God’s Aesthetic Delight
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“God doesn’t change in response to what he sees…. Yet creation and people bring real delight to God. God delights in the good, the true, and the beautiful.” - TGC
Graced Imagination: Recovering True Creativity in the Age of Authenticity
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“Why does art (real, beautiful art, not just self-expression) matter to the renewal of our culture? Why do most people who visit Princeton University’s campus think that the Gothic chapel is objectively more beautiful than the new art museum, which reminds some viewers of a portable air conditioner hanging out of a window?” - Public Discourse
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Beauty Everywhere, Even Online
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“Watching others captivated by the wonder of simply seeing or hearing is a powerful statement on the goodness of God’s world.” - Breakpoint
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The Fierce Reality of Beauty: On Margarita Mooney Clayton’s “The Wounds of Beauty”
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“To illustrate, Gioia appeals to Christ’s crucifixion: ‘Christ’s sacrifice is beautiful—it reveals through Jesus’ pain the shape of God’s design for human redemption. It reveals those secrets not despite the pain but through it.’” - Law & Liberty
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Steve DeWitt's ‘Enjoying God in Everything: A Guide to Maximizing Life’s Pleasures’
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“because it’s so universally beautiful and utterly unnecessary, true beauty is always an apologetic for God. Here are 20 of my favorite quotes from DeWitt’s book.” - TGC
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Is It Selfish to Spend Money on Home Decor?
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“The first shared activity for the freed slaves was the construction of the tabernacle—a community art project!” - TGC
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“Forget what Disney's up to now, your children don't need TV or internet at all.”
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“The hard truth is that my principal objection to virtually all children’s entertainment made in the last decade or so … is that it is ugly. This is not a negligible consideration.” - TAC
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Cheapening the Western Musical Tradition: Some Thoughts Inspired by Theodore Gioia and Andy Crouch
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“Andy Crouch, in his excellent book, Culture Making, ties the Western classical tradition to the creation blessing/mandate of Genesis 1.
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Good Heavens: Apprehending Nature's Beauty
Minnesotans joke about nature’s two seasons in these parts: winter and road construction. Fair enough; but head off road during repair season and you discover a state rich in natural treasures. Not the least of these is what we affectionately call the “North Shore” of Lake Superior. The beauty of this haunting, ever-changing body of water, with its rugged shoreline and untamed hinterland, is spellbinding.
A recent family trip located me on a secluded balcony high above the waves that lashed the rocky, Superior shoreline below. The evening air was warm and fresh—the kind of air so satisfying you seem to drink it as much as breathe it.
Looking out over the lake just after sunset, darkness shrouded the distinction between water and sky and between water and land. That period of gloom, just before the rising moon and starry hosts illumine the night, veiled the natural wonders before me like a curtain—a dramatic pause anticipating the show that was about to begin.
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