Hermenuetics

Comments

Thank you for an insightful, thoughtful post on a very important topic. Beauty, like all things laden with power for both good and evil (sex is another good example of this), needs to be at the forefront of biblical teaching and thinking.

At one time in history, some of the most aesthetically pleasing human works were found in the church and made by her people. The church today has lost touch with the right meaning and power of beauty.

Posted By: KSP | June 24, 2011 2:56 PM

marvelous! Thank you, Enuma!

Posted By: Sharon Miller | June 24, 2011 2:56 PM

I love this post; thanks, Enuma. I am with you--Wangari Muta Maathai is one of the most beautiful women alive--thanks for bringing real beauty to the fore.

Posted By: Rachel Stone | June 24, 2011 3:54 PM

I had not heard about this article and I'm just so completely and absolutely in shock that in this day and age someone would try to post garbage like that. I am appalled.

I really like _this_ article (by Ms. Okoro). I do believe that when possible we should try to strive for beauty as God clearly loves beauty (just watch the sunset!) - and so much of it should be internal! I loved how you indicated a balance approached to physical beauty as well.

Ironically I was thinking about something last night that really exemplifies this article in my mind. I was watching the results show for So You Think You Can Dance and the camera was on Ashley Rich - I noticed how she has the very (very) stereotypical big bottom lip and a very small upper lip, which would not usually be considered all that attractive (I would guess - I'm not a man) but her smile - her beautiful wide smile shows an inner beauty that is magnificent. I have no idea if she's a Christian or if she falls under the "sweet and nice" category but it was something I noticed last night.... overall she really is a very attractive young woman but it was fascinating to see how her inner beauty covered up what some would see as an unattractive feature.

Posted By: Leslie | June 24, 2011 5:33 PM

Beautifully written essay, Enuma. This topic was already on my mind as I finished reading a writer's recent blog post on whether authors' appearances matter in publishing/publicity. Most of the commenters said, yes, it does matter; the photo on the book jacket does sway people in deciding whether to buy the book or not. (I'll admit to this; if I'm undecided on a book and whether I ought to read the contents and the author looks "creepy", I usually pass.)

Yet some of the most beautiful, truthful, profound words in literature have been written by unseen people (no photos/pictures available of the Psalmist David!) or people who might be deemed "unattractive" by certain standards. I think it's because they cultivate their inner beauty and hold outer beauty loosely; they can still appreciate the ability to beautify their bodies, but it's not an obsession.

Posted By: Laura Droege | June 25, 2011 9:36 AM

The most beautiful people in the faith are the ones confident in the Lord, confident in who they are and resting in God's peace. Someone like that just shines and it doesn't matter if their physical characteristics are those that this society says are the beautiful ones.

I am a thin white woman who for so many years wistfully wished God had made her black. I don't know who the author of Psychology Today asked but I think some of the most physically beautiful people are those with dark skin.

As far as Christians and more specifically Christian women, I think we are supposed to care for our appearance but not go to the extreme where we are an distraction. God loves beauty. And our appearances shouldn't be such that we make others stumble, but people who neglect their appearance can be as much as a distraction as those who spend too much time working on it.

Posted By: Jane Hinrichs | June 26, 2011 2:28 PM

I could not even get past the initial sentences claiming that black women are less attractive to read the entire article, even though it was not THIS author's point, rather her counterpoint. Black woman are so very beautiful, how could ANY one think they are less than?

Posted By: Marianne | June 27, 2011 3:02 PM

Beauty in America comes from the illusion of Hollywood moguls. These men were European immigrants from lands where blonde hair and blue eyes were the prize. I am Caucasian and male but am fed up with the cookie cutter looks of many on television: one blonde headed bimbo after another. I remember seeing a woman in a grocery store who had long beautiful blonde hair. When she turned around, I discovered she was Hispanic. Her hair color did not match her natural skin tone. To me, she was destroying her own ethnicity to match an illusion that has no place in reality. All of us fear rejection because God rejected mankind after they sinned in the garden. In Christ, we are accepted as we are and loved enough to overcome any rejection. In one study, it was found that bone structure and facial symmetry are the foundation of beauty regardless of race. A woman should be clean, hair combed, and, if cosmetics are used, a little to enhance what is there. To create an illusion is to create a lie and therefore wrong.

Posted By: Michael Crawford | June 27, 2011 3:09 PM

I'm guessing it was about 50+ years ago that I read an article where someone asked Billy Graham if it was proper for a female to wear makeup. His reply was that it was perfectly proper for a female to use whatever makeup was necessary to make her attractive. A racial designation was not included in his comment.

Bill Simpson

Posted By: Bill Simpson | June 27, 2011 3:12 PM

Beauty is almost always culturally conditioned. In some cultures, thin is in. For others, plump is preferred. In some, styling gel scores points. In others, au natural is the goal.

The deeper question: for whom are we trying to look good? Men? One man? Other women? Ourselves? Any of these possibilities can lead to some form of idolatry. Neglecting any of these can lead to some form of arrogance.

Let's face it, I don't see the point in trying to look good for Jesus. But it's no sin to try to look better than we are at our most untended.

Posted By: SallyB | June 27, 2011 3:35 PM

I dont understand how black women can be so unattractive and yet so many other women from other races try to imatate them now with the full lips and well endowed breast etc. If I thought someone was ugly I sure wouldnt try to be like them NUF SAID!

