Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination

Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination

Author: Andrew D. Thrasher

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2023-07-31

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 1978712197

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Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination offers analyses of the theological, philosophical, and religious imagination found in fantasy literature, the theological imagination, and table-top games. Part I offers an invocation to the study through a theological reflection of the “old magic.” Part II analyzes classical Christian fantasy—ranging from dogmatic theological reflection on the fantastic imagination to analyses of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Part III analyzes the post-Christian turn in fantasy after about 1960 through today—featuring methodological, theological, and philosophical essays that reflect a movement beyond Christianity in the fantasy literature and writings of Rabbi Shagar, Ursula le Guin, Terry Pratchett, Robert Jordan and David Eddings, and Brandon Sanderson and Orson Scott Card. Part IV closes with two analyses of the religious and philosophical dimensions of table-top games, including Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: the Gathering. Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination offers astute analyses of how theological fantasy actually is by articulating the religious, philosophical, and theological dimensions of the fantastic imagination.


Book Synopsis Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination by : Andrew D. Thrasher

Download or read book Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination written by Andrew D. Thrasher and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2023-07-31 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination offers analyses of the theological, philosophical, and religious imagination found in fantasy literature, the theological imagination, and table-top games. Part I offers an invocation to the study through a theological reflection of the “old magic.” Part II analyzes classical Christian fantasy—ranging from dogmatic theological reflection on the fantastic imagination to analyses of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Part III analyzes the post-Christian turn in fantasy after about 1960 through today—featuring methodological, theological, and philosophical essays that reflect a movement beyond Christianity in the fantasy literature and writings of Rabbi Shagar, Ursula le Guin, Terry Pratchett, Robert Jordan and David Eddings, and Brandon Sanderson and Orson Scott Card. Part IV closes with two analyses of the religious and philosophical dimensions of table-top games, including Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: the Gathering. Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination offers astute analyses of how theological fantasy actually is by articulating the religious, philosophical, and theological dimensions of the fantastic imagination.

Imagination and Fantasy in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Time

Imagination and Fantasy in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Time

Author: Albrecht Classen

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2020-08-24

Total Pages: 820

ISBN-13: 3110693666

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The notions of other peoples, cultures, and natural conditions have always been determined by the epistemology of imagination and fantasy, providing much freedom and creativity, and yet have also created much fear, anxiety, and horror. In this regard, the pre-modern world demonstrates striking parallels with our own insofar as the projections of alterity might be different by degrees, but they are fundamentally the same by content. Dreams, illusions, projections, concepts, hopes, utopias/dystopias, desires, and emotional attachments are as specific and impactful as the physical environment. This volume thus sheds important light on the various lenses used by people in the Middle Ages and the early modern age as to how they came to terms with their perceptions, images, and notions. Previous scholarship focused heavily on the history of mentality and history of emotions, whereas here the history of pre-modern imagination, and fantasy assumes center position. Imaginary things are taken seriously because medieval and early modern writers and artists clearly reveal their great significance in their works and their daily lives. This approach facilitates a new deep-structure analysis of pre-modern culture.


Book Synopsis Imagination and Fantasy in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Time by : Albrecht Classen

Download or read book Imagination and Fantasy in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Time written by Albrecht Classen and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2020-08-24 with total page 820 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The notions of other peoples, cultures, and natural conditions have always been determined by the epistemology of imagination and fantasy, providing much freedom and creativity, and yet have also created much fear, anxiety, and horror. In this regard, the pre-modern world demonstrates striking parallels with our own insofar as the projections of alterity might be different by degrees, but they are fundamentally the same by content. Dreams, illusions, projections, concepts, hopes, utopias/dystopias, desires, and emotional attachments are as specific and impactful as the physical environment. This volume thus sheds important light on the various lenses used by people in the Middle Ages and the early modern age as to how they came to terms with their perceptions, images, and notions. Previous scholarship focused heavily on the history of mentality and history of emotions, whereas here the history of pre-modern imagination, and fantasy assumes center position. Imaginary things are taken seriously because medieval and early modern writers and artists clearly reveal their great significance in their works and their daily lives. This approach facilitates a new deep-structure analysis of pre-modern culture.

Between the Image and the Word

Between the Image and the Word

Author: Trevor Hart

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-15

Total Pages: 263

ISBN-13: 1317174941

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The central contention of Christian faith is that in the incarnation the eternal Word or Logos of God himself has taken flesh, so becoming for us the image of the invisible God. Our humanity itself is lived out in a constant to-ing and fro-ing between materiality and immateriality. Imagination, language and literature each have a vital part to play in brokering this hypostatic union of matter and meaning within the human creature. Approaching different aspects of two distinct movements between the image and the word, in the incarnation and in the dynamics of human existence itself, Trevor Hart presents a clearer understanding of each and explores the juxtapositions with the other. Hart concludes that within the Trinitarian economy of creation and redemption these two occasions of ’flesh-taking’ are inseparable and indivisible.


Book Synopsis Between the Image and the Word by : Trevor Hart

Download or read book Between the Image and the Word written by Trevor Hart and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-15 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The central contention of Christian faith is that in the incarnation the eternal Word or Logos of God himself has taken flesh, so becoming for us the image of the invisible God. Our humanity itself is lived out in a constant to-ing and fro-ing between materiality and immateriality. Imagination, language and literature each have a vital part to play in brokering this hypostatic union of matter and meaning within the human creature. Approaching different aspects of two distinct movements between the image and the word, in the incarnation and in the dynamics of human existence itself, Trevor Hart presents a clearer understanding of each and explores the juxtapositions with the other. Hart concludes that within the Trinitarian economy of creation and redemption these two occasions of ’flesh-taking’ are inseparable and indivisible.

