I was browsing around Barnes and Noble last night with my wife when I spotted the title "The Beauty of Holiness" on the cover of a periodical entitled "Chronicles". It caught my attention because I am increasingly convinced of the vital connection between truth and beauty, between theology and aesthetics, between the glory of God and the glory of created order. These are connections we seem to have all but lost track of as the Church over the last few centuries.
Those of you who know me well, know I am prone to give Thomas Kincade crap from time to time. It's nothing against Thomas personally, I guess, it's just that his art is so darn bad. And not bad as in good. Bad as in ugly. Normally I wouldn't go out of my way to draw attention to bad art. There is afterall a lot of it out there. But TK goes out of his way to connect his syrupy, treacle to the Christian faith. And I can not let this slide without comment. Bad art is bad religion. (I think Rookmaker said that). Kincaid's paintings are so self consciously untrue in what they communicate, I'll stop just short of labeling what he does "sin". I have taken a lot of heat for comparing his paintings to pornography. Yes, I'm serious. It's nothing against Kincaid personally, and his work is not worse that much of what is out there under the guise "Christian art". It just happens to be the most popular. But I will continue to insist that aesthetics is a moral issue. Or perhaps aesthetics and morality are subsets of the same over arching category: Shalome. Either way, bad art disrupts Shalome. (Shalome, according to theologian Cornelius Plantinga, can be understood as "the way things ought to be").
Unfortuantely, the Church (especially the Evangelical church in the West) has contributed to this vandalism of aesthetic Shalome in a number of ways, (and we simply don't have room in this post to address the train wreck called "Christian Contemporary Music") but one way we continue to offend is with poor architectural design of our places of worship. Churches should not be ugly. They should be beautiful.
Thomas Fleming agrees. Check out these excerpts from his article then go buy the magazine:
During the Renaissance and Enlightenment, magnificent churches were constructed, and even if I sometimes deplore the taste and spiritual formation of the builders, I have to admire the splendor. Even in the spiritually bankrupt 19th century, people demanded something more than mere utility in church architecture... these poor souls wanted to adore their Creator in a building that no one could confuse with a factory or grain silo. Then what the Hell has happened?
Obviously Christians can worship in a barn or in a sewer, but , given the choice and resources, any normal person would prefer to worship in "the beauty of holiness".
-That's just your opinion. Haven't you ever heard that beauty is in the eye of the beholder?
I'd rather to find it in the eye of the storm. "There's beauty in the bellow of the blast- and grandeur in the growling of a gale." Terror is apart of grandeur... "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," but what sort of fear or awe is inspired by light woods, soft carpet, and the reassuring comercial ambiance of the contemporary mall-church, wether Protestant or Catholic?
Then Fleming goes on to argue that the 19th century witenssed the rise and fall of aestheticism as an alternative to Christianity. he says we walked away from "the beauty of holiness" and pursued the "holiness of beauty" instead. When Richard Wagner composed Parsifal, a Christian themed opera, it was too much to handle for his Christophobic friend, Friedrich Nietzsche who hated the work "because he admired and feared it". Nietzsche said "It was as if someone were speaking to me again, after many years, about the problems that disturb me- naturally not supplying the answers I would give, but the Christian answer, which afterall has been the answer of stronger souls than the last two centuries of our era have produced".
Fleming writes,
This then is the reason why Tel Aviv is so ugly, and why Moscow and Detroit are (for the most part) ugly... We of the Modern Age have not accidentally stumbled into ugliness; we have embraced it the way a married man embraces an ugly prostitute. We hate beauty because we hate the Source of beauty, and in deliberately building ugly churches, we are betraying our true allegience, which is not to God or even to Mammon. But, sursum corda: There is nothing wrong with modern churches that a fleet of FEMA bulldozers cannot fix.
A couple of years ago a friend and I were having coffee at a local coffee house that just happens to be down the street from an abortion clinic where Christians were picketing and across the street from the ugliest, electric blue office building with some sort of odd, decorative silver scaffolding pasted all over the facade. My friend (who is not a part of any church) and I were discussing the merits and follies of Christian picketing when he (a graphic designer by trade) suggested that perhaps my church should get some signs and picket the ugly office building across the street. Our signs would say "DOWN WITH UGLY!" We had a good laugh. But you know... I think we were on to something. Unfortunately, the place our protest should begin is with our own churches that disregard aesthetics as a sign of our own disregard for the Source of beauty.
Down with ugly, indeed.
29.12.05
Puppet Show Tonight!
You guys all missed a fantastic puppet show at the ol' Funky P homestead this evening. It was called "The Saving of the Dragon" and was about, not the dragon being saved, but rather about the salvation the dragon brought to all the Kingdom by defeating the devil and his three demonic helpers who looked remarkably like little pigs.
