Throughout the ages theologians, preachers, pastors, sages and philosophers have wrestled with the evidence for God. Some find the moral argument for God incredibly powerful. They say that for there to be a real moral code in the universe, there needs to be a grounding for that morality, and God is the best explanation.
Others will counter that the problem of pain is insurmountable. They suggest that the existence of great suffering indicates that a benevolent deity can't possibly exist.
Although these (and many more) philosophical and theological debates and positions sometimes get tested in real life situations, they remain mostly the preserve of intellectual debate at both a popular and academic level.
On this day 332 years ago, a man was born in what is now central Germany whose work puts these arguments in perspective in determining whether to have faith on God or not.
He wasn't a philosopher, a priest or a theologian. He was a musician and probably one of the most gifted people ever to pick up an instrument. His name was Georg Friedrich Handel.
His music doesn't make academic arguments about the divine obsolete. But it offers a completely different angle on the question. Instead of 'proving' the existence of God (who could ever hope to achieve such a thing?) Handel's music offers compelling evidence of a higher power at work. This higher power not only was the subject of much of his most profound work, but also seemingly inspired him in creating it.
In his 74 years Handel wrote numerous concertos, operas and music for special occasions. There is 'secular' work of his which endures, such as the Water Music and Music For The Royal Fireworks. Yet his most celebrated compositions are mostly Christian. Most famous among them is, of course, Messiah. Other Biblically inspired works, such as the Oratorios Esther, Deborah Saul and Samson take much of their libretto (words) either directly from scripture or from paraphrases of the Bible stories.
Other works also derive inspiration from the Bible. When asked to write coronation anthems for the crowning of King George II (Handel had by then become a British subject) he turned again to Biblical texts and produced one of his most famous pieces – Zadok the Priest – based on the story of the coronation of David as King in the book of 1 Kings. The opening bars gradually build for almost two minutes before the crescendo reaches a climax and the opening words are sung. It is one of the defining moments of Baroque music and has been repeated at ever coronation service since it was written.
The power of Handel's music lies not only in the words – many composers have of course used Bibical words for their music. There is also a didactic quality to his sacred compositions. The beauty of the music points towards God. This 'argument from beauty' is one of those theoretical things that philosophers point towards when thinking about the existence of God. Yet it leaps off the page when you see a glorious sunset or a stunning piece of art. Handel's music has this same didactic quality – it is beautiful in and of itself, but it teaches us something about how the universe is.
Messiah is the most renowned exposition of this beauty. While the legend that Handel wrote it in a divinely inspired trance may not be strictly true, surely the composition of such a stunning piece of music in only three and a half weeks is evidence of some form of inspiration?
The sweeping majesty of Ev'ry Valley and And The Glory Of The Lord contrast with the delicate beauty of Comfort Ye and I Know That My Redeemer Liveth. It isn't hard to see why, upon first hearing the Hallelujah Chorus, the King is said to have been moved to stand. To this day, audiences and congregations around the world do likewise at that point in a performance.
Ultimately, listening to (or singing) in a work of Handel isn't going to persuade anyone of the existence of God any more than a great philosophical argument is. Ultimately faith is about relationship. Yet the sheer majesty of the music is, for me, a compelling piece of evidence in favour of the God whom Handel spent a career writing of. He ended the musical score of Messiah with the smple words, 'Soli Deo Gloria'... 'To God alone the glory'.
