Beauty Will Save the World: Rediscovering the Allure and Mystery of Christianity

by Brian Zahnd

In today’s world we have technology, convenience, security, and a measure of prosperity, but where is the beauty? For thousands of years, artists, sages, philosophers, and theologians have connected the beautiful and the sacred and identified art with our longing for God. Now we live in a day when convenience and practicality have largely displaced beauty as a value. The church is no exception. Even salvation is commonly viewed in a scientific and mechanistic manner and presented as a plan, system, or formula. In Beauty Will Save the World, Brian Zahnd presents the argument that this loss of beauty as a principal value has been disastrous for Western culture, and especially for the church. The full message of the beauty of the gospel has been replaced by our desires to satisfy our material needs, to empirically prove our faith, and to establish political power in our world--the exact same things that Christ was tempted with and rejected in the wilderness.

Zahnd shows that by following the teachings of the Beatitudes, the church can become a viable alternative to current-day political, commercial, and religious power and can actually achieve what these powers promise to provide but fail to deliver. Using stories from the lives of St. Francis of Assisi and from his own life, he teaches us to stay on the journey to discover the kingdom of God in a fuller, richer, more beautiful, way.  

Genres: Theology, Christian, Nonfiction, Faith, Religion, Christianity, Spirituality

237 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 3, 2012

About the author

Brian Zahnd is the founder and lead pastor of Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. As the lead pastor, he is the primary preacher during our weekend services, and he oversees the direction of the church. Pastor Brian is a passionate reader of theology and philosophy, an avid hiker and mountain climber, and authority on all things Bob Dylan.

He and his wife, Peri, have three adult sons and five grandchildren. He is the author of several books, including Unconditional?, Beauty Will Save the World, A Farewell To Mars, and Water To Wine.

Reviews

[Josiah Peachey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has less to do with theological aesthetics than I was expecting and more to do with the aesthetics of Christian belief and witness. Zahnd writes accessibly and convincingly (if somewhat repetitively) as he calls us to consider and imitate the peaceful, cruciform, and redemptive beauty of the life and teaching of Christ. This tone of this book is more pastoral than academic - Zahnd weaves deep reflection and scholarship with a heart for the beauty of the gospel. Zahnd points out the ugliness of the idolatries of violence and power that have shaped too much of the church's imagination for too long, and calls us instead to be shaped by the mystery and beauty of a Christianity that bears the marks of Christ.
Read this book.

[Marshall Hess · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read in the last ten years. A masterful expose of the major themes of the whole Bible. While the book is a little rambly and redundant some places (almost seems like an excuse for the author to talk about a number of his pet topics), it is brilliant and captivating and was surprisingly hard for me to put down for being a theological work of this depth. I highly recommend the book to all who attempt to believe in and understand the somewhat vague and lumpy inherited doctrines called nonresistance or Two-Kingdom theology. Brian Zahnd soars far beyond the sad smallness of some Anabaptist teaching that articulates nonresistance as little more than an unfortunate restriction for a people who are so irrelevant that they hope they don't have to be given the opportunity to practice these "hard sayings" of Jesus. Zahnd sees the preeminence of love versus force (the cruciform) as so fundamental to the universe that to deny it would be to fight against the very nature of God and of all that is worthy and good and ultimately successful. I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity to read this book.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Based on the numerous 5 star reviews, I'll go out on a limb here and say it was me-not-you. Maybe I went in with too many expectations about what a book titled "Beauty Will Save the World" would be about. As it was, I never quite felt like I grasped the underlying point. This is a very ramble-y book about Christian virtues. The content itself was fine. Maybe a little repetitive. Certainly easy enough to listen to on audio. But every chapter left me going 'are we going to discuss beauty now?'

[Gideon Yutzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zahnd has a clear (and legitimate) burden and he does well in staying focused in communicating that burden, and as a result of this I found his passion contagious. The somewhat breathless style he uses (too many exclamation points!) can be a little annoying, but it helps to remember that he did not want to push the threshold too far, considering what his (probable) target audience reads, by which I'm not trying to sound hoity toity--I'm just saying most western churchgoing Christians probably watch Netflix more than they read, say, something on the level of Hans Ur von Balthasar (whom Zahnd frequently quotes/simplifies for us).

