In Peter’s Kreeft’s essential book A Handbook of Christian Apologetics, there’s a chapter entitled Twenty Arguments for the Existence of God, and he and his co-author delve deep into them. Some of the arguments are ancient, some modern. Some have a more satisfying weight to them than others. Some are perhaps a little difficult to follow, mostly due to the rigorous logic they entail that our current least-common-denominator culture has no patience for. None in itself, Kreeft admits, will convince a strident atheist to rethink his position. However, all twenty, taken as a group, a whole, are quite persuasive.
One argument I found of considerable interest he calls the Aesthetic Argument. It’s really quite simple. Paraphrasing:
The musical works of Johann Sebastian Bach exist;
Therefore, God exists.
You either see this right away or you don’t.
One argument I found of considerable interest he calls the Aesthetic Argument. It’s really quite simple. Paraphrasing:
The musical works of Johann Sebastian Bach exist;
Therefore, God exists.
You either see this right away or you don’t.
This is philosophy I can understand (winks).
The first piece of music that came to my mind writing this is Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 in D, particularly the first movement. I’d need to take a little while to create a thoughtful list, though. What music is sublime and transcendent to you?
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