God and the Creative Imagination: Metaphor, Symbol and Myth in Religion and Theology

by Paul Avis

'A mere metaphor', 'only symbolic', 'just a myth' - these tell tale phrases reveal how figurative language has been cheapened and devalued in our modern and postmodern culture. In God and the Creative Imagination , Paul Avis argues the we see that actually, metaphor, symbol and myth, are the key to a real knowledge of God and the sacred. Avis examines what he calls an alternative tradition, stemming from the Romantic poets Blake, Wordsworth and Keats and drawing on the thought of Cleridge and Newman, and experience in both modern philosophy and science.
God and the Creative Imagination intriguingly draws on a number of non-theological disciplines, from literature to philosophy of science, to show us that God is appropriately likened to an artist or poet and that the greatest truths are expressed in an imaginative form.
Anyone wishing to further their understanding of God, belief and the imagination will find this an inspiring work.

Genres: Theology

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating read. If for nothing else, this is worth a look just to spark discussion. Avis really gets into the weeds. This is incredibly well researched. He cites from church fathers like Augustine and Aquinas, philosophers like Wittgenstein, Bacon, Hobbes, and Kant, poets like Blake, Coleridge, and Wordsworth, modern theologians like Barth, Chesterton, and von Balthasar, and modern critics in the field of theological aesthetics like Ricoeur, Polanyi, and Milbank.

The writing is so rich and dense, and so theory-heavy, I'm not sure what I agree with or disagree with at a practical level. I think the writing could have been improved with a few more Biblical examples scattered throughout. Avis argues we should take more seriously the imaginative potential of myth to explain reality. And he says this does not negate the history and realism of theology. Yet the historicity of scripture seems to be incidental to Avis, which makes me nervous. There is also an undercurrent of postmodernism which grates on the ears.

[Jack Hayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this small book Paul Avis, an Anglican Theologian, advocates for the ascent of the imagination. Now, imagination does not equal flights of fantasy. Rather it is a serious engagement with how metaphors, symbols, and myth change us and how we operate in life. Even science ‘imagines’ things as pure fact, which can not bring true knowledge. An example I can think of is the headline “Science Solves What Makes People Love Music.” The article outlines neural pathways etc. But does the data ‘explain’ why we love music or simply explain a mechanism?
Furthermore, implementing the results requires imagination because I don’t have any first-hand knowledge of neural pathways beyond my imagination. Applied to faith, imagination is immensely more important because we must imagine these symbols application to life. The common adage in church that we can say the gospel but not live it illustrates this well.

Additionally, imagination must be prioritized because Christianity is a religion of metaphor, symbol, and *gasp* myth. Jesus is not bread but the ‘Bread of Life.’ He isn’t light, but he is light. Christianity is built on symbols, and if symbols are meaningless, then much of how Christian expression is too. Avis spends much time outlining these categories and then goes on to work through ‘critical realism’ and advocate for metaphor, symbol, and mythical realism. These are real categories with fundamental importance that shapes the Christian life.

One last note what Avis means by myth is the narrative component of religious belief. An example of this is the Gospels, which are both historical but arranged in mythical time. Everything has meaning, but that doesn’t mean it is historically meaningless. This also applies to the Incarnation, metaphor, symbol, and myth. To understand more, the book is certainly worth the read.

This a good intro into these topics.

97% Imagine Reality

[Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good thoughts, but infected by modernity.