For me, the book's main takeaway is this: the crux of the gospel is that God is redeeming the whole world through Jesus and the way of Jesus, which is redemption through suffering love, and that is also the epitome of beauty; hence, beauty will save the world. The highest power in the universe became the lowest so that he could show love to everything he created and he refuses to do one iota of it a la Cain/Babylon/America, even though he would be perfectly capable of doing so. Unfortunately we have largely lost sight of that and we instead have bought into a rather violent picture of God (for instance, Revelation is interpreted as a bloodbath that will happen at the end of time after people have rejected God for too long). My words, not Zahnd's. He did say that it's indicative of our theology that we use the military metaphor for the church rather than the other 4 metaphors (body, bride, temple, city), which is something I have thought too so it was affirming to read it in the book. Well recommended!

[Karen (Living Unabridged) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily a five star rating from me: astounding, thought-provoking, deep, rich, prophetic (published in 2012 but still "relevant", though I dislike the term). I don't own a copy yet, but I will be buying one.

Took pages and pages of notes, but here are just a few quotes:

Our task is not to protest the world into a certain moral conformity, but to attract the world to the saving beauty of Christ.

Along with asking if it is true and if it is good, we should also ask if it is beautiful. Truth and goodness need beauty. Truth claims divorced from beauty can become condescending. Goodness minus beauty can become moralistic. To embrace truth and goodness in the Christian sense, we must also embrace beauty.

The loss of wonder is what we experience as boredom...

Kitsch is cheap, imitative, sentimental art... Kitsch is a parody of beauty and a mockery of mystery. A kind of kitsch Christianity is what we are left with if we don't take the Incarnation seriously.

As prime virtues, truth, goodness, and beauty need no further justification - they are their own justification, which is a way of saying that truth, goodness, and beauty don't need to be made practical - they don't have to do anything to be of value.

We cannot claim that the kingdom of God has fully arrived, but we dare not say the kingdom has not yet come. We live in the overlap of ages.

If we're not shocked by the Beatitudes, it's only because we have tamed them with a patronizing sentimentality.

Other books I've finished recently that "talked" with this book as I read it:
Leisure the Basis of Culture - Josef Pieper
The Magnificient Story - James Bryan Smith

[R.L.S.D · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a work on aesthetics - I'd call it narrative theology through an affective lens. Zahnd is clearly earnest and well read and his emphases track pretty closely with the Bible curriculum I've been writing for my students. Unfortunately, the concepts here are mushy, the terminology sloppy, the tone over zealous, and the end result "vibey". I think he's trying to pack every wonderful idea he's ever gleaned from authors like von Balthasar, Wendell Berry, Stanley Hauerwas, Dostoevsky, NT Wright, Soren Kierkegaard, and Bob Dylan into one feast of a book, but it's as if he threw the ingredients for every different Thanksgiving dish into one pot. The resulting "pottage" made me whince a bit even though I appreciate all the elements that went into it.

[Kyler Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The idea of this book is profound and perfect. The energy a little weak but the power not greatly diminished. (Hint: read Mind of the Maker) Zand draws from a number of the heavyweights in the field of aesthetics to write a book devoted to the transformation of Christian imagination, vision, and practice. I believe his premise concerning the essence of beauty to be participant in the essential unity of the God who formed us in His image and made Himself known to us.

I am swayed from my intention to withhold the fifth star for the minor distractions of wordiness and perhaps too frequent quotations etc., by my conviction that this book bears prophetic witness that is absolutely vital.

Just read it.

[Christopher Good · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seven, possibly eight, out of ten.

Zahnd's perspective on the gospel, especially his conviction of its aesthetic value, is fresh and somewhat interesting. I deeply enjoyed the chapter "A Cathedral of Astonishment", where he pushes back effectively against the overly limited logical framework by which we often approach God. I feel that an awed and reverent approach is much more suitable, and I want to work on that.

I was definitely expecting a stronger link to aesthetics than what Zahnd provides. Simply repeating that "beauty will save the world" doesn't add up to beauty saving the world. I think there is a strong argument to be made, and I'd have liked to read that book. Though this was also valuable.

