Truth and beauty are virtues to which we would all like to aspire: we want to be truthful in the sense of discovering what is the truth about ourselves and the world around us, and also beautiful, not in the sense of a surface ‘prettiness’, but by reflecting all that is good, wonderful and awesome about who we are, and seeing this in the world around us as well. But what sounds like an ideal aspiration is always compromised by the realities of life. Firstly, what do we mean by truth and beauty? Is there an absolute truth and beauty in the Platonic sense, which our own attempts at being truthful and beautiful can only ever be partial? And, more critically, are truth and beauty mutually exclusive? If I am truthful, and say what I really think, am I still being beautiful if what I say is going to be hurtful or damaging to my relationships?
Taking a line from George Herbert’s poem Jordan I, ‘Is there in truth no beauty?’, Roger will explore these virtues with a Christian perspective, what it means to be truthful and beautiful in the sight of God, and investigate ways in which truth and beauty do indeed have an inner harmony, are indicators of the life of grace which God bestows upon us, and also means by which we can reflect his glory in and to the world.