Posted By: Ronald Moore | June 27, 2011 3:49 PM

Great article--last week, the Bible study I am leading for teen girls focused on self-worth and how images we see in the media can tempt us to believe that we don't live up to some standard of beauty. I hope to impress upon my girls the truth that "beauty is that which reflects the life of Christ."

Posted By: Stephanie | June 27, 2011 4:55 PM

Praise God for such a thoughtful article! As a Christian woman originally from Sierra Leone, West Africa, I couldn't be more pleased. My daily prayer is that the beauty of Jesus would be seen in me both inwardly and outwardly in accordance with God's will.

Posted By: GospelLover | June 27, 2011 8:00 PM

A wonderful pastor from years ago once said:"A coat of paint will make even an old barn look better." The beauty of our Lord will shine gloriously in the appearance of a godly woman. Do what you are comfortable with....the Holy Spirit will ratify within your heart what is beautiful to our Father! And this will be a witness to the lost--our targets for the life we lead!

Posted By: Rena Stevens | June 27, 2011 11:19 PM

I like previous posters, had not seen this article and was shocked to read the headline. I am grateful that my mom raised me, not to see color of skin, but the human being, not the disablities, but the possiblities, not to see the sinner standing before us in the mirror but the beautiful vessel that God is changing and restoring to perfect beauty. I am sad that there is still a thread of a generation that would suggest that one race is less beautiful. We are all children of our God, the creator of all things and if I know that when God creates something it is good, beautiful and perfect. The uglies show up when we, living in a fallen world start to decide, like satan, that we are a better judge.

Bravo to you my love for writing a great article about the uglies in our world. You are a beautiful creature created by our God, so are all our brothers and sisters in Christ who do beleive, there are no words in any magazine that can take that away from us. We now need to instill this into the youth of our world to help continue the change in the currents of our time.

Posted By: Cheryl Sperling | June 28, 2011 5:20 AM

According to the Bible there is only one " race " ,the human race or as the Bible refers to us " mankind ".
Catagorizing people into different races came about through evolutionary doctrine and has caused untold misery and atrocities .
As has been pointed out different cultures have different views on what constitutes beauty and we see many women in the west trying to live up to the unrealistic demands of beauty - many of which are due to airbrushing etc .

Posted By: Nikki | June 28, 2011 5:50 AM

Beauty, it is said, is in the eye of the beholder!. As someone earlier commented, when a woman can understand and appreciate what God thinks of her, she will glow. We lay more emphasis on the physical, when there is insecurity and low self-worth. When we catch a revelation of what Christ thinks of us, and His thoughts towards us, His beauty will radiate from us. This is most important.

Posted By: Bukola Onyekwelu | June 28, 2011 5:56 AM

Yes, beauty is that which reflects the character of Christ, especially for those of us who are already Christ-followers. But there is a sense in which beauty itself calls those who don't know Christ to Him. N.T. Wright (in his book Simply Christian) finds beauty to be one of the four signposts "pointing beyond itself"; it is one of what he calls "echoes of a voice" that draw the non-believer into thinking about God in the first place. Most folks in our modern world don't get the luxury of "starting in the middle of God's story, with Christ", but instead feel their way along towards Him, step by step and hint by hint.

Posted By: Annie Kirkby | June 28, 2011 11:24 AM

Great article with excellent points!

As far as the importance we assign to physical beauty, I think it's plain that God loves beauty. Look how beautiful the biblical descriptions of heaven are. Look even at the instructions God gave the Israelites for building his temple--it was beautiful.

The problem is that in our sinful world, we all fall short of the perfection God intended, and this leads to much personal pain and longing on our part. But the bodies we have now are just earthly bodies, not our permanent bodies, which will be undeniably perfect. The key, I think, is not to be so attached to our temporary bodies that their imperfections become a stumbling block to us. We should always be focused not on what is passing away but on what is to come!

Posted By: TheLordIsMyShepherd | June 29, 2011 12:38 AM

Do you get the point?

Posted By: Anonymous | June 29, 2011 6:46 PM

Thanks for this article. I had been disappointed that the only Christian blog that had discussed the Psychology Today article up to this point was Urban Faith. It's been ALL OVER other blogs for some time now. I think the Psychology Today "study" is simply characterisitic of attacks on African/African American women: within a short period of time when this article appeared, there were more billboards in African American communities about abortion (don't get me wrong, I'm against abortion, but some of these billboards have been OFFENSIVE), the sexual assault on the maid by the now former head of the IMF, and of course, the ongoing atrocities in Congo. People say and do these things because they CAN. Until we ALL pay attention to insults against Black women and women of any race/ethnicity/religion/culture, they will continue.

Posted By: Rlynn | June 30, 2011 12:02 PM

In my opinion, the author of the Psychology Today based his article on social factors, not scientific factors. He noticed how the choice of a mate for the black man when he has wealth, fame and fortune is drastically different from his choice when he is in the opposite situation. When I goggled "Christian Black NBA players and their wives" 100% OF THE BLACK FAMOUS MEN HAD WIVES WHO WERE NOT BLACK!!!

Posted By: Tracey | August 18, 2011 7:31 PM