The writing style is a little too informal. At the same time, Zahnd tends toward convoluted, sometimes practically run-on sentences. Small things count.

I do recommend this book. It's very friendly and a good reminder to balance reason with faith.

[Adam Shields · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short Review: I think conceptually this is a very good book. Christianity does need to pay more attention to beauty. We often reduce beauty to sexuality. Here Zahnd is talking about conceptual beauty of ideas and actions and the mystery and wonder and awe that should be a part of Christianity. He is concerned that when Christianity loses its regard for beauty it means that it becomes a religion that is flat, focused on control and solving problems instead of following God. The central beautiful concept of the book is the cross.

The book dragged a bit and meandered a bit. So I think it could be tightened up, but on the whole I think the concepts are ones that should be discussed and talked about much more.

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/beauty-zahnd/

[Rachael DeGraff · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. It was so incredibly repetitive that I just ended up reading the first and last bits of each chapter and skimming in-between. It's a really good concept but he wrote about it in such a vague way and wrote with a lot of fluff and Christian-ese. Obviously since I didn't read the whole thing I can't fully speak to it's merits (or lack thereof) so do with this what you will 😊

[Hope Helms · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not sure exactly how to encapsulate this book. It has been the best book I’ve read in a long time in the sense that it didn’t seem like reading another voice in an echo chamber. It challenged my thinking about parenting, politics, Christianity, the way I present salvation to my kids, and approach living a life motivated by the gospel. This book has done a lot to develop the aesthetic aspect of my Christian witness and doctrine.

I think you should read it. Not because I agree with everything in it but because by and large I think it’s message that needs to be heard and is impacting my life in a big way. And, because it’s good to feel uncomfortable sometimes. 😉

My one big caveat is that at the end he makes some pretty stark distinctions between the “Roman way” and the “Christian way” when talking about peace. I’m not sure the issue is as clear cut as he is trying to make it. I think the issue is more complex. Would he advocate for fighting in World War II? And how would that fit with his views on “resorting to violence”?

Somebody I know read this and discuss it with me!!

[Rachel Snyder Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any book that is titled after a Dostoyevsky quote has my instant attention, and I’m so grateful to my favorite female deacon for recommending this piece on rediscovering the beauty of our faith.

Zahnd does so much reorienting in this book, but what really stuck with me is how often we as American Christians miss the point. We promote a faith with answers and doctrine and salvation, which are part and parcel of the gospel yes, but the “holy mystery and sacred beauty” should be paramount. We have lost this, and I’m ready to reclaim it. We should be a people seeking common ground for the common good, for the wholeness of the world. That is the beauty of the Gospel.

He writes a beautiful metaphor of faith as entering into a Gothic cathedral, the whole point being to enter into something and experience it and be changed and feel small, just as the architects of these ancient wonders envisioned. It isn’t something we can see from the outside or feel from a picture, we must be ushered in and invite others into shelter from the storm as well. “But to really experience the astonishing beauty of Christianity—the beauty that saves the world—you must enter the cathedral yourself.”

I also loved the final section where he takes a long look at the gospel we often preach and contrasts it to the gospel given in the Bible. Oh so powerful. And I appreciated his deep dive into the Beatitudes as a “subversive manifesto” at odds with those in power. And y’all, that’s us. We are the ones who are in need of undoing the established orders we’ve allowed to reign in our hearts and minds and spirits, and following instead the subversive kingdom of God. I love what Zahnd says about blessed are those who mourn, “Sorrow is a necessary consequence of loving others and being fully engaged with humanity…it is through the work of grief that we carve depth into our souls and create space to be filled with comfort from another.” And he notes the political nature of the forth beatitude, which is better translated as justice (and righteousness also), “Blessed are those who ache for the world to be made right, for they shall be satisfied.” What a promise!

Central to this book is the question: is it beautiful? Is our doctrine, witness, practice beautiful? And what questions to ask in these times when what I often see of the church is anything but beautiful. Because beauty, seen in the life and death and resurrection of Christ, will save the world.

[Ronnica Fatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a lot of books about the Christian faith, and sometimes they start to blend together. Beauty Will Save the World: Rediscovering the Allure and Ministry of Christianity by Brian Zahnd definitely stands out in the crowd.

