No matter how many people (Christians, mostly) tell me that beauty does not matter, I am unable and unwilling to believe this. Their reasoning is that it does not matter to God and therefore it should not matter to the Christian.
That is so bizarre and unthinkable to me. For God to have created all the manifold kinds of beauty He created, and then for that to be to Him either (A) of no consequence whatever; or (B) actually a negative thing, since beauty is such a temptation to idolatry ... is a thought that I hate with my entire being.
I was talking once to Doug Pinnick (of King's X fame) and he was telling me and some other people about a Christian speed metal band that he had heard in Europe. He talked to the band's lead guitarist, who told him that all their technical proficiency, all their virtuosity, all the beauty of their music, was worth absolutely nothing. It was only a means to get their metaphorical foot in the door to preach the Gospel. The beauty of it meant nothing at all. Doug related to us how shocked he was to hear the guy say this; he was in stunned disbelief at what he heard. I agree with Doug.
Beauty is valuable. It means something.
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6 comments:
Just because beauty is not everything does not mean it is nothing. It is important; it simply has to be seen in perspective.
Well said, Charlie!
Agreed. Beauty is definitely something.
Crazy how some people get so caught up in it, though. Or even get caught up in not getting caught up in it.
Beauty is a way to an end. I guess it is fair to say it doesn't have value on its own, kind of like how air doesn't have life in it unless you breathe. But it is a tool, a gift, and a sign of the Divine. For that there is value. It is air for the spirit.
Hi FRA,
I would still disagree in that I think beauty has value in and of itself.
A large part of my objection is that Christians treat beauty as only a means to an end, when it is a legitimate (though not, of course ultimate) end in itself.
You might be right, but the minimum acceptable answer, that beauty does have value as a means to an end, still must acknowledge that beauty has immense value; which is to address the original question. Agreeing with Charlie also, who stated the issue, well, beautifully.
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