The Christian Imagination

Hello, all!

Thanks for sticking with me even through a long silence. Now that the semester is over, I will be writing much more on Substack. And I am excited to announce that I will be teaching a class on “The Christian Imagination” this summer on Thursday evenings from July 9-August 27. There is detailed information below!

“My faith is not what I write about or what I paint about, but it is the light by which I see.”--Flannery O’Connor

Class Description & Info:

In this interdisciplinary class, we will read fiction and poetry, listen to music, and look at visual art that encourage us to recognize the mystery of God and the paradoxical nature of the human condition. We will also read essays from artists and scholars to discuss what it means for the artist of faith to create meaningful things for which faith is, as O’Connor notes, “the light by which I see.” Last of all, we will address why it is important for every Christian to value the imagination and what this might look like in practice.

You can find the syllabus here:

“Christian art? Art is art; painting is painting; music is music; a story is a story. If it’s bad art, it’s bad religion, no matter how pious the subject.”--Madeleine L’Engle

“It is very important that we allow artists to be artists and to tell the truth about society because artists and creatives actually move culture.” —Amisho Baraka

Reading (and Listening) List:

You will need to buy or borrow the selections in bold. The other selections can be found online (and I will send them to you well in advance).

· Christian Wiman: “Gazing into the Abyss;” N.T. Wright

· N.T. Wright: “Apocalyptic and the Beauty of God”

· Poetry by John Donne and T.S. Eliot

· Graham Greene: The End of the Affair

· Flannery O’Connor: “The Church and the Fiction Writer,” “Parker’s Back,” “A Temple of the Holy Ghost”

· C.S. Lewis: Till We Have Faces

· “Appendix” from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

· Music from Sho Baraka: The Narrative

· Matthew 23

· Leif Enger: I Cheerfully Refuse

Class Registration: https://forms.gle/oAExyuWd5Fm6YNV79

Class Fee: $100 ($70 for subscribers to The Empathetic Imagination Substack). I will accept payment via Venmo, Paypal, or Zelle. Payment must be made before

Meeting Dates: Thursday, July 9 until Thursday, August 20

Meeting Times: Thursday from 7 pm- 8:30 pm ET on Zoom

CLASS SCHEDULE:

All of the following meetings are on Thursday evening from 7-8:30 ET.

July 2: Informal information meeting/ presentation (free lecture/ info meeting)

July 9: Christian Wiman: “Gazing into the Abyss,” N.T. Wright: “Apocalyptic and the Beauty of God”

July 16: Poetry by John Donne and T.S. Eliot

July 23: Graham Greene: The End of the Affair

July 30: Flannery O’Connor: “The Church and the Fiction Writer,” “Parker’s Back,” “A Temple of the Holy Ghost”

August 6: C.S. Lewis: Till We Have Faces (first half)

August 13: C.S. Lewis: Till We Have Faces (second half)

August 20: “Appendix” from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Music from Sho Baraka: The Narrative, Matthew 23

August 27: Leif Enger: I Cheerfully Refuse

Thanks so much for reading! I will be writing here on a more normal schedule now.

Please reach out with any questions about the class.