Zahnd has some harsh but needful things to say to the Western evangelical church. His premise is that, "Christianity as the ongoing expression of the Jesus story lived out in the lives of individuals and in the heart of society is a beauty that can redeem the world" (p. 2).

That, in itself, perhaps doesn't sound radically different than the gospel preached from most pulpits and most Christian speakers and thinkers. I think that most would agree with the premise, as far as it goes. But that's the problem...that's as far as most of us go. We talk a good game, but we don't really think about what it means. We know that the Gospel story is awesome, beautiful and wonderful...or at least we say it is.

I find it incredibly easy to come at my faith in a individualistic, pragmatic, no-nonsense way. I'm a good American like that. But there is mystery and beauty in the truths of God that cannot and shouldn't be explained away.

I am so glad I read this book, and I hope you will, too. There are still implications that I'm trying to ponder through. What does seeing the Christian story as fundamentally beautiful mean for how I view worship? How I speak about God? How I seek Him and share His truths with others?

This is definitely a book that is going to stick with me.

[Grant Klinefelter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book for a second time was a much different experience than the first.

In the first reading three years ago, I was struck by the simple yet profound truth that Beauty is central to the gospel and the life of the Christian. We not only should show the goodness of God and preach the Truth or God, but we must reveal the Beauty of God. We do this through our appreciation of the arts, recognition of God’s beauty in creation, and in the longing for transcendence we all experience.

In my second reading, I found myself frustrated with how scatter-brained I thought the book was. Too much Christology and not enough emphasis on the arts and Beauty. But then, by the end, I was struck by what really was the central theme of the whole book. The Beauty of God is Christ crucified.

In looking at the connection between the Beatitudes in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount and the cross of Christ, Zahnd writes:

“The commencement and culmination of the ministry of Christ are inseparably connected. The Beatitudes and the cruciform are the same thing. They are God’s saving beauty. The beauty of the Beatitudes leads to the beauty of the cruciform, and together they form the beauty that will save the world.”

I still was less impressed in my second reading than my first, but it remains a foundational book in how I view God and view the call of all Christians as people commissioned to adorn the gospel.

[Chesca · Rating 5 out of 5]

A refreshing read focusing on the elements (whole paradigm shifts, really) of the way of Jesus that many of us American Christians have misunderstood or have never seen before. It took me a little bit to engage with it well—at first I was afraid it would be another tiresome anti-this, anti-that—but the further I got into it, the more excited I became. I resonated deeply with the perspective portrayed here and want read it again at a slower, more contemplative pace!

[Chris Bannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winsomely devastating critique of the pragmatic faithlessness of civil religion, and a clear, compelling invitation to a journey in Christ more true, and beautiful.

[Alex Hugo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zhand puts forth a series of radical ideas starting form the idea that beauty is the intersection of theology and anthropology in such a way that it is the only solution to fighting the systemic rationalized Christianity that encompasses the modern American Protestantism. One of his leading premises is that the Orthodox had to contend with the Byzantine Empire, the Catholics had to contend with Rome. And the Protestants must contend (or conform) to the American Pragmatism. And while he uses that word I’m not sure he knows enough of the philosophical pragmatism to contend with it adequately. I think he is totally correct in saying that we have lost an appreciation for beauty in the modern American church. He is also correct in that the way we bring it back is not merely through stained glass and movies but a life-giving Christian culture similar to that of the early church. I appreciate that he takes seriously the scholarship of other theological disicplines including the early church fathers surch as Tuertulian and Origen. I found the biggest weakness to be his lack of proper scholastic citation. He makes bold claims without properly backing them up on an academic level. For that reason it is easy to oversimply or misinterpret thinkers of the past as well as be heavily critiqued and scoffed at by modern theologians. However, I don’t believe Zhand was writing to shcolars but to normal people. And from that perspective he said certain things that were incredibly accurate or important. All in all, I enjoyed the book and certain parts of it I wish every Christian would read. I think a more fitting title for it is something like “Recovering the beauty that will save the world”

[Jennifer Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

To start: I am very much in line with the general concept of this book, which is that the American evangelical church is so externally focused on practical measures of success that we are missing the interior development of Christians who are truly in awe of the beauty of God. I love how Zahnd explained the beatitudes in light of this. And I particularly loved his call for the church to be “a shelter from the storm” that always choses mercy over judgement (the thought of this is so beautiful to me that it brought tears to my eyes). I even loved his way of approaching politics.

