Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look and an ever-changing culture through the lens of

unchanging truth.

For the Colston Center, I'm John Stone Street.

Well this year marks 460 years since the death of Michelangelo, the groundbreaking sculptor, painter and architect,

who lived a somewhat tortured life and yet was determined to ultimately find his hope in

Jesus Christ.

His awe-inspiring sculptures, like David, have left indelible

marks on every generation since. His painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel helped

usher in mannerism, a new style and art that used deliberate but subtle

distortions of color and form for emotional effect. In his artistry as an

architect he designed several significant buildings in his home city of

Florence including the Medici Chapel and the Larentian Library, a forerunner of Baroque

architecture.

He also created the final design of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Michelangelo's enduring fame stems from these monuments that have left imprints on humanity.

And he was also a prolific poet.

Over 300 of his poems still survived today, many of them sonnets, and they offer a window into his personal life and his faith.

While most scholarly attention has been focused on the 60 or so poems addressed to men,

which talked about love and friendship and have led to unproven suspicions that he was same sex attracted,

many are notably religious. And they give insight into how he thought about his own life,

his art and his relationships, in light of his faith in Christ.

In 1554, a decade before his death, Michelangelo addressed Asanae to Georgio Vissari, who had published

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