Not having read this book I especially appreciate the summary because it is on such an important topic by a well known and respected author. The comment about comfort in hearing someone else speak our exact thoughts hits home. Truth and reality are the same thing but I disagree that they are always beautiful. For example, while the exposure of atrocities may be truthful, and in fact necessary to prevent their being repeated, it’s unlikely to be beautiful.
Perhaps beauty is the wrong word, but I'm not sure how to express what I mean. There is something exciting that happens when a lie is destroyed, even if it exposes an ugly truth. Whether it is part of a larger redemptive arc or leads to a growth of causal understanding (even if there is no way to prevent recurrences), ugliness properly balanced becomes part of a larger beauty. There is even a certain appeal of tragedies. I can't explain why, but I like Hamlet. I like Romeo And Juliet. The stories fit inside a larger metanarrative that is partly subconscious. Does any of this make sense?
Maybe the excitement when a lie is destroyed is related to justice which the Bible says is very important to God. Perhaps the appeal of tragedies is the weightiness or profound importance of the subject matter. I almost always cry at weddings, and I don't think it's related to beauty but to the huge significance of the occasion in the lives of those two people. In fact I have a problem discussing any deeply moving topic because I start to cry and can't talk at the same time. A few tears trickling down is one thing but inability to continue the conversation is another. So, I think I understand at least a little of what you said below.
Not having read this book I especially appreciate the summary because it is on such an important topic by a well known and respected author. The comment about comfort in hearing someone else speak our exact thoughts hits home. Truth and reality are the same thing but I disagree that they are always beautiful. For example, while the exposure of atrocities may be truthful, and in fact necessary to prevent their being repeated, it’s unlikely to be beautiful.
Perhaps beauty is the wrong word, but I'm not sure how to express what I mean. There is something exciting that happens when a lie is destroyed, even if it exposes an ugly truth. Whether it is part of a larger redemptive arc or leads to a growth of causal understanding (even if there is no way to prevent recurrences), ugliness properly balanced becomes part of a larger beauty. There is even a certain appeal of tragedies. I can't explain why, but I like Hamlet. I like Romeo And Juliet. The stories fit inside a larger metanarrative that is partly subconscious. Does any of this make sense?
Maybe the excitement when a lie is destroyed is related to justice which the Bible says is very important to God. Perhaps the appeal of tragedies is the weightiness or profound importance of the subject matter. I almost always cry at weddings, and I don't think it's related to beauty but to the huge significance of the occasion in the lives of those two people. In fact I have a problem discussing any deeply moving topic because I start to cry and can't talk at the same time. A few tears trickling down is one thing but inability to continue the conversation is another. So, I think I understand at least a little of what you said below.