A Grace of Sense - theological aesthetics

Photo: Timo Rasimus The Islamic tradition tells that some people have converted to Islam on account of the sheer beauty of the Arabic of the Qur'an. Lacking the knowledge of the language,  ignorant of the teachings of the Prophet, they have nevertheless grasped the spiritual depth of the text (or, rather, recitation). This kind of religious awakening has hardly other than an aesthetic nature. There is neither theological doctrine nor moral obligation involved. Something strikes a person, changing his or her world at once, and one does not know what it is (a counterpart for the aesthetic nescio quid ). A similar story is told within Eastern Christianity. The conversion of Russians to Christianity happened through (or with a little help of) an aesthetic experience, according to the 12th century Nestor's Chronicle . The envoys of the Prince Vladimir reported, after attending the service in Hagia Sophia in Constantinople: "We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth....

In the ancient Greece, humor, playfulness, and jokes were considered as something proper to children and slaves but not appropriate for free men. Plato wanted to drive away the comedians from his Republic. The Christian Church inherited this view on humor. Accordingly, laughter was deemed as superfluous, if not sinful. Jesus is not told to have laughed, and in monastic rules (e.g. the Rule of St. Benedict) laughter is prohibited for monks and nuns.  It is worth noting that laughter in the Bible has usually the touch of scorn, as "He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord has them in derision" (Ps. 2,4). Even God himself seems occasionally lack the sense of humor when He asks: "Why did Sarah laugh?" (Gen. 18,13) Later, Thomas Aquinas had an interesting discussion on humor in Summa Theologiae II-II, quaestio 168 . He asks, whether the "lack of play" ( defectus ludi ) can be viewed as sin. Typically, Aquinas begins with an argument against play and laughter...