Now the but…

This is the 2nd Brian Zahnd book I’ve read. He comes highly recommended by people I respect and largely feel theologically aligned with. But something about Zahnd’s theology personally gives me pause. Not saying it’s “wrong,” it just doesn’t sing to my heart in the same way as the writings of someone like Richard Rohr does. I’ve done a lot of sincere thinking as to why this may be so and I think it may be that it doesn’t feel expansive enough for me.

I think this quote from John Shelby Spong sums up what I’m trying to say:

“God is not a Christian, God is not a Jew, or a Muslim, or a Hindu, or a Buddhist. All of those are human systems which human beings have created to try to help us walk into the mystery of God. I honor my tradition, I walk through my tradition, but I don't think my tradition defines God, I think it only points me to God.”

I think Zahnd does a great job of modeling how to honor and walk through my tradition—but I keep pushing up against a certain tone of rigidity in his writing that proclaims the Christian tradition DEFINES God (particularly in this book when he spoke of being friends with Muslims and Jews but then added the caveat that he would not be against attempts to convert them to Christianity). I argue that constricting Truth down to this ONE expression is limiting the very beauty he claims will save the world.

[Jacob Wachtel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, it was a really good read. I've grown to appreciate the prophetic critique with which Zahnd writes. The book was a little monotonous at times. He tends to circle back around to previous material and tie in new stuff with it, so there is are times when it feels like he is going over the same stuff again, but often from a little different angle.

I appreciated his perspective on the beauty within Christianity and not the transient facade of beauty we tend to label things today- but a deeper connection to something beautiful because of the inherent qualities that it represents or reveals.

The cross is beautiful because it reveals the character and nature of God. It is beautiful because it is precisely over and against the customs of the world towards pride, selfishness, and violence. These are reasons that make it beautiful.

But we lose this when we make it transactional and economical: When salvation becomes a one-way ticket you purchase because you said a prayer, you lose the beauty of it all, the whole story. And we make it a "Roman's Road" instead.

I think what really made this book shine for me was the last chapter (or two). He dives into the Sermon on the Mount and ends with the Beatitudes tying it all together into the Cross. It was, for me, the best part of the book, and worth the price of it all. And in order to recognize why it is important, I'm sure you should read the whole thing.

There are many parts of the book I do not remember, but the last few chapters were simply phenomenal. For me that is.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe 2.5: had a hard time connecting with the style of this book. While I very much agreed with parts of this book (American and Christian are not the same thing) other parts seemed off ( if we want to know what Jesus would do, look to the future, ie slavery was abolished so it was wrong. While I agree with his example, I don't agree with the premise that future society will right current wrongs). Also, felt like there was excessive repetition of key phrases beyond what was necessary. I thought this book would be about discovering beauty and art, poetry, etc helping us connect with God, but that was not the premise.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. Really enjoyed this one. Love Brian Zahnd’s exploration into the cruciform beauty of Jesus’s death & resurrection, and how this beauty is the heart of the Christian faith. The western Protestant tradition is obsessed with information and truth, and the ability to engage in apologetics as a way to reflect the heart of our message. Zahnd proposes that while propositional truth is important, it is in fact the ‘beauty’ of the Christian faith, shown by the axis of love on the cross at Calvary, that saves the world.

[Claire Bowers-Dingus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the central focus on The Sermon on The Mount. I love how Brian focused on the Gospel of Christ as being winsome and beautiful! God imbues His creation with value, and aesthetic-ness can be supremely valuable. In our consumerist society, we’re so bent on everything being “useful.” It’s good to sit in the grandeur of God’s beauty and simply enjoy it.

The discourse about the Roman powers of Jesus’ day was so interesting. Pilate’s rhetorical question, “What is truth?” really displays his heart’s priorities. He was so focused on power as truth, not God’s beauty on display!

