This morning I read Mark Bertrand’s thought-provoking post at The Master’s Artist, and ever since my mind has been dancing around the importance of both logic and beauty to understanding Truth.
I believe in education–in studying philosophy, history, and theology to build a foundation for faith. But God is more than a slab of concrete. He’s singing mountains and hand-clapping trees. He’s wonder, awe, and majesty. If we try to know or explain God with logic alone, it’s like expecting feet of clay to jump high enough to reach the clouds. We’ll never get there without wings of imagination to span the gap. Beauty gives us those wings.
A lot of people think faith in Jesus is somehow anti-intellectual–a crutch for those who are too simple-minded to stand on their own two feet. As a result, many believers hesitate to speak up in a public forum. We let ridicule shame us into silence, and–it’s really quite amazing when you think about it–we exalt the opinions of mere men over the One who stretched out the sky and hung the moon amid a sea of shimmering stars. We forget the unspeakable freedom of forgiveness. We borrow rags to disguise our party clothes.
Logic has its place, but debate will go only so far in opening blind eyes to truth. Let them see Him in our art, in our music, in our lives–not because we’ve infused them with a blatant evangelical message, but because we’ve infused them with the beauty of our King.
I want to think, and I also want to fly. If you feel the same way, meet me in the clouds.