Beauty

In a not-easy-to-follow-in-a-blog-post format, we discussed the topic of beauty by playing Jeopardy/Be-A-Ut-Y (with mixed up "pieces" under each heading). Summarized for the blog, this is what we had to say:

Scriptures:

Ecclesiastes 3:11

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Ezekiel 7:20

His beautiful ornament they used for pride, and they made their abominable images and their detestable things of it. Therefore I make it an unclean thing to them.  (IE- beauty can be corrupted and used for wrong, such as beautiful models inspiring terrible and negative ideals)

 

Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever. 

Types of Beauty:

Natural Beauty: May need some cultural reference to truly understand all the layers of beauty, but this type of beauty is universal. Think about scenes of natural splendor, the glory of the Hubble telescope’s images, some forms of music and art.

 

Learned Beauty: “Acquired beauty”- the kind of beauty that you hope to see (think about learning another language in order to read a great literary work, or learning an instrument to enter into the beauty of a piece of music; much of science is this kind of beauty- the beauty of the double helix isn’t/wasn’t readily available, but James Watson knew that “something this beautiful just had to exist”)

 

Taught Beauty: cultural constructs of beauty that we’re taught to appreciate because of what they mean within the culture (thin vs. fat, tall vs. small, the opulence of gold-leaf, number of children, etc.)

 

Larger Beauty (beauty for everyone) and Smaller Beauty (exclusive beauty): Important that we don’t destroy the larger in order to glorify the smaller (part of why we have a National Park system: think if we turned Yellowstone into a subdivision. There might be a beautiful flower bouquet on the kitchen table, beautiful music being played, etc., BUT the glory of the larger park has been demolished on the whole.) Remember when searching for and creating beauty that your beauty expands, rather than destroys what God and His other creations have already placed in the world.

Beautiful Things:

Beauty is not in temporal things, it only comes through them. Finite things are only an image of what we desire, but they may do the trick [if we forget to pay attention to what it is that attracts us]. - C.S. Lewis. Objects and things are not bad, and they certainly can be beautiful. But we need to remember not to revere the object- it is just a symbol of the much greater beauty that we're longing to be part of.

Name something in nature you feel is beautiful. Ask the beauty of the earth, ask the beauty of the sea, ask the beauty of the wide, airy spaces, ask the beauty of the sky, ask the order of the stars, ask the sun making the day light with its beams, ask the moon tempering the darkness of the night, ask the living things which move in the waters, which tarry on the land, which fly in the air; ask the souls that are hidden, the bodies that are perceptive; the visible thins which must be governed, the invisible things which govern—ask all these things, and they will all answer thee, Lo, see we are lovely. Their loveliness is their confession. And these lovely but mutable things, who has made them, save Beauty immutable (Augustine)

Nature itself cries out the beauty of the one that made it, the creativity of the creator, and His love of diversity and splendor- God didn’t do it half-way.

Architecture In youth group, we viewed 4 very different kinds of churches- a modern, austere church in Japan, an Eastern Orthodox cathedral festooned with gilt and complex designs, the Cathedral of Notre Dame with all its ornate carvings and Gothic splendor, and a wood and glass church in the forest meant to mimic and give glory to the creation God gave us. Though very, very different in style, all of these churches are intended to represent beauty and glorify different aspects of God- and they also speak to the cultural contexts of beauty.

Ugliness vs. Beauty We viewed another set of pictures (inner city slum and community garden, and the before-and-after pictures of war-torn Homs, Syria) and discussed the emotions they evoked- beauty (hope, delight, purpose, availability of choices, community, security, contentment, positivity) and ugliness (despair, danger, hopelessness, being weighed down, worthlessness, sadness, insecurity). Beauty doesn't just stand alone, and it's not just "fluff." There are very real emotions and expectations that come alongside of beauty (or the lack thereof), which color our understanding of the world and where we fit into it.

Miscellany

What do you do when you find beauty? When you're awed by the beauty of the stars or mountains, when you're invigorated by a beautiful relationship, or inspired by the beauty of human spirit and creativity, what do you do? You stop, pause and admire. Do you also give thanks? Thanksgiving is a great way to fully appreciate beauty- take a moment to give thanks to the creator of such delight- both the instrument/person and the ultimate source of creativity and beauty and your ability to comprehend/enjoy it. Gratitude for beauty is the #1 way to see more of it!

Beauty in the Ugly Go Google "Faith in Humanity Restored" to see some great examples of earth-shattering beauty in terrible situations, and realize that part of our ability to see beauty in all its complexity is because we understand what it means to have and be the opposite.

It is hunger that gives food its taste. It is thirst that makes cool clear water taste like nectar. It is tiredness that makes sleep a boon. It is toil that makes rest the thing that the body and mind long for. It is loneliness that gives friendship its value. It is the rain that gives the sunshine its joy. It is the dark of night that gives the dawn its glory. It is the parting that makes reuniting a happy thing. (William Barclay)

 Created Beauty Think of a song that seems to inspire universal appreciation- what's so beautiful about it? Check out these 51 beautiful sentences- what other words do they inspire? Beauty is more than just a momentary sense of enjoyment- it can also give us a sense of urgency, longing, intimacy, inspiration, hope, and peace. Eastern Orthodox Icons are another form of created beauty- beauty made through prayer and as a form of prayer (the beauty is an intentional way of connecting with God).

Truth, Goodness, and Beauty If you don’t have all three, you haven’t found the “real” thing- especially when it comes to faith. If your faith isn’t beautiful, keep searching for the truth and goodness that make it so!

5 Minutes of God Time: Carol the Bells by The Piano Guys