The Truth of beauty astounds me.
People are beautiful.
Beauty that is both within, but also outwardly aesthetic.
Aesthetics cannot be explained with rational understanding, which in and of itself holds beauty.
What makes a person, or anything, aetheticly pleasing?
Can you define the confines of what beauty is?
Is there an Absolute aesthetic, which if possessed makes something beautiful?
Or is aesthetics relitive to the veiwer?
If this it is defined by the viewer, and beauty expresses a Truth, is this Truth also relitive?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
29 comments:
From my knowledge, I do not think there is absolute aesthetic, and it is quite relative to individuals. However, I have never felt that Truth is sincerely relative in all aspects, we just want it to be relative so we can be correct.
This sort of question gets my mind running in circles. I may have just confused myself
That's good...
I would agree that Truth is not relative in all aspects and the is an Absolute Truth, but I believe that potientially our perspective of Truth is relative...
I believe that people were meant to be beautiful, we were made in the image of God. I think that we have pervert that beauty in order to exploit it, that action by man has screwed up our view on what is beautiful and what isn't.
I definitely want my children to hear that they are beautiful from me, but I want them to feel that are beautiful in God's eyes. The crazy thing is that any beauty we have is from God and that God is actively displaying His beauty through us.
We truly are his artwork but He is an active artist.
Beauty is absolute. However indviduals can sometimes fail to grasp this absolute truth (as is the case with many absolute truths)
first, i most closely agree with ryan so far. that said...
what is truth?
what is beauty?
if you don't define those then all the rest of the attempt at flowery language is pointless and a waste of time.
Travis-
I also agree with ryan...
I would say that i am posing the same questions that you are...i believe that beauty is extremely hard to define, i am not even sure if you can define it with words.
I would also say that I am refering to the Truth relating to God's Truth (the only Truth). Does God make this aspect of Truth relative to us in order to give us gifts that make us different from others (therefore causing the BEAUTY of diversity)? Is this a way of showing His love to us in a personal way?
Sunsets are beautiful. I am not sure that anyone would disagree. But there is still a possibility that someone out there hates them.
So what makes sunsets beautiful to us and not them?
I believe (i think) that the reason I believe sunsets are beautiful is because it expresses Truth to me.
What do you mean by flowery words?
Truth and beauty and other things like that seemed much simpler before I came to college and met you people. Thanks.
deuteronomy 8:10
explain for me?
i meant 8: 18, my bad
not sure where you are going with that...can you tell me a little ore and what you are referencing from the verse. thanks
hey man,
You always talk about not having much and giving up, and you make it seem like its not okay to have things, and have alot of money.
the verse talks about God giving us the power to be rich to fulfill his covenant. Now the verses before talks about all the abundance that he his willing to give us. he wants us to rely on him for all our needs.
so i just wanted know what you thought about the verse deut.8:18.
I fully believe that God will make us rich if he chooses too. But that does not mean that we are supposed to keep it all for ourselves. In 2 Corinthians 9:11, Paul writes that we will be made rich in everyway so that we may give generously on EVERY occasion.
The point of blessing Israel was so that they could bless the world and show them the heart of God.
Good question, but what does this have to do with Aesthetics though?
i totally agree with that. I believe that he will continue to bless us so that we can bless others, but what do you mean he chooses. his words says right there that he will make us rich. That IS HIS WILL. God doesnt favor people. He wants it for all of us if we beleive it and RECIEVE it. he gave is song so that we can have it all. Christ gave it all on the cross so we can live life abundantly through him.
How can you give if you dont have 2pennies to rub together.
Being homeless and without things, will not show the glory of God to poeple who dont have anytihng either. get what i am saying? i have talked to people who were poor and people who are, and telling them God wants them that way doesnt do them any good. God wants to bring them up and out of poverty, not keep them there.
Gods wants us to be prosperous, we just need to recieve the free Gift he has given us. Christ wasnt poor here on earth because God provided everything for him including money! Thats what he wants for us.
haha it doesnt, i responded to the wrong blog. sorry man.
my response to anonymous
What about Jesus? Was Jesus Rich? If God gave Jesus Wealth and Power in what manner was Jesus given Wealth and Power?
If Jesus is the fulfilling of the covenants than what you say is true, but our limited imagination on the poetics of scripture is lacking. I'll tell you right now I don't know what Dueteronomy 8:18 means. I'm not a Jew and am not versed well in the previous 4 books, or for that matter a Hebrew speaker at all.
Tyler,
Beauty is good. It's pretty. I was going to write something, but instead I'm going to look out my window and listen to some music.
