Beauty and Creation: Bringing Order to Chaos

Over the course of this week, you will have the opportunity to examine the creative process and vision of artists, composers, authors, and filmmakers. In varying degrees, each will follow in the footsteps of how God created things by bringing order to chaos through paint or brushstrokes, notes, words, and film frames to portray the vision and purpose of their creation.

This course seeks to understand principles associated with beauty and creativity as they relate to the arts. One effective way of learning is to associate ideas that we already understand to situations that are less familiar to us. We will take this approach as we seek to learn about the arts by applying truths regarding the creation of the earth to artistic creations.

A detail of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, by Michelangelo.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia. Public Domain.

From the scriptural accounts of the creation of the earth, we learn several important truths about the creative process in general. These principles are as true for creation in the arts as they are for the creation of the universe. 

The Book of Genesis starts with these words: In the beginning, God created heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1). Herein we find the first principle of creation: things don’t just spontaneously come into existence—they are fashioned by a creator. No painting, no piece of music, no poem,  novel, play, film, dance, building, or any other form of art ever came into existence on its own. Each work was the result of a deliberate act of a creator.

The fact that every creation is the result of a conscious choice of a creator leads to another related principle: things are created for a reason. In the Book of Moses, we learn the reason why God created this world: ;For behold, this is my work and my glory— to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man(Moses 1:39). There are a myriad of reasons why people create works of art, but we will discuss these at a later time.

Returning to Genesis, we continue reading: And the earth was without form, and void (Genesis 1:2). Without form means without structure or order or organization—or, to use a word we borrowed from the Greeks, it was chaos. Because the earth was in this chaotic state, it was void or useless, ineffectual, and empty.  We will refer to this throughout the chapter, but Genesis goes on to describe the series of steps the Lord followed as He created order out of chaos, separating the light from the dark, the land from the water, and so on. 

Fallen Bricks. Photo Credit: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0; Brick Wall. Photo Credit. Wikipedia, CC0 

Creation is the process of creating order out of chaos

This is a concept that has been understood by philosophers at least as far back as the ancient Greeks, but it was expressed more recently in 1824 by French scientist Sadi Carnot, who in 1824 first expressed what is now known as the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics

This law describes a natural phenomenon known as entropy, which is the tendency for molecular disorder. More simply stated, the Second Law of Thermodynamics is that the natural state of things is chaos and that orderly things tend to revert to a state of disorder unless acted upon by an outside force. Summarizing an article about this law by prominent molecular biologist Lyle Watson, Mormon scholar Hugh Nibley writes this:

Left to itself, everything tends to become more and more disorderly, until the final and natural state of things is a completely random distribution of matter. Any kind of order is unnatural, and happens only by chance encounters. These events are statistically unlikely and the further combination of molecules into anything as highly organized as a living organism is wildly improbable. Life is a rare and unreasonable thing” (Nibley, 1992).

According to Watson and other scientists, the Second Law of Thermodynamics dictates that there shouldn’t be order in the universe, yet it is a highly ordered system. Still, as Nibley points out, there is a core of secularist scholars who accept that the natural state of the cosmos is chaos and that the probability that molecules could arrange themselves into a single living organism is infinitesimal, but will also ironically insist that our whole solar system somehow defied this law and became orderly by sheer chance. As Nibley wittily puts it, I don’t know any religious person who ever had greater faith than that. Regarding the obvious existence of order in the universe, Alma teaches that all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator (Alma 30:44).

When orderliness at first glance appears to occur randomly, it will in the light of all the facts prove to be the result of a conscious and deliberate act. As the poet Alexander Pope expressed in his Essay on Man, This but a part we see, and not a whole.

If the natural state of things is chaos and organized things tend to fall apart, then as some scientists have concluded, there must be another force, which counteracts entropy (chaos) and tends towards symmetry and coherence. This allows organized matter to exist. The opposite to this orderly force is sometimes referred to as syntropy (you may have heard it called negentropy). Scientists still do not fully understand this force, but they know it exists because we are here we are, not random particles of matter, but as living, breathing organisms. In the scriptures, another term is used to describe the organizing force in the universe: the light of Christ.

