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On Beauty


Birdman
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ON BEAUTY


Many who wrestle with unbelief become preoccupied with notions of proof for God’s existence. These anxious souls insist that an ironclad, mathematically sound syllogism is the only antidote for their doubting, and until such proof sits before their minds, they cannot embrace the faith with sincerity.

 

Good men and women, blessed by God with sharp and critical minds, your situation is that of the Lishan monkey. Rheynari hunters have devised a fiendishly simple way of trapping these creatures, which I hope you will find instructive. 

 

First, they find a gourd and drill a small hole in the bottom. Into the hole goes a piece of fruit, and the rest of the gourd is filled with sand and gravel to give it weight. The hunters leave the trap in a place that monkeys are known to frequent, and then they wait. 

 

This is how the trap works: the hole is small enough for the monkey’s empty hand to pass through, but once it grasps the treat inside the gourd, the clenched fist becomes too large for the monkey to pull it out. Driven as it is by instinct, the monkey cannot understand its predicament, and will cling stubbornly to its prize until clubbed to death by the hunter. If it only knew that it was exchanging freedom for a trifle, that all it had to do was let go. 

 

 

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As long as you cling to the hope that some clever philosopher will solve the riddle for you, you will never be free to love God as He intended. Like the monkey, it will be your stubbornness and inflexibility that spell your doom, for you are caught in a trap of your own making. 

 

To frame your problem as an absence of proof is to look at the situation all wrong. Knowing God is not a matter of understanding, it is a matter of perception. One does not prove God or discover God- one sees God, one experiences God. 

 

 

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As the moon borrows all of its luminosity from the greater light of the sun, so does the world borrow all of its beauty from the Heavens above. All that is truly good on this earth belongs to God, not to man 

 

You doubters- go not to the house of the theologian or the scholar- no, seek out the artists! The sculptors, the musicians, the painters, potters, and poets. Marvel at the architecture of a grand cathedral, lose yourself in a stained-glass scene. 

 

And do not think that the sublime is restricted to works of art- when witnessing a deed done with kindness and purity of heart, when the mountains strike you with their terrible majesty, when you look into the eyes of your newborn child- brothers and sisters, there too is beauty found, there too will you find God. 

 

And if your mind longs after patterns and constancy, you will not be disappointed. For there is a grand design at work here, a symphony in which we all play a part. But you will not capture it in words, or tether it with your mind. You will never read the conductor’s score, but if you listen, you can hear His music.  
 

 

 

 

-Neophyte Morgant, 1808.

Edited by Birdman
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Johan Vuiller the former Lay-Cardinal and Knight-Regent Emeritus would read the theses over a few times before giving a slight dip of his head looking to a painting of James II “I think you would have enjoyed this old friend..”  he’d pause for a moment before raising to his feet getting his coat and saddle placing the thesis in it “Hopefully your successor will enjoy it as well as I”  he’d walk from his office opening multiple locked steal doors on his way out locking each one after entering the next room. He’d then walk towards the Pontifical apartments to deliver the thesis to Jude II 

@GoldWolfGaming

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