Recently, I released a book on the Mordecai and Esther epic entitled, The Girl and the Guardian. Though it’s genre is that of a gritty action/ adventure novel, as a Christian writer I wanted to make sure the theme was clear and theologically driven.
At first, this might seem difficult as Esther is the only book—in addition to the Song of Songs—that doesn’t mention God. He is never directly referred to or addressed. But this doesn’t mean that Esther is not fit for theological reflection. Though he is not directly referred to, God is everywhere involved.
One of the ways God is found is in the whole concept of beauty. The word “beauty” or “beautiful” is used several times in the first couple of chapters of Esther alone. Central to her exaltation to the court is Esther’s physical beauty. Yet she must wield her beauty humbly to rescue her people and avoid the fate Queen Vashti, her predecessor, received.
Beauty has not been a much-emphasised subject by Christian apologists in recent generations. We tend to focus much of our inquiry on the nature of Truth and of discovering what is True. Past Christian thinkers, however, gave more time to discuss the nature of Beauty and I think we should turn our attention here once again.
Why?
We live in an image-driven generation that recognises both the value of beauty as well as its challenges. The ancient Persians of Esther’s day were also image-driven. The male nobles would have a full-time makeup artist that would accompany them and to give them a suitable image for their various social engagements. Fake beards and moustaches were so highly valued the Persian government placed a special tax on them. Likewise, we live in a generation that spends time and effort filtering our selfies and other photos to present the best possible image to our social media world. We love a good image.
What can the church say about Beauty that the world needs to hear?
But our generation also realises the challenges of beauty. It seems to us a blessing and a curse. Beauty can be used to deceive, exploit, and manipulate. We often pay more money for products of equal or lesser quality simply because they have a better image on its packaging. Many people struggle with eating disorders to obtain a certain image. Internet pornography is driven, in large part, by an obsession with images. We have all heard the moralism ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’, yet we seem to lack the power to live this out.
In short, society knows that it has image issues. What can the church say about Beauty that the world needs to hear?
Beauty Theology
Early Church Fathers took much of their understanding of the nature of Beauty from the Greek philosophers. Thomas Aquinas borrowed heavily from Aristotle in his discussions on form, balance, and proportions. Many of their insights were good. They believed that Beauty, Truth, and Goodness were the three ‘transcendentals’ that God put into Creation. Just like God is the ultimate Truth, he was acknowledged as the ultimate Beauty as well.
Luther never wrote a singular work on beauty, but many of his comments have shaped my own understanding in seeing how Beauty is not just theocentric but specifically Christocentric. Luther affirmed the insights of the church fathers into beauty but showed how and why the centre of all beauty for the Christian is the Cross.
Luther believed that the Cross was a wrecking ball to this world’s notion of beauty. He pointed out that the Cross was both beautiful and ugly. The beauty of the Cross is Christ’s and the ugliness is ours. The eternal Son of God had a beauty that outshone Esther’s like the sun outshines a candle. And what did he do with all that beauty? He gave it all away.
Why? So that you and I can have the only type of beauty that truly matters. It is on the Cross that Christ exchanges that beauty for our sinful ugliness. What’s more, in taking our ugliness upon himself, Christ becomes even more attractive to his people.
Commenting on Psalm 45, Luther wrote ‘There is the one and only beauty—to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ’. When we put our hope in the beauty that is given to us in Christ, we stop trying so hard to make ourselves more attractive to God and the world around us. In living out our faith, we become increasingly free from the dark and manipulative side of beauty that our sin nature creates. This is the good news our world needs to hear.
Like in Esther’s day, we have image issues. But a secular and materialist worldview does not give us satisfactory answers. A purely material worldview has no room for objective Beauty—just sights and sounds our DNA is predisposed to be attracted to. There is a wide-open space for Christians to speak into this void. Will we do so?
__________
Joshua
D. Jones is author of the The
Girl and the Guardian,
a retelling of the Mordecai and Esther epic with theological
reflections on beauty and human sexuality. He is originally American
but has lived in Europe, where his wife is from, since 1999. He
pastors north of London where he lives with his wife and four
children. He sometimes blogs at Sanitys-Cove.com
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