Between Times on Beauty

Articles relevant for our Arts Network by Between Times

Faithful Thinking for a Complex Age

Between Times is a new online journal based in the UK and continental Europe exploring the relevance of Christian faith in today’s world. Rooted in historic orthodoxy yet open to dialogue across traditions, we publish thoughtful, accessible articles that bring theology into conversation with the pressing cultural, political and spiritual questions of our age. Our aim is to provide a space where rigorous scholarship meets charitable discussion — serious without being inaccessible, grounded without being partisan.

Overview - Read all articles on Beauty here

The 12 articles in the Beauty edition of Between Times approach beauty not as decoration or personal taste, but as a theological, ethical and social reality. Together, they argue that beauty reveals something of God, shapes human desire, contributes to justice and flourishing, and should therefore be taken more seriously in Christian life.

The collection as a whole

Read together, the essays present beauty as a connecting theme between theology, discipleship, art, worship, justice, bodies, literature, social media and public life. The central conclusion is that beauty cannot safely be isolated from truth and goodness: when separated from them it can manipulate or exclude, but when united with them it can reveal, heal and transform.

The 12 articles in brief

1. Training the Beauty Palate: Toward a Christian Aesthetic by Andrzej Turkanik

   Beauty belongs alongside truth and goodness as a central Christian concern. Because our appreciation of beauty can be educated, Christians should intentionally develop their aesthetic perception instead of treating taste as completely subjective. [between-times.co.uk]

2. The Shape of Beauty: On Goodness, Truth, and the Things That Draw Us In by Alastair Gordon

   Beauty is rooted in God’s character and woven into creation. It is not an escape from suffering or injustice, but something that nourishes hope, awakens attention and helps us imagine the restoration of a fractured world. [between-times.co.uk]

3. Beauty-Centric Discipleship by Wesley Vander Lugt

   Christian formation cannot rely on correct beliefs and behaviour alone. Beauty reaches the desires and imagination, drawing people towards the life of Christ and making truth and goodness not only understandable, but genuinely desirable. [between-times.co.uk]

4. The Poor’s Right to Create Beauty by Patrick McCormick

   Access to beauty is a question of justice. Poor people have a right not only to live in beautiful and dignified environments, but also to rest, create and participate in beauty as human beings made in the image of the Creator. [between-times.co.uk]

5. The Beauty of Holiness by Graham War

   Biblical beauty is closely connected with God’s holiness, splendour and glory. The Church becomes beautiful when it reflects Christ and responds collectively to God’s saving presence, rather than merely producing visually attractive religious objects. [between-times.co.uk]

6. How Beautiful We Have Become by J. J. Snodgrass

   Contemporary ideals of physical beauty are increasingly shaped by social media, filters and cosmetic technologies. The article examines how these standards influence self-understanding and social opportunity, suggesting that appearance is neither unimportant nor an adequate measure of human worth. [between-times.co.uk]

7. Beauty and Persuasion in Fiction by Louise McCray

   Literary beauty is persuasive: the form of a story helps shape what readers admire, reject or consider possible. Appreciating fiction therefore requires ethical discernment as well as aesthetic enjoyment, because beautiful stories can direct our desires towards either good or harmful ends. [between-times.co.uk]

8. The Beauty of the Crucified Christ by Chiara Bertoglio

   Christian beauty is revealed paradoxically in the crucified Christ: although his wounded body appears disfigured and “ugly,” the cross reveals the profound beauty of self-giving love, redemption and restored harmony. Drawing especially on musical imagery and works by Bach and Buxtehude, the article shows how Christ’s suffering transforms brokenness into reconciliation. Beauty, therefore, is not merely attractiveness or perfection, but can emerge through suffering when it expresses sacrificial love and leads toward restoration. [between-times.co.uk]

9. Beauty in the Body: Women’s Bodies, Dance, and the Body of Christ by Lynneth Miller Renberg

   Christian interpretation has often blurred the distinction between female beauty and sexuality, turning women’s bodies into supposed sources of temptation. By reconsidering the story of Salome, the article challenges this objectification and presents the body as capable of revealing dignity, community and the presence of Christ. [between-times.co.uk]

10. On Finding Beauty by Peter-Ben Smit

    Liturgical beauty can communicate God’s presence, but it can also make one culture’s aesthetic preferences seem divinely authoritative. Authentic Christian beauty must therefore be discerned in relation to God’s freedom, justice and mercy, not simply pleasant music, impressive architecture or emotional atmosphere. [between-times.co.uk]

11. On Beauty and the Potential Usefulness of the Arts by Mark Meynell

    Art can renew cities, promote wellbeing and generate economic value, as illustrated by the “Bilbao effect.” Yet reducing art to usefulness or commercial benefit misses its deeper significance: artistic creation has intrinsic value because human beings are created to be imaginative “sub-creators.” [between-times.co.uk]

12. Neglect of Beauty as a Diagnostic Sign by Mark Stirling

    When churches neglect beauty, this can indicate a deeper captivity to efficiency, technique and modern utilitarian thinking. Recovering beauty broadens the gospel from a narrowly functional message into the promise of God’s redemption and restoration of the whole creation. [between-times.co.uk]