The New Yorker: The Critics: The Art World

My friend talked about a book discussing Hitler's aesthetics in his blog. One of the comments on it led me here: The New Yorker: The Critics: The Art World:

"Rothschild, in a wall text, draws this moral from her show: 'The union of malevolence and beauty can occur; we must remain vigilant against its seductive power.' I disagree. We must remain vigilant against malevolence, and we should regard beauty as the fundamentally amoral phenomenon that it is."

I disagree with the author’s conclusion. Beauty is fundamentally an attribute of God, and as such, holy, not amoral. Evil twists it, makes it dark, and turns it to serve its purpose. Like evil twists many good thing: sex, drugs, authority. Improper time, place, balance, etc., change them from right and good to perverted and wrong.

To the Praise of the Glory of His Grace

I left my usual Bible reading in Ephesians this morning and just read where I opened up to in Ezekiel 8 to 10. Imagine the tragedy of watching the Lord leave His temple, His chosen people and land. How heartbreaking. I can see the glory that Isaiah saw filling the temple step to the threshold as He orders destruction on those who have defiled His land, then out to the courtyard, then Exekiel watches Him go up surrounded by His cherubim. The God who chose them, led them out of Egypt, saved them and gave them a land, made them a people. What heartbreak it must have been for God, not just Ezekiel watching. He almost seems to be hesitating, looking back in grief as He takes each step away.

It got me thinking about the Jews who desire today to rebuild the temple and start the sacrifices again. The instructions for each temple part, priest garment, ritual, are laid out in the Torah. But it's very difficult to interpret the exact meaning of some of them. And when obeying the Law you must be exact.

Think of Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6 who accidently touched the ark of the covenant to keep it from falling over. And he died just because God had commanded that no one but the priests was to touch the ark. God's law must be obeyed perfectly or there are major consequences to deal with.

How must those who are preparing for a new temple agonize over some decisions, knowing the God's favor depends upon being exactly right?

I praise and thank God that we are not under the law. That no one can bring a charge against God's chosen. What a relief to know that a simple mistake or an unthinking moment doesn't lead to a my death or a new sacrifice of an innocent animal. The sacrifice has already been made, once and for all.

To the praise of the glory of His grace!