Romans 5:7-9

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

The Theology of Art

I guess its because most Christians are not forced to think about it formally day to day, but the question of beauty is neglected in our "world-view".  If anyone knows of a published systematic theology that includes a treatment on beauty, please let me know.  I am aware of several theologians who have written on the subject, Edwards, Sproul, and Kuyper (regarding the theology of art), who I have quoted below.
"And all these because the beautiful is not the product of our own fantasy, nor of our subjective perception, but has an objective existence, being itself the expression of a Divine perfection."  Abraham Kuyper from, "Lectures on Calvinism"
It seems important to me, not only because I am confronted with ideas of aesthetics on a daily basis due to my vocation, but also (and perhaps more importantly) because Americans are constantly , through all sorts of mediums, being told what is beautiful by untrustworthy sources.  Ultimately, that which is true is that which is beautiful.  So, beauty directly corresponds to truth; the degree to which something is true is the degree to which it is also beautiful.  And now for a bit of sarcasm...

"Don't teach me about truth and beauty, just label my music"  Derek Web from his song, "New Law".

No comments: