This really resonated with me. I am on a similar journey on my Substack but focused on music. The Argument From Desire works really well with art. When artists create art that expresses frustration with the world, they do this because we all have an inner sense that a better world exists.
I admit I have not read poetry in a really long time. But, the same idea applies. Especially since lyrics are just poetry with a backing track anyway ☺️
In the Chronicles, Lewis masterfully creates a world that ultimately points to something larger and deeper. At the end of “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” (Book 6) there is a scene where the children, Lucy, Edmund and Eustace meet a white (almost transfigured) lamb who has prepared a breakfast of cooked fish for them…”the most delicious food they have ever tasted,” which parallels the scene in John 21 where Jesus has prepared a similar “Eucharistic” breakfast meal for Peter and the other disciples. In the scene with the children, the lamb tells them that the way to Aslan’s world is through their own world, as he transforms himself into Aslan. Lucy asks Aslan how to get to his country from their world, and he says “I shall be telling you all the time,” and that from now on, they will know him, but by another name in their world. The reason the children were brought to Narnia, Aslan tells them, was “that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.” The first time I read the Chronicles was as an adult, but after reading them, I felt as if I saw my relationship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit as something even more deep and wonderful and beautiful!
Oh Tim! This moves me in so many ways. You know how when Holy Spirit wants to move you into some new ground all of a sudden it seems like the whole world is talking about that very thing? This has been the subject of true Beauty for me lately.
Which is (of course) very timely in my life. Because my family and I just moved into our new house (that we built) a couple of weeks ago and I am shifting from a season of building the practical to a season of building the beautiful. And I’m bumping up against ghosts of my past.
Not only was I raised in a church that was suspect of beauty (at best,) but my mom was that… but even more.
She died when I was 16, so I’m struggling to name what and why she was with beauty. I never heard her say “Beauty is evil,” but I also never once saw her pick flowers to go on the table- even tho we had plenty of wildflowers growing on our land, including lilacs- *lilacs* I tell you!
So it has been an act of resistance -thank you for that language- to intentionally spend time and money and thought on making our home beautiful.
Thank you, thank you for this revelation of the importance of beauty.
I would love to hear more of your thoughts- maybe in a future post?- on the difference between prettiness and goodness in interior design.
I’d love to hear Tim’s thoughts on this too! I have been on a journey discovering the difference also.
In my digging, I have discovered the treasure of decorating a home slowly, within our means. Being content with how things are now, but still having a vision for how things could be improved, and knowing that God provides what we need.
For example, after getting quotes for bathroom renovations, I felt God say not to renovate them, but to fix what we had. A year later we had a water leak while on holidays under one of the sinks (which was a multiple miracle kind of story in itself because it was found within a few hours and didn’t end up flooding the whole house, only two rooms) so the old, worn bathroom vanity had to be replaced by insurance, along with some other things. Not renovated, just made new.
I’d like to think that when we lean towards goodness, in honouring God, and not just focusing on prettiness, that the things that surround us have greater depth, stories of grace, and the hand of God.
Oh I love this, (fellow) Sarah! And this is exactly where I am right now too. Bound within the limits of time and money in the decorating and yet still choosing to make things as beautiful as I can. And some of the things I think I’m going to keep long term. Like an “end table” I made to go by the recliner in my bedroom. I took three leftover ends of beams of varying height from us building the house and stood them up next to each other. With a few candles and a book or two of poetry, it looks lovely!
I love too what you said about things being beautiful because they are storied. That is our whole house! We had to build it on a very tight budget, so from some AC duct we found on the side of the road to the free multi colored OSB we used to cover what my husband playfully called his “shop of many colors,” our house and shop are full of stories. And while the walls aren’t perfectly flat, I love knowing that it’s because my 9 and 12 year olds were helping with the drywall mud.
You have to watch out for the Sarah’s! Ha! Here’s a fun fact: If you look at the etymology of the word ‘thrift’ you will find that it comes from the word ‘thrive’. I sometimes think of this when ‘making do’. I love how you can see all the stories of relationship and provision in your home! That is beauty!
Not very impressed, I don’t think there’s a hard divide between the post and pre kantian view and the argument against aesthetic pleasure as a pleasure and judgment isn’t presented so much as desired to be intuited,I can’t really call this an essay but a feeling piece, should have framed this as a fictional characters recommendation in a story like Goethe’s confession of a beautiful soul (which recommends this same opinion in a better way.)
This really resonated with me. I am on a similar journey on my Substack but focused on music. The Argument From Desire works really well with art. When artists create art that expresses frustration with the world, they do this because we all have an inner sense that a better world exists.
By the way, Bach wrecks me, too.
Yes! And Wordsworth wrecks me too!
I admit I have not read poetry in a really long time. But, the same idea applies. Especially since lyrics are just poetry with a backing track anyway ☺️
"What if it doesn’t soothe, but summons?"
Always calling me Homeward...
This was exactly the read I needed this afternoon, and God knew. Thank you.
