An Eye for Beauty – Part 2 – Supreme Beauty
One as good as another?
A clever song from my parents’ generation sang of the relativity of pronunciation, and why it doesn’t matter whether we say “po-tay-to” or “po-tah-to.” One pronunciation is as good as the other, just as long as we both know what we mean.
Paul argued for something like that in other areas of preference as well—whether to eat meat and vegetables, or vegetables only, and whether to observe certain special days, perhaps holidays in the Roman world (Rom. 14.1, 2, 5). Of course, there’s a limit to how far you can take this. If I insist, for example, on saying, “bo-rang-o” when what I want for you to understand is “potato,” then clearly I’ve veered off the path of reasonable communication.
A relativistic view of beauty?
Nothing in life, in other words, is absolutely relative. There is room for difference in matters of taste, including aesthetic taste, but only within certain limits. Contemporary artist Fabian Maracaccio speaks for a strictly relativistic view of beauty when he says,
If we talk about beautiful things, I may have an image in my mind that is different from what any culture considers beautiful…I want to consider how you can see yourself as an ugly constellation and at the same time as a beautiful constellation…Art is not a place for the beautiful and it is not a place for ugliness, it’s a place where all these things should be analyzed. I never worry about something being beautiful or ugly. I mean, I can see a continuous line between something considered beautiful, a Fra Angelico painting, and a porn scene that I can find some beauty in (Art Papers, May/June, 2002).
Such a view, however, is not likely to help us much in getting at a true understanding and appreciation of beauty.
The standard for beauty
Gaining an eye for beauty must, if we are to avoid the complete annihilation of beauty, involve a quest for some reliable and supreme standard for beauty. As Jonathan Edwards explained in his work on The Glory of God, God alone is a sufficient standard for understanding true beauty. Edwards wrote, “And as the Creator is infinite, and has all possible existence, perfection, and excellence, so he must have all possible regard. As he is every way the first and supreme, and as his excellency is in all respects the supreme beauty and glory, the original good, and fountain of all good; so he must have in all respects the supreme regard.”
Old Testament writers associated the idea of beauty with God, describing Him in terms of beauty and, thereby, fixing a degree of permanence and objectivity to the very idea of beauty itself. Here is David in Psalm 27.4:
One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple. (NKJV)
Within the definition of beauty, of course, there is room for individual tastes and preferences, but only up to a point. There must be some limit, some boundary or standard beyond which, contra Maracaccio, we cease talking about beauty and begin talking about mere taste. For David, God Himself is that standard.
God and beauty
In the Old Testament the idea of “beauty” is associated with God in three ways—His being, His moral character, and His works. God is said to be beautiful in and of Himself (cf. Ps. 27.4; Ps. 90.17; Is. 4.2; Is. 28.5; Is. 33.17). As one approaches God in meditation, one enters the Presence of Him Who is the embodiment of things beautiful. Being in His Presence is supremely pleasant, filled with delights (Ps. 16.11), majestic and excellent beyond description, and leads the faithful to exclaim, “how great is His goodness, and how great His beauty!” (Zech. 9.17, ESV)
Second, the idea of beauty is associated with the moral character of God—His excellence, honor, truthfulness, faithfulness, and steadfast love. God is said to rise in the midst of His people out of a habitation of beauty; He is surrounded by beauty, and fairly seems to exude it (Ps. 50.2). The primary moral virtue used in association with beauty is holiness. God is said to dwell in the beauty of holiness. Consequently, holiness is the proper “garment” to wear when approaching Him in worship (Ps. 29.2, Ps. 96.9). The holiness of God can be seen to be an amalgamation of all His many other excellent virtues, or, more specifically, the perfection of all moral virtues. God’s beauty consists in His being perfectly and completely moral in every way, in being holy.
Third, the idea of beauty is associated with various of the works of God. The whole of creation, functioning according to its intended purposes, in harmony and fruitfulness, complexity and sincerity, texture and color, things great and small, is said to be beautiful (Eccl. 3.11). The works that God’s people do as they go in obedience to God, and in the light of His favor, are described as beautiful garments (Is. 52.1).
Know God, know beauty
Thus, if we would know true beauty, we must learn to know the Lord. This is not simply a function of our physical senses, although knowing the Lord certainly involves those. Rather, to know the Lord, and to know true beauty, we must engage the Lord with our soul, by reading and meditating in His Word, nurturing a vision of His unseen beauty and holiness, entering His glory in prayer and solitude, contemplating Him in the creation and discerning His Presence in the things He has made.
If we would acquire an eye for true beauty, we must nurture knowledge of and love for God, beginning with faith in Jesus Christ and commencing from there to seeking the Lord in all His Word and works. Today, we can know true beauty, precisely because we can know Him Who alone is truly beautiful. Let’s make sure to take the time to look.