It is a well known fact...
that the only way to purge a blog from the lingering effects of Hasselhoff infection is by frequent and regular references to Johnny Cash.
This is how tough Johnny Cash is...
Johnny Cash only wears black, but not because he's so tough. It's that black is the only color tough enough not to run screaming in fear when Johnny enters the room. And even black is a little uneasy. If it weren't for the color black, Johnny Cash would have to be naked most of the time.
This is how tough Johhny Cash is...
I know most of you won't believe me, but I thought of this in my sleep last night. True.
Johnny Cash is so tough that once, back in the 60's he was doing drugs and he accidentally did all the drugs. In the world. This angered a bunch of central American drug cartells who went out of business as a result so they came to Nashville and shot Johnny Cash in the face. Johnny caught the bullet in his teeth and chewed on it for a few seconds. Then he pulled it out of his mouth like dental floss. As the drug cartells and various other onlookers stared in amazement he used the wire to restring his guitar, and spontanteoulsy wrote and performed the song "A Boy Named Sue" which sounded so good it made the drug cartells cry. And everybody knows drug cartells NEVER cry. Then Johhny Cash kicked them all in the teeth and became presdent of the united states.
Johnny Cash is so tough that once, back in the 60's he was doing drugs and he accidentally did all the drugs. In the world. This angered a bunch of central American drug cartells who went out of business as a result so they came to Nashville and shot Johnny Cash in the face. Johnny caught the bullet in his teeth and chewed on it for a few seconds. Then he pulled it out of his mouth like dental floss. As the drug cartells and various other onlookers stared in amazement he used the wire to restring his guitar, and spontanteoulsy wrote and performed the song "A Boy Named Sue" which sounded so good it made the drug cartells cry. And everybody knows drug cartells NEVER cry. Then Johhny Cash kicked them all in the teeth and became presdent of the united states.
28.12.05
27.12.05
SCANDALHOFF!
Dear readers,
I regret to inform you that this blog must once again undergo a change in nomenclature.
As the photo at the right clearly indicates, Mr. Hasselhoff's love for puppies is neither innocent, nor masculine. In fact, the image is evidence of very disturbing developments for admirers of both Hasselhoff and k-9s.
This discovery comes as an especially hard blow for those of us who've come to follow Hasselhoff so devoutly over the last few days, through the operation of this online publication. I am sure you share in the grief, shock and general feelings of ickiness, we here at the FP are experiencing.
Please don't allow this to shake your faith in mankind.
Now I'm gonna go take a shower. With bleach. And steel wool.
I regret to inform you that this blog must once again undergo a change in nomenclature.
As the photo at the right clearly indicates, Mr. Hasselhoff's love for puppies is neither innocent, nor masculine. In fact, the image is evidence of very disturbing developments for admirers of both Hasselhoff and k-9s.
This discovery comes as an especially hard blow for those of us who've come to follow Hasselhoff so devoutly over the last few days, through the operation of this online publication. I am sure you share in the grief, shock and general feelings of ickiness, we here at the FP are experiencing.
Please don't allow this to shake your faith in mankind.
Now I'm gonna go take a shower. With bleach. And steel wool.
25.12.05
Christmas Morning 2005
Sam is a little under the weather. He cried all night long. No one got any sleep. Which is why mommy looks drunk. She's just very tired.
Christmas Morning 2005
Jack wanted Play Doh for Christmas. At a buck ninety seven for a four pack, you really can't beat it. And no, that's not all he got.
24.12.05
Rearrange the Letters
DORMITORY
When you rearrange the letters:
DIRTY ROOM
PRESBYTERIAN
When you rearrange the letters:
BEST IN PRAYER
DESPERATION
When you rearrange the letters:
A ROPE ENDS IT
GEORGE BUSH
When you rearrange the letters:
HE BUGS GORE
THE MORSE CODE
When you rearrange the letters:
HERE COME DOTS
SLOT MACHINES
When you rearrange the letters:
CASH LOST IN ME
ANIMOSITY
When you rearrange the letters:
IS NO AMITY
MOTHER-IN-LAW
When you rearrange the letters:
WOMAN HITLER
SNOOZE ALARMS
When you rearrange the letters:
ALAS! NO MORE Z 'S
A DECIMAL POINT
When you rearrange the letters:
IM A DOT IN PLACE
THE EARTHQUAKES
When you rearrange the letters:
THAT QUEER SHAKE
ELEVEN PLUS TWO
When you rearrange the letters:
TWELVE PLUS ONE
When you rearrange the letters:
DIRTY ROOM
PRESBYTERIAN
When you rearrange the letters:
BEST IN PRAYER
DESPERATION
When you rearrange the letters:
A ROPE ENDS IT
GEORGE BUSH
When you rearrange the letters:
HE BUGS GORE
THE MORSE CODE
When you rearrange the letters:
HERE COME DOTS
SLOT MACHINES
When you rearrange the letters:
CASH LOST IN ME
ANIMOSITY
When you rearrange the letters:
IS NO AMITY
MOTHER-IN-LAW
When you rearrange the letters:
WOMAN HITLER
SNOOZE ALARMS
When you rearrange the letters:
ALAS! NO MORE Z 'S
A DECIMAL POINT
When you rearrange the letters:
IM A DOT IN PLACE
THE EARTHQUAKES
When you rearrange the letters:
THAT QUEER SHAKE
ELEVEN PLUS TWO
When you rearrange the letters:
TWELVE PLUS ONE
23.12.05
Don't fear the Hasselhoff.
