Reasons to Believe, Part One: Beauty

This is the first in a series of posts about why one should accept that God exists. There are many reasons for believing.

Beauty is the first one I'll address. But before we begin, let's first form a clear idea of what beauty means. Dictionary.com lists more than one description: 1. The quality that gives pleasure to the mind or senses and is associated with such properties as harmony of form or color, excellence of artistry, truthfulness, and originality. 2. A quality or feature that is most effective, gratifying, or telling. 3. An assemblage or graces or properties pleasing to the eye, the ear, the intellect, the aesthetic faculty, or the moral sense.

Going a step further, here's my own supplemental definition: Beauty is a recognition of the innate value of a person, place, thing, or idea. This value may stem from its physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, or moral characteristics. Not only is it an acknowledgement of this worth, but an admiration of it.

Now that definitions are out of the way, there are two universal truths worthy of mention. 1. We all accept that beauty exists. 2. We all share a common understanding of what the term means.

This even accounts for individual taste. Let me elucidate. You may find a particular woman beautiful, while I see her as merely pretty. Our individual perceptions differ, since that is the nature of individualism. These preferences are partially inborn, and partially molded by our environments and experiences. Yet, whereas we may part ways in what we find beautfiul, both of us accept beauty's existence, and share a basic awareness of its essence.

So, if everyone believes in beauty, and understands what the word means, then why does it exist? What purpose does it serve?

Personally, I think the concept makes no sense apart from God. Beauty is unnecessary for survival. In a cold, utilitarian world peopled with creatures transmogrified and "uplifted" by evolution, such a construct is useless. And let me head off a couple of naturalistic arguments up front. You may ask: "But isn't it possible that beauty is used by nature as a means of bringing together opposite sexes for propagation?" My answer is no, for two reasons. First, animals pair and breed out of an instinctual need--not because they find each other physically attractive and admire each others' beauty. So nature has proven that propagation occurs in spite of a lack of beauty's awareness. Second, if this is beauty's purpose, why do we find it in situations and objects that have no relation to reproduction?

Another inquiry might run along these lines: "Isn't it possible that beauty is nature's way of making living organisms happy and productive to their ecosystems?" Again, my answer is a resounding "No." Why? Because human beings are the only living organisms on planet earth capable of recognizing and celebrating beauty. If you've noticed, the line of reasoning in the above two questions reveals an anthropomorphizing of nature--its personification, if you will. Or perhaps a better term would be my own invented one--deiopomorphizing--ascribing godlike powers to nature. If nature is a living, thinking entity, capable of making decisions and judgements, this comes very close to an acceptance of God. I find such a belief a grasping at straws--a willingness to believe anything, except that there is an almighty God who holds us responsible for our actions and has a plan for our lives.

This leaves us with the Christian explanation for beauty--the one which I embrace. Beauty exists because we are creatures capable of recognizing it. Its presence makes life more interesting and thrilling. God created us in his image; and clearly he revels in the beauty of his creation. Thus, being like Him in many ways (though pale imitations of His majesty) we, too, find zest in beauty's evocation. I stand in awe at God's genious. Isn't it amazing that we reside on a planet where things grow and breathe and move that we just happen to find beautiful? How is it that our discernment of beauty precisely coincides with all that the earth has to offer our senses? Coincidence? A result of random natural processes? The product of an atheistic evolution? I think not. I find this more fantastic than the simple acceptance that God is real, and we are His creation. Our experiences and senses point toward such a conclusion.

Watch the moon's silver crescent as it slices the vault of heaven. Admire golden waves of wheat lapping at a roadside. Feel the inward rush of breath at the thought of what lies beyond that green hillside or cloud-haloed mountain. Bask in a new morning's sunrise, or thrill to the salmon skies of a glorious sunset. Find appreciation in a poem or a melody, the warble of a songbird, or the twinkling eyes of a child. Get lost in the wonder of life, and know that God created you to enjoy such experiences, just as He enjoys them, Himself.