Why do I believe in the God of Jesus Christ? Many reasons, one of which is the sense that the experience of beauty on earth corresponds to existence of another reality. That reality both creating beauty and offering the fulfilment of the aching desire that beauty creates. There is correspondence between earth and heaven where God with Christ is beginning and end, alpha and omega, first and last.
Last night the grab factor which beauty has - grabbing us through our senses and transporting us out of the ordinary - took hold of me when in the midst of a very fine Carols and Lessons service, one of the musical parts was a recording of Unto us a Child is Born from Handel's Messiah. The extraordinary beauty of the music hit me - again as if for the first time - and reminded me of one of the reasons I am not an atheist!
Here is a recording - I think it better without distracting video of singers and musicians:
Of course just about any part of the Messiah does this particular trick of transporting to heaven!
Linked to this is "the argument from desire", wonderfully expressed by C. S. Lewis in "The Weight of glory". I think it was Doestoevsky who said "The world will be saved by beauty" - very Orthodox and neo-Platonic!
ReplyDeleteAnd this dyed-in-the-wool Protestant always remembers the beauty of the Virgin Mary at this time of year.
Al M.