I've always thought that beauty was great evidence for a Creator. What we see throughout history, unfortunately, is humanity worshipping beautiful things, and not the Creator. The sun, moon, stars, animals, weather phenomena - all these things are beautiful (which is an anemic word to describe the majesty of some of these objects) and have been revered as divine by mankind.Well, we can't blame this idolatry on the beautiful things, nor can we blame it on the Creator for making such nice "stuff". What it comes down to is mankind's corrupt nature and natural inclination for running after everything but Truth.
In The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis spends some time working out the topic of beauty. Here is just a snippet:
"The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things . . . are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself, they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited."
I still think beauty is good evidence for a Creator, and when I'm moved by some sunset vista or thrilled by the power of a storm I feel that longing for the One who is over all, who lives in unapproachable light and Whose country I will someday visit because I have been made a citizen.
5 comments:
Hey I really like this post...you've struck a nerve with me...a favorite topic...
I'm not sure if Lewis used this term, but I know John Piper, in referring to Lewis on this subject, described that yearning as an "inconsolable longing."
I love that term and I think about it all the time. "Inconsolable Longing." I seem to remember in Pilgrim's Regress how 'John' had a longing for a land beyond the mountain and over the sea...or something.
And this was to Lewis evidence enough for a Creator. If there is a longing in the human spirit, there must be an object there who planted the longing...or the longing wouldn't be there.
I think that may be why, though I've seen it many times now, I still well up when I see Lucy's expression as she sees the snowy wonderland of Narnia for the first time...oh, what a pang of this longing that goes through me! Am I the only one?
And of course the "inconsolable" part for Lewis has been fully and completely "consoled" now that he has met Jesus face to face!
Have you heard of Steve Bell? He has a song called, "Why Do We Hunger For Beauty." Really!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on6n6btCAms
This is just a snippet...hope the whole song is somewhere on the internet. I have it on cd......
Anyway, thanks again for the post..........
Chris! I like that term "inconsolable longing." I haven't heard that before.
Rich Mullins' music was woven in and out with this "longing" and I can still listen to his CDs and all of a sudden be overwhelmed with a word or phrase that makes me weep - and I can't even explain it! He was always looking forward to heaven and loving the Savior, and it really came out in what he wrote.
And wow! Thanks for introducing me to Steve Bell!
Hey I took your post and reblogged it at mine (http://earnestlyicq.blogspot.com/) and added to my own thoughts. The reason I mention it is that I remembered (and thought you would like) some other of Lewis' terms for this: "unappeasable want" (from I forget where) and "sweet desire" (from Pilgrim's Regress). Actually the preface to 'Regress' is quite profound and wonderful and I get the same intake of breath...from a Preface!!
And for that I matter, I can't read the end of "The Last Battle" out loud to my daughter because she keeps asking me what's wrong and says 'keep reading Daddy' which I can't for these very same reasons...what a sap.........
oh, and Steve Bell is a good guy...got to meet him once 1000 years ago...he did a fund-raiser for my kids' school. Got to photograph him in the studio and chat it up. I remember he was a big fan of the Mars Hill Tapes with Ken Myers..remember him?
Anyway, yeah, Steve Bell is a warm fuzzy for my family...and he certainly gets it about the 'Hunger For Beauty.' Thanks again for the thought provoking post. Kindred spirits.....
The Last Battle - I cry every time! "Further up and further in!" :)
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