storyline of scripture, pt 3b (or Day to Day Pours Forth Speech)

There are two friends that I regard as the two best writers that I know. One of them, my friend Harrison, just wrote a post about the English countryside. In that post he creatively articulates and captures the good that results from experiencing the countryside. He points to good memories, pleasant smells, and beautiful scenes. Harrison also makes a point of spiritual application at the end of his post. I think it is a great post.

What Harrison has written helps demonstrate the importance of Creation to the Christian understanding of the world. The beginning of the story of the world starts with man surrounded by a good land in which there is rest, peace, and perfect harmony. Delight and pleasure marked life in Eden (and will one day define life yet again). This goodness has been marred by the Fall, but it has not been completely lost. Thus, even today, we can experience a sense of comfort and peace in the created order. The beauty and goodness of what we see and experience can pierce our souls with truth and reality in a way that words often cannot.

The experience of an English countryside is an apologetic tool. Scripture can explain the experience of the countryside in a way that I think naturalism comes up short. As a result, even Sunday drives through the country open up the opportunity to speak about the God who is the good, the true, and the beautiful.

“I looked at all this in great tranquility, with my soul and spirit quiet. For me landscape seems to be important for contemplation...”
Thomas Merton in When the Trees Say Nothing