As part of my next Christian book, I’ve been looking into what we call the imagination, especially in terms of how we use it when we read the Bible. The process has been somewhat of a struggle because of two things. The first is that I have such personal baggage attached to the word, being that a lot of fantasy that I was interested in as a kid came under fire during the “satanic panic” days. However, through small acts of rebellion, I eventually came across authors like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, whose imaginative works defied the narrow-minded criticisms of that movement.
The second part of the struggle has to do with the fact that the word “imagination” has too much of an attachment to the word “fiction.” When we think of things as imaginary, we believe they are made up or childish. What doesn’t help either is that when you quickly study how the Bible speaks of using the imagination, such studies lead to negative examples of how people “devise” sin or justify sin. This could lead to the conclusion that using the imagination only leads to sin, and I’ve seen that claim in real life.
Taking a closer look, though, I’ve discovered that “imagination” is much larger and more complex than some people realize. For example, it is foundational to language. When we want to express an idea that simple words can’t describe, we use metaphor to engage the imagination of the hearer/reader and draw them deeper into what is being communicated. The book of Psalms does this consistently. David says, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God (Ps 42:1, NRSV).”
But even outside of literature, the expressions we use daily contain the use of imagination, such as, “he/she is an open book” or “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.” Our sayings are part of a collective imagination that illustrates how we think through things as a society. So, yes, imagination is a process of how we think and what we value, but it is also a basket of ideas we are constantly reaching into, even without knowing it. Therefore, it’s something much bigger than we give it credit for.
Can the imagination lead to sin and evil? Yes, since it is a way we process our thoughts, and if Christ has not transformed our minds, our imaginations will then be prone to fallenness and reflect that reality, and the Bible demonstrates that fact many times. Nevertheless, the Bible also shows what happens when our hearts and minds are turned toward God, especially through the Spirit-led writers’ use of imagery throughout Scripture. Additionally, God never calls us to cease using our imaginations, but he does want to sanctify them (2 Cor 10:5, Phil 4:8). When we give into that last part, God works wonders.