blossoms, things of natural beauty."
Art
Art is a key symbol of the book and it is suggested that art can be seen as a symbol of blasphemy. However, Schaeffer states that art is actually something that is often commanded by God in the bible.
The cherubim on the ark
When speaking about examples of art in the bible, Schaeffer points to the "cherubim of gold," on the ark. He states that these symbolize the importance of art, as "the cherubim on the ark didn't suddenly appear out of the sky. Somebody had to get their hands dirty, somebody had to work out the technical problems."
Colors
Schaeffer tells us that in Exodus, the robes of a priest are described in the following way:
"Upon the skirts of it, thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet."
He states that these colors ultimately have a symbolic meaning as "In nature, pomegranates are red but these pomegranates were to be blue, purple and scarlet... the implication is that there is the freedom to make something which gets its impetus from nature but can be different from it."