[Jonathan Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first Brian Zahnd book. And I will definitely read more.

Whilst this is a three star review, the book has actually been incredibly helpful and powerful. The basic concept of the beauty of the gospel and how that is what transforms the world, is exhilarating. As I’ve often said, it is the three star books that affect me the most.

My reason for giving three stars is the American context, and some of the creative theology. However, the main point of the book, that the Gospel should be beautiful and not ugly, is superb.

A book that has made me think.

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book of Zahnd’s was less storyteller and more academic than some of his other books so it took me a bit to finish it. Content was still really good and definitely a book I’ll reread in a few years.

[Tim Kauffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every Christian should read this. Four stars because it's somewhat redundant, but it's very readable and engaging. The message is compelling and important. Read it!

[Jonatan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Brian for your boldness writing this book.

[Ken Kuhlken · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I think of Christianity, I feel surrounded by churches gone farther stray than perhaps ever, and I much welcome Christian sanity, by which I mean following or advocating for the message of Christ. Brian Zahnd certainly accomplishes that. Anyone who has read and loved The Brothers Karamazov and hearkened to the words of Father Zossima will almost certainly love this book.

[Anthony Witmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I have read. Christianity and makes a good case for how the church must be separate from Caesar. He gives a clear vision for how the church can be something beautiful that will attract people in to it.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian Zahnd has become one of my favorite authors and teachers. I believe this is the fourth book of his I have read, and I also find much wisdom in what he shares on social media. I think every Christian pastor needs to be listening to Zahnd and reading his books. Of course, not only pastors, but any Christians who like to read and are serious about their faith should read Zahnd. His books are clearly targeted to a wide audience, not just other pastors, but all sorts of people.

This book is, as I expect from Zahnd, fantastic. I'd put it up there with his newest book, Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God. The thing is, it echoes a lot of what he says in that and his other books. Zahnd has themes and ideas he is passionate about - a nonviolent ethic based in the teachings and example of Jesus. I agree with him and am consistently challenged by him. Yet, this book was not what I was expecting. At one point I noted that he was simply explaining the story of scripture, culminating in Jesus, with a lot to say about Jesus' death and resurrection, and then declaring this as beautiful. Again, I'd agree that part of understanding beauty is redefining it with a focus on God becoming human to save us and show us how to live. But to some degree, he covers much of the same ground as his other books. Here the nonviolent act and ethic of Jesus is beautiful, in another book it is love and so on.

So again, I think everyone should read Zahnd. But maybe just 1-2 of his books.

Also, knowing Zahnd is a fan of David Bentley Hart, I was expecting a different book. Hart's book Beauty of the Infinite was one of the most challenging works of theology I've read. I thought Zahnd would be offering thoughts along similar lines, sort of a laymen's explanation of Hart. He does quote Hart a few times, but much less than I expected. I can't fault Zahnd for not doing what I expected. I just wish there had been more on beauty as it pertains to the infinite, science, creation, art, etc. There is some of this, but mostly Zahnd, as I said, is simply telling the Christian story and declaring it beautiful.

One of his arguments is Christians spend too much time defending the faith from a rational perspective rather than admiring it in its beauty. Again, I agree. I am not saying I want a rational defense of why faith is beautiful...though maybe I do. I mean, and this goes back to audience, to people who have only experienced a violent, nationalistic faith, Zahnd's storytelling and declaring it beautiful may be enough. But if you've read his other books, I'd almost say just noting that everything he says in them about Jesus is also what makes it beautiful is enough to save your time from reading this one.

[Readius Maximus · Rating 1 out of 5]

After writing a paper with this title I thought this book would be interesting. I should have known it would be like this being written as it was by a Protestant pastor who is on the liberal evangelical all Christian faiths lead to Rome wagon or in this case Heaven. I don't know what it is about Protestant writers but they are inherently shallow with the sole exception being CS Lewis who manages to be ok.

After the intro I thought I would be generous and give it 3 stars, by the middle it was down to 2 and the last chapter, where he manages to misunderstand the Beatitudes, brought it to a 1.

