To a skeptical world we are accustomed to defend Christianity in terms of its truth and goodness, but beauty also belongs to the Christian faith, according to Brian Zahnd in his book Beauty Will Save the World: Rediscovering the Allure & Mystery of Christianity. Where truth and goodness fail to win an audience, beauty may once again captivate and draw those it enchants into the kingdom of saving grace.
The dominant American script, according to the author, is that of a superpower – idolizing success, achievement, acquisition, technology and militarism. Followers of Jesus are faced with the choice of becoming accommodating chaplains or prophetic challengers. The American church has chosen the role of accommodating chaplain. As a result its form of Christianity has become disfigured, and is in need of a process of re-formation to recover its true form and original beauty.
Some of the interesting ideas in the book:
- The greatest wonder of all is that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and yet familiarity has caused us to lose our sense of wonder.
- True Christians are from the future, because they know how history ends and they are already experiencing the kingdom of God.
- Our canned gospel presentations fail to astonish people, yet astonishment is the most appropriate initial reaction to the gospel story.
- Each of the beatitudes was played out in real life when Jesus was crucified.
I am not sure that I can see the beauty that the author sees in the figure of Christ on the cross, but I do agree that there is beauty in the way salvation is provided by grace and the forgiveness of sins, and in the style of living outlined in the Sermon on the Mount. Overall I found the book to be fresh, provoking and original, filled with ideas that challenge preconceptions and remind the reader of the radical lifestyle of true discipleship.