This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made. As also he is in the moon, and is the light of the moon, and the power thereof by which it was made; As also the light of the stars, and the power thereof by which they were made; And the earth also, and the power thereof, even the earth upon which you stand. And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlightened your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings;

Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—
The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things “(D&C 88:7–13).

At this point, it might be worthwhile to consider why orderliness is so important. We have already concluded that when the earth was without form, it was void, or useless. It had to be organized in order to achieve its purpose. Moreover, there seems to be something divine about orderliness. Speaking to Joseph Smith, the Lord stated, Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion (D&C 132:8). As we explore the notion of order in the arts, we will identify some of the patterns, structures, and design elements commonly used in visual art, music, literature, and architecture.

The opposite of creation is destruction. God is a creator who seeks to produce order, harmony, balance, and beauty; Satan is a destroyer who promotes confusion, strife, contention, and ugliness. The more we seek after order, whether it is in our lives and families, or in creating art, the more we become like God. When people cannot (or will not), find beneficial means to express their creativity, they follow Satan’s example and become destructive.

The pale spiral galaxy NGC 4921 as photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope
Photo Credit: Wikipedia. Public Domain

From the Book of Abraham’s Account of the Creation of the Earth, We Discover Another Truth about Creation.

The Lord states, We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take off these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell(Abraham 3:24). Creation is not a magic act wherein something is conjured up out of nowhere. Rather, creation is the process of organizing existing materials. Many in the Christian world believe in the idea of creation ex nihilo (Latin for “from nothing”). Christian theologians developed this idea in the 2nd century AD as they blended ideas from Greek philosophy with scripture. Perhaps they thought that it made God more majestic if He could create the world out of nothing, but it completely opposes common sense. It is impossible to make anything from nothing. For example, we make a cake by combining existing ingredients together: flour, oil, eggs, sugar, baking powder, and flavoring, and producing something different altogether. 

Read these scriptures regarding the creation of humankind: 

• Genesis 1:27 

• (Genesis 2:7 

From these scriptures, we learn that God organized our mortal bodies from the same elements that are found in the earth: hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, iron, magnesium, and so on, and that He formed them into the shape of His body and that he enabled our spirits to inhabit our bodies so that we become a living soul. 

Our spirits, too, are not created ex nihilo, as we learn in Doctrine and Covenants, For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy (D&C 93:33).  In another place, we read, There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes; We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified we shall see that it is all matter (D&C 131:7–8).

Nothing, not even our spirits, is made from nothing

These verses suggest that the soul of man is composed of two kinds of matter: refined matter for our spirits and a coarser element for our bodies. We also learn that these two forms of matter need to be inseparably connected in order for us to receive a fullness of joy. The point here is that nothing, not even our spirits, is made from nothing. Thus, Creation is the process of organizing elements, or stated another way, everything is made out of something. This principle is also encapsulated in a scientific law: the First Law of Thermodynamics. 

The First Law of Thermodynamics 

The First Law of Thermodynamics describes the fact that matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be transformed. Water can become ice when exposed to cold temperatures, or it can become vapor when it evaporates, but it never ceases to exist. This is what the Lord was referring to when he told Adam and Eve, In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return(Genesis 3.19).

Can you see how this principle applies to the arts? Let’s look at a few examples. How do artists create a painting? They take pigments derived from plants or minerals and organize them into patterns on some kind of surface. How do poets create poems? They take existing words and sounds and organize them into meters and rhyme schemes so as to communicate ideas and feelings. How do musicians create music? They organize beats and vibrations to create melodies, harmonies, and rhythms. 

Three Major Themes

In this course, we will focus on three major themes that can be related to creation,  life, relationships, experiences, and of course the arts. These are: Beauty, Truth, and Good.

For example, the creation of the earth gives us insight into the concept of beauty. In D&C 59:16–19, we read this:

Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the fulness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth upon the trees and walketh upon the earth;

Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth, whether for food or for raiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards;

Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;

Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul.