I’m so glad, Leslie! 🙌✨
Just re-read the Weight of Glory last month…Lewis likewise explored the depths of beauty in the Chronicles of Narnia!
Fantastic! And, yes, that’s right! Share some more in that, Chuck. 🙏🤓
In the Chronicles, Lewis masterfully creates a world that ultimately points to something larger and deeper. At the end of “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” (Book 6) there is a scene where the children, Lucy, Edmund and Eustace meet a white (almost transfigured) lamb who has prepared a breakfast of cooked fish for them…”the most delicious food they have ever tasted,” which parallels the scene in John 21 where Jesus has prepared a similar “Eucharistic” breakfast meal for Peter and the other disciples. In the scene with the children, the lamb tells them that the way to Aslan’s world is through their own world, as he transforms himself into Aslan. Lucy asks Aslan how to get to his country from their world, and he says “I shall be telling you all the time,” and that from now on, they will know him, but by another name in their world. The reason the children were brought to Narnia, Aslan tells them, was “that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.” The first time I read the Chronicles was as an adult, but after reading them, I felt as if I saw my relationship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit as something even more deep and wonderful and beautiful!
Yes, beauty is the radiance of being!
That’s my favorite definition—but I’m working on a new one. 😉
Cheering you on and forward from the Blue Ridge. May your tribe increase!
Yeah! Thank you! I gotta get up there. The soul needs it.
Oh Tim! This moves me in so many ways. You know how when Holy Spirit wants to move you into some new ground all of a sudden it seems like the whole world is talking about that very thing? This has been the subject of true Beauty for me lately.
Which is (of course) very timely in my life. Because my family and I just moved into our new house (that we built) a couple of weeks ago and I am shifting from a season of building the practical to a season of building the beautiful. And I’m bumping up against ghosts of my past.
Not only was I raised in a church that was suspect of beauty (at best,) but my mom was that… but even more.
She died when I was 16, so I’m struggling to name what and why she was with beauty. I never heard her say “Beauty is evil,” but I also never once saw her pick flowers to go on the table- even tho we had plenty of wildflowers growing on our land, including lilacs- *lilacs* I tell you!
So it has been an act of resistance -thank you for that language- to intentionally spend time and money and thought on making our home beautiful.
Thank you, thank you for this revelation of the importance of beauty.
I would love to hear more of your thoughts- maybe in a future post?- on the difference between prettiness and goodness in interior design.
I’d love to hear Tim’s thoughts on this too! I have been on a journey discovering the difference also.
In my digging, I have discovered the treasure of decorating a home slowly, within our means. Being content with how things are now, but still having a vision for how things could be improved, and knowing that God provides what we need.
For example, after getting quotes for bathroom renovations, I felt God say not to renovate them, but to fix what we had. A year later we had a water leak while on holidays under one of the sinks (which was a multiple miracle kind of story in itself because it was found within a few hours and didn’t end up flooding the whole house, only two rooms) so the old, worn bathroom vanity had to be replaced by insurance, along with some other things. Not renovated, just made new.
I’d like to think that when we lean towards goodness, in honouring God, and not just focusing on prettiness, that the things that surround us have greater depth, stories of grace, and the hand of God.
Oh I love this, (fellow) Sarah! And this is exactly where I am right now too. Bound within the limits of time and money in the decorating and yet still choosing to make things as beautiful as I can. And some of the things I think I’m going to keep long term. Like an “end table” I made to go by the recliner in my bedroom. I took three leftover ends of beams of varying height from us building the house and stood them up next to each other. With a few candles and a book or two of poetry, it looks lovely!
I love too what you said about things being beautiful because they are storied. That is our whole house! We had to build it on a very tight budget, so from some AC duct we found on the side of the road to the free multi colored OSB we used to cover what my husband playfully called his “shop of many colors,” our house and shop are full of stories. And while the walls aren’t perfectly flat, I love knowing that it’s because my 9 and 12 year olds were helping with the drywall mud.
You have to watch out for the Sarah’s! Ha! Here’s a fun fact: If you look at the etymology of the word ‘thrift’ you will find that it comes from the word ‘thrive’. I sometimes think of this when ‘making do’. I love how you can see all the stories of relationship and provision in your home! That is beauty!
Woah, no way! Thats so awesome. I love etymology… especially when it adds beauty to words, as in this case. Thank you for this!
Hi Tim, have you read "Reforesting Faith" by Matthew Sleeth?
PS I heard you enjoyed "Theo of Golden". Thanks
Beautiful
Not very impressed, I don’t think there’s a hard divide between the post and pre kantian view and the argument against aesthetic pleasure as a pleasure and judgment isn’t presented so much as desired to be intuited,I can’t really call this an essay but a feeling piece, should have framed this as a fictional characters recommendation in a story like Goethe’s confession of a beautiful soul (which recommends this same opinion in a better way.)
😮💨
That’s all.
Love love love this!!