I guess I agree that God wants us all to be prosperous. But the idea that he wants all Christians to be wealthy is absurd. The hope that we offer those who are in poverty is not that Christ will bring them out of it, but that he will be with them in the midst of their poverty.
Anonymous-
I guess I have to say I disagree with you.
On the topic of being homeless and without things won't show the Glory of God, I totally disagree with you...sorry. I know a lot of Homeless people that bring Glory to God everyday they are alive because they know that they don't need STUFF to make them happy, only God. I am definatly not say you have to be homeless, poor or in poverty to be a christian, but Christ did not die so that we can be rich. That is a discusting and distorted image of the God I serve.
Joe-good thoughts man...I love beauty...
joe explain this.
Christ had a Treasurer, i dont think a poor person would need a Treasurer, and his Treasurer stole from him and he knew Judas would steal from him, and he still allowed him to look after his money.
also, when Christ needed money, he had people go fetch him fish and it had money in its mouth, so Christ could pay taxes. Im going to be a person that believes if I am in a money rut i can call on him to supply me, and his word says he will.
Also, people gambled on his robe after he died. If he was wearing rags, i dont think people would gamble on them.
Whatever jesus needed God provided, to me being poor is having lack of and that for God to provide all doesnt make him poor.
Last thing,people always use this scripture "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." but if you read the 50 verses before it, it talks about christ on his way to Jerusalem and he stopped in a town and they rejected him and then someone stopped him while on his way to the city and said to them that he had no place to lay his head, which would be a true statment, he didnt have a place to lay his head that night.
Daniel,that didnt even make sense. In the Bible when Christ saw people, he didnt say im here to give you life but stay sick and poor miserable and without hope. No he said follow me, my father will provide and take care of you like he has for me. My mom grew up dirt poor and she told me if someone came to her and said, God loves you and he wants you to stay in poverty she wouldnt want to follow their God. But a Chruch came to her house and invited her and Loved her and told her that God wants the best for her, and that Jesus Loves her more then anythng, that she is his beloved, and to tell someone that God isnt here to get them out of poverty but is there to be with them in the midst of povery is a distorted image of the God I serve, and it makes me sad.
And Tyler, I wasnt saying that its all about having money and things, and that people need those things to make them happy, you took that way out of context to what i said. I was saying that God gave his Son, the one thing that meant the most to him, so we can have life and life ABUNDANTLY! now what is Abundantly,i know it doesnt mean LACK OF, hes not going to say here i gave my son, but i dont want you to have anything. If you want to believe that having things is wrong, and you feel gulity then fine but you cant say those things and not live by it. If we are to be Christlike and he was "poor" then why are you going to a 20,000 dollar school?
Desiring money is never good, its okay to own things as long as they dont own you. people who are poor desire money just as much as people with money. So No matter if your poor, in the middle, or wealthy, if they dont have Jesus, none of it matters.
but really i dont want to argue anymore.
but thanks for listening to my views though!
Anonymous-
i don't think that anyone, including myself, has said that God doesn't provide...that is kinda our point. He does provide! I would still have to disagree with some of your findings and the context you speak from some of the time.
Why does an abundant life have to mean money?
I didn't think we were arguing...but
One more thing...
Please don't call me out about going to a 20,000 dollar school when I am not paying for it, God is. I was not going to be able to come back this year because I have strong convictions about going to a really expensive school and taking out loans. But God provided the exact amount for me to come back. In addition I am married, which means I am only paying $3,000 to go to school this year. I am humbly seeking, through the amazing Grace of the Father, to live a simple life.
I respect your opinions, but why are you posting them anonymous? just a question...
so God does provide you with money? i like i said if you want to live a simple life, thats your decision, just dont look down on others who have many things.
And im Glad God provided for you to come to school and your getting a good college eduation.
anywho, good talking, i got more feed back then i thought i would. lol i shall see you around.
oh and im anonymous because i dont think you need to know who i am.
I dont look down on people for having money...I do however pray that the spirit would move them (as well as myself)to give to those in need. I am fully aware that God does give people money, even a lot of it at times, but i am gonna stick to the biblical principle of if i have, and you don't...here is some of mine. I am not perfect at this in any way, none of us are.
check out 1 John 3:17-
If anyone has material possessions and see's a brother that is in need, but does not give to him, how can he have the Love of God in him?
This isn't about arguments.
It is not about who is "simpler".
It is following our Savior to the cross.
If you don't feel comfortable telling me who you are, then I deeply apologize for making you feel like i would look down on you.
Forgive me.
Anonymous, my point was as many have already said, prosperous does not mean wealthy.
