We live in a world of knee-jerks and pendulum swings. History is defined by it - in response to the harsh, logical rationalism of the Enlightenment (or, as my Father taught me to call it, the Endarkenment) arose Romanticism, a philosophy of emotion, the sublime, and natural beauty. Monarchy didn't work, so we tried democracy. That didn't work, so we tried socialism. The list goes on.
We all knee-jerk against things, and the Church is no exception. I fear our Reformed community, in its proper emphasis on truth, doctrine, and teaching, and its hatred of the dark, frivilous, and evil entertainments that have seeped into the Evangelical world, have knee-jerked incorrectly against the arts. We distrust beauty, trappings, and decorations, which is fair, but in that have we stripped God's mighty, eternal story of its beauty?
A good friend has encouraged me to read Credenda Agenda for about five years now, and I finally have. I appreciate the Wilsons' balanced approach to aesthetics and truth, for as Doug Wilson puts it in speaking of C.S. Lewis, "more beauty in wordsmithing does not lessen the amount of truth that words carry, but rather increases it drastically...a pearl necklace on a beautiful woman is not extraneous."
I agree with Wilson that I would rather read The Chronicles of Narnia than a dry book on orthodoxy, though I also understand my husband's point that the Chronicles are only as powerful as the truth they convey, and that truth is contained in Scripture and expounded upon within said dusty books.
It is all a balance, but I fear we lose some of the awesome, imaginative, mythic scope of God and His creation when we, as Nate Wilson puts it in the same issue, "take reality and put it in a large pot, boil all the meat off, and then burn the bones. We then hold up the charred remains of a skeleton for the world to see and believe in." He goes on to point out Lewis put meat on those bones and heartily enjoyed the roast. He gave form to truth - the Chronicles of Narnia do not discuss the facets of the resurrection, they show it. We do not get a lengthy discussion of the balance between Freedom and Sovereignty, but we watch and peacefully understand two mind-bending truths as Jill faces Aslan across the stream. It is part of Lewis' power: as Nate also says, "C.S. Lewis built on his [foundations]. We have our hatchet from behind the lectern, arguing cogently that it is sharper than our opponent's. Lewis crosses the stage and lops a head or two."
May we be a people who love our truth well roasted and seasoned and enjoy the imaginative capacity God has given us while rooting it in His ultimate truth. May we use our foundations effectively, not just talking about them but living them and fighting with them. As Doug Wilson ends his article, "a man who is called to the use of words, as ministers are, and who ignores the aethetic aspect of them in order to concentrate on 'truth,' is actually at war with the truth."
3 comments:
YAY!
Okay, you're in for it now. I'll be calling you every night at about 11 when skh is giving his first eye-roll to my truth-beauty-goodness chit-chat.
That was a lot of dashes.
I love dashes. They're my favorite punctuation mark.
That's why you're so cool - I'll call you when Andy starts doing the same thing :).
Leila, I have never before read your blog. I enjoy it.
How much MORE we need to be using our imagination for His glory! How much MORE we need to fill ourselves up with truth in order to share it in the joy of the imaginative wonderings God has given to us. Look at the Lord's creativity. (Let us delightfully follow in His example.)
In recent days I have been pressed more and more to "creatively" (not necessarily in the beauty of art) proclaim His truth and make His great goodness known among the nations.
Thank you for your writings.
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