Hasselhoff is not to be feared. Hasselhoff uses his powers only for good. Hasselhoff's gentle masculinity is demonstrated by his renowned rapport with mother nature's four legged friends. Hasselhoff loves puppies.
Hasselhoff!
Hasselhoff!
Blog change:
Due to the recent controversy concerning all things Funky and Presbyterian, Funky presbyterian had been changed to a more harmonious purpose. The name of the blog changed as well, to Jesus Loves Kittens. This new blog was devoted to the non-denominatinal celebration of kittens, somthing I thought we all could agree upon.
Unfortunately I was less than thoughtful in my new choice. With characteristically insensitive ham-handedness, I overlooked the small, yet significant portion of our readership which is offended by kittens. In addition, I am aware that there are also those (though less vocal than the anti-feline contingent) who may be offended by mention of Jesus. So as not to continue offense, Jesus Loves Kittens is undergoing another change.
Jesus is being removed from the title of the blog and in his place our readers will find David Hasselhoff, the much less controversial and more clean shaven of the two. In addition, kittens will no longer be the focus of the blog, but rather puppies. As it has been pointed out, one reader of this blog hates puppies. Therefore, the focus of the blog will not be to celebrate puppies, but rather the celebration of David Hasselhoff's love for puppies. While not all of us may not love puppies, certainly we can celebrate the fact that David Hasselhoff has found great joy in their company and companionship.
I thank you for your patience and continued readership.
Hasselhoff!
Unfortunately I was less than thoughtful in my new choice. With characteristically insensitive ham-handedness, I overlooked the small, yet significant portion of our readership which is offended by kittens. In addition, I am aware that there are also those (though less vocal than the anti-feline contingent) who may be offended by mention of Jesus. So as not to continue offense, Jesus Loves Kittens is undergoing another change.
Jesus is being removed from the title of the blog and in his place our readers will find David Hasselhoff, the much less controversial and more clean shaven of the two. In addition, kittens will no longer be the focus of the blog, but rather puppies. As it has been pointed out, one reader of this blog hates puppies. Therefore, the focus of the blog will not be to celebrate puppies, but rather the celebration of David Hasselhoff's love for puppies. While not all of us may not love puppies, certainly we can celebrate the fact that David Hasselhoff has found great joy in their company and companionship.
I thank you for your patience and continued readership.
Hasselhoff!
Happy Birthday, Rae!
Rae! You didn't tell me it was your birthday this month. You'd have had a cake or a mix cd or something! I'll get you a belated mix cd.
A mix cd performed entirely by kittens.
A mix cd performed entirely by kittens.
No Creed But Kittens.
Until further notice this blog will address topics neither funky nor presbyterian.
It seems in recent days, the Funky Presbyterian has been alienating people with it's unique blend of humor, music, and theological content. Because the Funky Presbyterian loves everyone and wishes to be a catalyst for peace and harmony in the world, we are hence forth abandoning the coverage of all things funny, funky and Presbyterian.
Instead, my readers will be please to find I have chosen a topic for my blog that should be entirely nonoffensive, nondenominational, and nonhumorous.
This blog is now called "Jesus loves kittens". It is a broadly Christian and non-demoninational celebration of kittens.
Thank you for your continued support.
It seems in recent days, the Funky Presbyterian has been alienating people with it's unique blend of humor, music, and theological content. Because the Funky Presbyterian loves everyone and wishes to be a catalyst for peace and harmony in the world, we are hence forth abandoning the coverage of all things funny, funky and Presbyterian.
Instead, my readers will be please to find I have chosen a topic for my blog that should be entirely nonoffensive, nondenominational, and nonhumorous.
This blog is now called "Jesus loves kittens". It is a broadly Christian and non-demoninational celebration of kittens.
Thank you for your continued support.
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