You would think a book with this title would have something to say on beauty and why we lack it and how to bring it back. Even if I disagree on the details that seems to be the general country an author should be in given the title. What you get instead is another in a 1k year history of failures on how to reorganize society. Zero engagement of why our world is ugly besides saying it is. Zero engagement with why Protestants are allergic to beauty (ok so a few hundred years ago they made some nice songs but I mean it's been 500 years and still not one beautiful church?). He does say beauty has a form that can break and that's his contribution to the topic... If that is the case then surely scientific materialists should make the best artists and not the worst? Why has every religious society had a sense for the beautiful except us? No clue the author is too busy preparing the next social gospel.

It's all just so shallow. He describes how he used to be political and then realized it was ugly and bad and so dropped out and a few chapters latter he is saying how MLK brought the kingdom of God to America by ending segregation. Did he not get political? Did he not march and get involved with the very things you called ugly? But it happened in the past and everyone approves of it so it's fine don't think to much reader!

He does manage to make some Orthodox points such as beauty is tied to the Incarnation but no idea that Incarnation + Crucifixion + Resurrection = Icon's and Saints.

The entire book is another failing attempt to bridge the gap between the City of God and the City of man, this time though beauty as a value. The first chapter is him establishing that, like Nietzsche beauty should be a key value in judgement. If something isn't beautiful it isn't good except when it is like with the MLK thing. He also seems to be a pacifist and if he feels like a hippie he literally says the church should be like a girl with flowers in her hair haha. He says the most beautiful thing is the cross and so that should be the organizing principle of society in opposition to Rome and power.

Everything he says is about social organization. Which he claims should be beautiful while at the same time encouraging people to drop out of politics. Just another Protestant "this is corrupt lets drop out and go somewhere else".

His translation of "Blessed are the poor in spirit" is "blessed are those who are not good at being spiritual". Yes because Christ has always been a fan of Liberal Democracy and mediocrity. All it takes to be blessed to to not be good at something.

This guy just feels like another liberal hippie who wants everyone to just get along and be nice.

What makes it frustrating for me is the author is smart and well read and is tackling a very interesting issue. But you manages to dance around all the chasms of profundity and arrive at the other side of the abyss with a smug smile of accomplishment. But their is no accomplishment only the failure to wrestle with anything deeply.

Maybe I should be more gentle but it's hard to see such glory handled and smashed by such dirty hands. This idea originated by one of the greatest Orthodox writers and is an Orthodox idea. It can really only be understood in an Orthodox setting. Which this fails to do entirely despite having a few references.

It is interesting to note he defines what comprises Western Civ and doesn't mention Orthodoxy, Byzantium or Russia at all. Skips right from Greek Polis and Roman Republic and Empire and strait to the second millennium and Liberal Democracies. So telling and fitting.

His formula runs, beauty is value that confirms we are doing something right, the cross is beautiful, the cross and Christ is the new organizing principle, we need to be people of the future to bring this future reality to our present time, this will usher in beauty and save the world. The cross is amazing but it is not beautiful in itself it is beautiful because it is transformative and a million other things. "The Kingdom of God is nothing less then God's alternative government, or, put simply, God's politics." And this after he said we shouldn't be political but MLK did something heavenly. To give him credit he doesn't mean politics in the normal sense but he does seem like he wants to create a hippie colony.

He also disavows violence and seems to promote pacifism. In the US this can be good often with how militant evangelicals can be, since they have yet to find a war they didn't eagerly like and support. But the Church has had pacifist monks who were Saints and many soldiers and generals who were Saints as well.

"But Messiah also has something to say about minimum wages, social welfare, and immigration reform." Does he? We must read different Bibles! Even if these things were clearly good in themselves. Which the way our culture means them is often not good nor are they meant for good but to gain power. But even if they were good Christ simply does not address these issues unless you extrapolate his hippie gospel out to these issues.

Even if you are Protestant and want to read about beauty read any other book then this! It is just another failed attempt to save this world in a systemic way which has failed for the past 1k years and will continue to do so as long as the West continues to exist. We don't need anymore neo Christian world building we actual investigations into why things are so ugly and what went wrong. Promoting "social justice" even in a neo Christian sense misses all the points.

It's not that everything he says is wrong it's just they are so out of place making even his right ideas wrong.