Faculty Mailbag: What Is the Role of Beauty in the Life of a Christian?
In the fall issue of Transform Magazine, we invited Western Seminary students and alumni to submit questions about theology, the Bible, or ministry to our faculty. Here’s what our professors had to say…
Lately, I have been thinking about the transcendentals, goodness, beauty and truth. I wonder, what role does and should beauty have in the life of a Christian?
- Elizabeth G.
Our world brims with beauty because God is beautiful. Nothing is more intrinsically glorious than our Triune God. And he has created a world that reflects the wonder of who he is. Even in a fallen cosmos, beauty is a signpost that points us to the reality of a Beautiful God, who has engineered a mysterious plan of redemption. Consequently, beauty is central to the Way of Jesus. For instance, Augustine once wrote that sermons ought to be crafted to delight their listeners. He understood that beautiful truths deserve to be articulated with artistry.
We should labor to ensure our churches are outposts of beauty amid the rubble of our darkened world. And as we do, we experience the beautifully mysterious plot twist at the heart of Christianity: The Place of the Skull becomes the Place of Hope. And the blood-stained cross becomes the most haunting symbol of beauty the world has ever known.
- Stephen Stallard, PhD , Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry
For bi-vocational preachers, what are the top recommended resources for sermon prep? (Thinking here of people who don't have a lot of time to prep and also may not have a lot of money.)
- Barry W.
As a bi-vocational preacher, one technique which is most helpful for me is to release myself from any internal expectations of entertaining, amusing, or impressing the congregation. In my study, I prioritize focusing on the beauty of Jesus, allowing the Holy Spirit to first move in me before He moves through me, and exegeting both the Text and the congregation. Trying to be funny, impressive, use great visuals, or creating elaborate PowerPoint slides takes far too much time and has not usually resulted in more faithful preaching. In this way, I find it less about finding the perfect "resource" (though keeping a few trusted commentaries is helpful), and more about the disposition of the preacher.
- Jeremiah L. Peck, PhD, Assistant Professor of Counseling
Is the lifespan of some of the people in Genesis (e.g. Methuselah) accurate or is it part of a literary technique to emphasize something about the person?
- Matt C.
This is a good question. If we look at the current life spans of humans and assume that it has been this way for all time, we would be led to conclude that the biblical text is true in Psalm 90:10 (70 or 80 years) and that Genesis is not reporting true history. But if we look at Jesus and his apostles, they considered Genesis to be reporting the truth.
We see that Jesus appeals to the historicity of in Genesis in Matthew 19:4-6 and Matthew 24:38-39. More relevantly, we see that the apostle Paul took Genesis at face value when he reported Abraham's age in Romans 4:19. So, if the Bible is authoritative and we have no textual evidence that the reported lifespans in Genesis were to be taken any other way than at face value, we must conclude that these lifespans are accurate.
Rather than challenge the biblical text, we should probably challenge our assumption that the lifespans of humans have always been the same. Furthermore, we do see that the lifespans of humans do change drastically after a very pivotal event: The Flood. If the atmosphere of the earth changed after the Flood, it does coincide with lifespans getting gradually shorter.
- Daniel K. Eng, DMin, PhD, Assistant Professor of New Testament Language and Literature
What are we supposed to do with 2 Kings 2:23-25? It doesn't sit very well knowing a man of God was able to summon a bear to maul children.
- Alexis G.
To understand this story, we have to understand the larger story of the Bible. Elisha had just succeeded Elijah as the main prophet in Israel. His role was to represent the Lord to Israel and call people back to the faithfulness of God’s covenant in a time when idolatry and rebellion were widespread. The lack of respect for God’s prophet, demonstrated by the mocking of the prophet by these youth, is just one illustration of this. The youngsters were mocking the prophet based on his appearance, calling him baldhead.
In ancient Near Eastern culture, shaving or the cutting of hair was often connected with mourning and penitence. Baldness or premature hair loss might also be viewed as a lack of vitality or virility. As Elijah and his successor Elisha were well known in Israel, it is most likely that the youths’ mockery was also illustrating their lack of respect for the office of the prophets, in fact, defying God’s authority, at a time when those prophets tried to call God’s people back to covenant faithfulness. We had already seen this lack of respect for the prophets in 2 Kings 1:9ff, when the soldiers ordered Elijah to come down from the mountain.
Some scholars have suggested that the command “Go up,” was referencing Elijah being taken up into heaven and expressed that Elisha would vanish just like Elijah, i.e., we wish you were gone too. By mocking the prophet, these youngsters also derided God, and God’s justice and judgment sometimes bring severe judgment on God’s people. While this judgment might look harsh to us modern readers, it is a clear sign that God will not be mocked, either directly or by the mocking of his servants.
The God of the Bible is a holy, just, and gracious God. While sin has clear consequences, God is always ready to forgive and show mercy, but at times, God’s people often presume on God’s mercy and grace. The quick judgment of these youngsters demonstrates the seriousness of sin, i.e., sin has real consequences. While the punishment for a seemingly banal act might offend our modern sensibilities, it calls us to reflect on the consequences of sin.
At the same time, we should read this in the light of the Scriptures as a whole, where we often see God’s character also as compassionate, patient, and abounding in love. The ultimate expression of this is in Jesus Christ, who came to bear the sin that was ours, who was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. Yet, we had gone astray like sheep, and we turned to our own ways. Yet, God, in the richness of his mercy, laid on him the iniquity of us all. Yes, sin demands consequences because we are serving a holy God. He also provides mercy and grace. Yet, we should not presume on his mercy and treat God’s gifts (like his forgiveness and grace, his prophets and his Word) with contempt, for then we will find his judgment swift and terrifying.
- Jan Verbruggen, PhD, Professor of Old Testament Language and Literature
When Jesus resurrected in a glorified body, did he also get lifted up to heaven in that body? And where is his glorified body now?
- Daniel K.
The ascension of Jesus, recorded in Acts 1:6-11, concludes with two men telling the disciples, "This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." The implications of this are profound. Jesus Christ did not sluff off or lose his humanity when he ascended to God the Father. He ascended as the embodied God-man. He will return as the embodied God-man. He is right now, the Son of David, an embodied human (though also God) interceding for us embodied humans, at the right hand of God the Father. That fact should be incredibly comforting to us.
As to where he is right now, we should remember that God has never been limited to the created realm (he is the Creator after all). And he certainly is not limited to the created realm as we perceive it. We know that this heavens and earth is going to be replaced by a new heavens and new earth and Jesus instructed us that he is right now preparing it for us. I suppose there are lots of possibilities regarding his whereabouts, but I'm going to go with the three most important words in theology: "I don't know." I suppose it is more important that he knows exactly where we are, and that too is a comforting thought.
- Todd Miles, PhD, Professor of Theology