By Dr. Richard Beck.
Dr. Beck: "Do you want to live a beautiful life?"
Student: "Huh?"
Dr. Beck: "Do you want to live a beautiful life?"
Student: "I think so. Yes, I'd like to live a beautiful life."
Dr. Beck: "Okay. So what kind of life do you think is beautiful? What is your aesthetic?"
Student: "What do you mean 'my aesthetic'?"
Dr. Beck: "Judgments of beauty require an aesthetic, some criterion which separates the ugly from the beautiful. So if you want to live a beautiful life you need some way of defining beauty. Here's a way to find your aesthetic, ask yourself these questions. Who, living or dead, do you admire the most? What moves you to tears? What shakes your soul? When you get answers to these questions you'll start to see the shape of your aesthetic, what you consider to be a beautiful life."
Student: "Okay, but what does this have to do with Christianity?"
Dr. Beck: "I'm a Christian because Jesus of Nazareth is my aesthetic. He's how I define a beautiful life. I've noticed in my heart that every time a human action moved my soul or brought tears to my eyes that action reminded me of Jesus. And so, because I want to live a beautiful life, I follow Jesus."
Student: "Huh?"
Dr. Beck: "Do you want to live a beautiful life?"
Student: "I think so. Yes, I'd like to live a beautiful life."
Dr. Beck: "Okay. So what kind of life do you think is beautiful? What is your aesthetic?"
Student: "What do you mean 'my aesthetic'?"
Dr. Beck: "Judgments of beauty require an aesthetic, some criterion which separates the ugly from the beautiful. So if you want to live a beautiful life you need some way of defining beauty. Here's a way to find your aesthetic, ask yourself these questions. Who, living or dead, do you admire the most? What moves you to tears? What shakes your soul? When you get answers to these questions you'll start to see the shape of your aesthetic, what you consider to be a beautiful life."
Student: "Okay, but what does this have to do with Christianity?"
Dr. Beck: "I'm a Christian because Jesus of Nazareth is my aesthetic. He's how I define a beautiful life. I've noticed in my heart that every time a human action moved my soul or brought tears to my eyes that action reminded me of Jesus. And so, because I want to live a beautiful life, I follow Jesus."
Jesus, let me see you as my aesthetic.
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