In these verses we learn that God created everything that we need to survive: food, clothing, and shelter. But what’s interesting here is that He made them in such a way as to give us pleasure, to please the eye and to gladden the heart (D&C 59:18).He gave us not just that which we needed to “strengthen the body (D&C 59:19),” but He made them in a manner that would enliven the soul ((D&C 59:19),).” He could have said, ;All you need for food is tofu, so here you are. No, he created all kinds of animals and fish and grains and fruits and herbs and spices in all kinds of shapes, sizes, colors, textures, flavors, and smells to give us pleasure in life. Muhammad is said to have stated, God is beautiful, and He loves beauty (Islam Today).” Some of our course goals are to gain a greater understanding of the nature of beauty, how beauty “enlivens the soul” and how beautiful art in all its forms can draw us closer to God.

We tend to think that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but there are natural laws associated with beauty just as the laws of thermodynamics are connected to creation. Later on, we will examine some of the bounds and conditions that govern beauty, both in God’s creations and in art, including such elements as ideal proportions, principles of color, texture, and organizational patterns that “please the eye and gladden the heart.”

Another concept that is related to beauty, and that will be a significant part of our course, is truth. We live in an age where truth is seen as relative. Some modern philosophers argue that there is no absolute truth. What may be true to one person might not be true for another and vice versa. This might sound like a tolerant and open-minded viewpoint, but it is neither. It actually shows that people are not open-minded to the views of others and that they might be wrong (and thus intolerant). Christ said that He is the way, the truth, and the light. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe in absolute truths not only of the gospel, but also in all things. Brigham Young had a lot to say about this concept. For example,

"Mormonism, embraces every principle pertaining to life and salvation, for time and eternity. No matter who has it. If the infidel has got the truth it belongs to “Mormonism.” The truth and sound doctrine possessed by the sectarian world, and they have a great deal, all belong to this Church. As for their morality, many of them are, morally, just as good as we are. All that is good, lovely, and praiseworthy belongs to this Church and Kingdom. “Mormonism” includes all truth. There is no truth but what belongs to the Gospel. “It is life, eternal life; it is bliss; it is the fulness of all things in the gods and in the eternities of the gods” (Discourses of Brigham Young, 1865).

Finding truth in the arts can be a bit more of a daunting task. In a talk given at the BYU Wheatley Institute in 2017, Sir Roger Scruton, an English philosopher, stated,In religion, we recognize that there’s no redemption through falsehood, and the same seems to be true of art … Art has its own way of presenting the spiritual truth of things, and if it falsifies, then it doesn’t produce the kind of redemptive consolation that we’re looking for through a work of art.

The final major theme we will focus on this semester is “The Good.” The Old Testament manual of study stated that, Adam and Eve were the crowning point of the Creation, but pause for a moment to think of the Creation itself. It was the Father directing the creation of a home for His children. When it was finished, the record states with beautiful simplicity, “And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. (Genesis 1:31). For the years since the creation, the earth has been a place of beauty and abundance … of self-renewal and constant re-creation (Old Testament Manual of Study). 

The creation was complete, and it was good. In art, it may be more difficult to ascertain the qualities of what is good. Travis Anderson once said,

“Well, perhaps the first step in answering those questions would be to recognize that art is important. And it is not always entertaining; more often than not art educates in a decidedly demanding, unentertaining fashion. And good art, whether by entertaining or by educating, always enriches life in ways no other human enterprise can do. Hence, it should be taken seriously, with maturity, and, at times, with a certain degree of tolerance (Seeking After the Good in Art, Drama, Film, and Literature)."

The creation is a conscious act and creation stories provide us an understanding of what culture deems important and worthy of consideration. As part of an analysis of creation, it is important to look at how different cultures have approached this drama. You will find some things familiar to you in these stories and other parts that are completely foreign. By examining them, we can develop an empathy for others as we attempt to understand what they thought was important. We will look at two of the earliest examples of creation as told by both the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians. You will then examine a creation story from your heritage or current culture.

Summary

Keep the universal principles of beauty and creativity in mind that apply equally to the creation of the earth and to the arts. These principles, which we have learned this week, will guide our approach to the arts:

• Nothing comes into existence spontaneously.

• Each creation is the result of a conscious and purposeful act by a creator.

• Creation is the process of creating order out of chaos. Orderliness is godliness.

• There is no creation ex nihilo. Everything is created out of something.

• Beauty is a divine quality and beautiful things can bring us closer to God.

• Beauty is what brings joy to life, pleasures the eye, gladdens the heart, and enlivens the soul.

• There are natural laws and principles associated with both beauty and creativity.