Beauty and the Transcendent

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen 

Although I am not fond of trends, I like a new one on my radar. "Beware of Smartphone Zombies" can be seen on T-shirts, possibly real road signs, and many places on the internet. People do not watch where they are walking, forcing others to go around them — if possible.

It illustrates a deeper problem related to the stupidification of society, especially younger people. Our Creator gave people minds to use, but their attention is on electronic entertainment and getting dopamine from a sort of electronic culture. They miss out on true beauty.

Rondout Creek joining the Hudson River, several things happening, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen

I'll allow that people want their entertainment and don't want to be interrupted. For instance, I was uninterested in going on "color tours" to see the autumn leaves changing because I had things I preferred to do. We all have some entertainment priorities or some things just have no appeal. However, today distorted preferences are far more intense.

In an article on Evolution News and Science Today (operated by the Discovery Institute which promotes Intelligent Design), "Why Are We Drawn to Beauty?" caught my interest. The author discussed Jonathan Haidt, an atheist professor who has noticed the zombification of young people and assigned his class to walk through Greenwich Village — without their phones. They were to be observant and describe what they saw. The experience was meaningful for many.

It is interesting that the atheist is concerned about the transcendent; there are things in life that are bigger than us. We are drawn to beauty — because evolution. He put teleology into it, violating the rule that evolution is purposeless. More than that, however, is that Haidt made our attraction to beauty a utilitarian — mechanistic, even — function.

Also, Jonathan Haidt accepts the Christian concept that each of us has a "God-shaped hole" inside. While atheist materialists reject the idea of a soul or consciousness, this one affirms it. People try to fill that God-shaped hole with transcendent things and beauty, but also with other stuff.

Attracted to my beauty (snicker), only in fantasy and with help from FotoSketcher and PhotoFunia

Mechanizing our appreciation of beauty shows the truth of Romans 1:18-23, where we know that God exists but unrighteously suppress the truth. (Let's pray for Jonathan that God gets him to realize that he is closer to becoming a believer than he may think, and make Jesus Christ the Lord of his life.) The truth is that God loves beauty, shared it with us, and we are created in his image. Beautiful things attract us and resonate with our inner knowledge of God.