There were many that Christ did not heal (ex. his hometown Luke 4) He did not end the poverty. He did not end disease or sickness, not even for all those that believed in him. I think quite often Jesus chooses to work by fixing the situation, or healing the person, but sometimes he chooses to give peace to someone despite their infirmity or situation.
I don't see how this was an argument. Why can't Christians discuss biblical issues with one another without arguing? Maybe if more people would choose to continue the discussion and dialogue there would be less denominational barriers within the Church.
Dan, I agree with you 100%!
I also didn't think that this was an argument...discussion is so absent in the church.
Let redemption come.
To anonymous....
I don't quite understand what you are saying about prospering. Are you saying that to prosper we must have money? To be provided for we must never be hungry? To be taken care of we must make sure we have the money to buy clothes and shelter and food? Because I don't think that scripture would back that up.
Matthew 6:25-34
Do Not Worry
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[a]?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
What I see in this is telling me that I should not worry about the possessions i will have, or what I will eat. Because God will provide these for me. When I think of what I have, I am blessed by what I see. But is what I have really anything? Do I own it? Money as well, is it mine to begin with? I don't see anything that has to do with money as mine, it's been loaned to me and I will not have it for long. So why must I worry about prospering monetarily? Does it matter if I have a nice luxury car or a ford escort, do they both run and get me from A to B? Does it matter the clothes I wear, jeans that cost $50 or jeans that cost $10? Why do I need to prosper and have nice things? What do these nice things say about me? If I have the money to buy all of these things for me, could I not get something less expensive and share the experience of being clothed or the feeling of being satisfied by food? What will I be asked when I am judged when I die?
Matthew 25:31-46
The Sheep and the Goats
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
I think it is clearly stated that all I have is not mine, but to be shared with those around me. The Kingdom of God is Love to the fullest, and how can I love like this when I worry about prospering monetarily?
If you took the time to read this, thank you.
After throughly reading the first few blogs on here,I now understand why we will always be going in circles with all of this. I don't have to look for absolute truth, I know where it is - The Bible and I am going to rely on the Holy Spirit to reveal more and more of His Word to me.(just as He taught Paul). Thanks for the interesting dialog but I'm just going to keep enjoying all the blessings my Heavenly Father has given me, and taking those blessings and blessing others who are in need. I can appreciate that believing the way you do makes you happy but I hope that you can see that believing that God prospers me in all areas of my life makes me happy. It is why I love all the names of God it tells me who He is to me. I love having a Heavenly Father who takes care of my spirit, soul, snd body. Paul says I am a citizen of heaven and I am going to live like one, but I am also going to share with others that in Christ they too have that same right. It's why the prodical son story is so cool. Man, look at how the father treats the prodical son when he comes home. I know there is responsibility that goes along with blessings. I will do my best and be a wise steward over all that God gives me and give Him all the glory for it As I said before, my parents have taught me that giving to the poor is more than just taking care of their physical needs, it is about sharing with them Who Jesus is and what He came to do for all of us. Matthew 11:5 shows us some of the things Christ came to do, sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, cleansing to the lepers, walking to the lame, life to the dead, gospel to the poor-what would be good news to the poor? He couldn't have just been talking about salvation only for the poor, because He came to save the blind, the lame, the deaf, etc... all of them. When you look at that scripture in context, it is a scripture full of opposites. Isaiah had prophesied what Christ would be to us. He came to set the captives free. Again thanks for the interesting dialog.
I completely agree that God promises to supply our needs both spiritual, financial and physical, but if you look at scripture there are obviously exceptions to that promise. Paul says that he learned to be content whether he had a lot or little. God protects people, but, Paul, all 12 except John and Stephen were martyrs (to name just a few). Their hope was that even if God chose not to take care of their situation that time that he was sovereign and that they were ok with his will. And your welcome for the dialogue its one of my favorite things to do.
Anonymous-
Why do you continue to act like everyone on here is saying you have to be poor to be a christian. No one has said that. I believe Alex hit it dead on, If i can have a $50 pair of pants, but by a $10 pair instead so that I may bless others with my blessings from God, than that is a good thing to do.
"I don't have to look for absolute truth, I know where it is - The Bible and I am going to rely on the Holy Spirit to reveal more and more of His Word to me."
not sure what you are getting at here, did someone say the contrary?
Anonymous said, "Also, people gambled on his robe after he died. If he was wearing rags, i dont think people would gamble on them." I was studying for the Good Friday service my youth group back home is doing and happened to read this:
1Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face.
Nothing conclusive, but I thought it was interesting that the robe the soldiers gambled on might not even have been Jesus'.
Post a Comment