God and the Timeless Transcendentals: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty

3/24/24

The withering of the imagination to the point of poetic impotency at the hands of reason (logos) clad knowledge-seekers during the epoch of the Enlightenment left a void in its philosophical wake. But as we know from experience, human nature has a way of redressing itself by swinging the proverbial pendulum back toward what it was originally contesting. Thus, the Romantic movement was born. The emphases then were on the power of nature, and the celebration of spirited individuality with a full range of emotions (pathos).

My contention is that the effects of the Enlightenment-esque movement of rational apologetics in an increasingly aesthetically-seeking postmodern world are scorching the imaginative landscape of human experience. In its wake, the intellectual Christian establishment is witnessing a desire for something more fulfilling. May I suggest a renaissance of the neglected transcendental ideal of Beauty? 

I’m not suggesting we hyperfocus on it at the expense of the other two ideals—Truth and Goodness. This would be a tragic mistake. We need Christian poets and storytellers at the same table with philosophical theologians, ethicists, and apologists to help answer the quintessential questions of life: What’s real?, What’s right?, What’s lovely?, which, in that order, address the nature of truth (logos), morality (ethos), and beauty (pathos)—all intricately interwoven. 

For example, truth (in its purest form) is beautiful. And beauty is the desire to do good and know good in a perfect and personal way, not stoically but dynamically as in a relationship. And here-within lies our need for God, for God puts eternity in our hearts—an eternal pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty, which are all ultimately grounded in God himself.

3/26/25

Together, ethos, pathos, logos speak holistically and harmoniously to the human condition of transformation inspired by the nature of an ethical, passionate, rational God. Christ spoke with authority and credibility,[1] placing his ethos under a pedagogical umbrella. It astonished and moved his disciples. His enemies, on the other hand, exhibited an allergic reaction to his…

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3/18/25

Hello Friends and Family, My mind is constantly swirling with creative ideas. I’ve never been so inspired to write and yet I’ve never been so discouraged and broken. Momentarily, personal matters have culminated into a powder keg. Pray. Breathe. Exercise. Pray. Write. Work. Pray. Have been my constant companions who’ve gotten me through these waves…

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1/16/25

It’s time to start giving back. After years of researching, writing, reading, and studying in the fields of psychology, theology, philosophy, ethics, and spiritual formation, I have decided to become a spiritual life coach for men. My personal conviction is that coaching is modeling. And modeling is coaching. My heart is to see Christian men…

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