Imagining God

Imagining God

Author: Garrett Green

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 9780802844842

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Garrett Green examines the point at which divine revelation and human experience meet, where the priority of grace is acknowledged while allowing its dynamics to be described in analytical and comparative terms as a religious phenomenon.


Book Synopsis Imagining God by : Garrett Green

Download or read book Imagining God written by Garrett Green and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 1998 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Garrett Green examines the point at which divine revelation and human experience meet, where the priority of grace is acknowledged while allowing its dynamics to be described in analytical and comparative terms as a religious phenomenon.

The Christian Imagination

The Christian Imagination

Author: Leland Ryken

Publisher: Shaw Books

Published: 2011-12-07

Total Pages: 482

ISBN-13: 0307568849

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The Christian Imagination brings together in a single source the best that has been written about the relationship between literature and the Christian faith. This anthology covers all of the major topics that fall within this subject and includes essays and excerpts from fifty authors, including C.S. Lewis, Flannery O’Connor, Dorothy Sayers, and Frederick Buechner.


Book Synopsis The Christian Imagination by : Leland Ryken

Download or read book The Christian Imagination written by Leland Ryken and published by Shaw Books. This book was released on 2011-12-07 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Christian Imagination brings together in a single source the best that has been written about the relationship between literature and the Christian faith. This anthology covers all of the major topics that fall within this subject and includes essays and excerpts from fifty authors, including C.S. Lewis, Flannery O’Connor, Dorothy Sayers, and Frederick Buechner.

Baptized Imagination

Baptized Imagination

Author: Kerry Dearborn

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-15

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 1317176251

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The imagination has been called, 'the principal organ for knowing and responding to disclosures of transcendent truth'. This book probes the theological sources of the imagination, which make it a vital tool for knowing and responding to such disclosures. Kerry Dearborn approaches areas of theology and imagination through a focus on the nineteenth century theologian and writer George MacDonald. MacDonald can be seen as an icon whose life and work open a window to the intersection of word, flesh and image. He communicated the gospel through narrative and image-rich forms which honour truth and address the intellectual, imaginative, spiritual, and emotional needs of his readers. MacDonald was also able to speak prophetically in a number of areas of contemporary concern, such as the nature of suffering, aging and death, environmental degradation, moral imagination and gender issues. Dearborn explores influences which shaped him, along with the wisdom he has offeredin the formation of significant Christian writers in both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Authors such as C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy Sayers, J.R.R. Tolkien, W.H. Auden, Frederick Buechner and others attribute to MacDonald key paradigm shifts and insights in their own lives. A study of MacDonald does not offer a formulaic approach to theology and the imagination, but the possibility of gleaning from his rich harvest relevant nourishment for our own day. It also provides a context in which to assess potential weaknesses in imaginative approaches to theology.


Book Synopsis Baptized Imagination by : Kerry Dearborn

Download or read book Baptized Imagination written by Kerry Dearborn and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-15 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The imagination has been called, 'the principal organ for knowing and responding to disclosures of transcendent truth'. This book probes the theological sources of the imagination, which make it a vital tool for knowing and responding to such disclosures. Kerry Dearborn approaches areas of theology and imagination through a focus on the nineteenth century theologian and writer George MacDonald. MacDonald can be seen as an icon whose life and work open a window to the intersection of word, flesh and image. He communicated the gospel through narrative and image-rich forms which honour truth and address the intellectual, imaginative, spiritual, and emotional needs of his readers. MacDonald was also able to speak prophetically in a number of areas of contemporary concern, such as the nature of suffering, aging and death, environmental degradation, moral imagination and gender issues. Dearborn explores influences which shaped him, along with the wisdom he has offeredin the formation of significant Christian writers in both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Authors such as C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy Sayers, J.R.R. Tolkien, W.H. Auden, Frederick Buechner and others attribute to MacDonald key paradigm shifts and insights in their own lives. A study of MacDonald does not offer a formulaic approach to theology and the imagination, but the possibility of gleaning from his rich harvest relevant nourishment for our own day. It also provides a context in which to assess potential weaknesses in imaginative approaches to theology.

Theology and Horror

Theology and Horror

Author: Brandon R. Grafius

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2021-03-02

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 1978707991

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Scholars of religion have begun to explore horror and the monstrous, not only within the confines of the biblical text or the traditions of religion, but also as they proliferate into popular culture. This exploration emerges from what has long been present in horror: an engagement with the same questions that animate religious thought – questions about the nature of the divine, humanity's place in the universe, the distribution of justice, and what it means to live a good life, among many others. Such exploration often involves a theological conversation. Theology and Horror: Explorations of the Dark Religious Imagination pursues questions regarding non-physical realities, spaces where both divinity and horror dwell. Through an exploration of theology and horror, the contributors explore how questions of spirituality, divinity, and religious structures are raised, complicated, and even sometimes answered (at least partially) by works of horror.


Book Synopsis Theology and Horror by : Brandon R. Grafius

Download or read book Theology and Horror written by Brandon R. Grafius and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2021-03-02 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scholars of religion have begun to explore horror and the monstrous, not only within the confines of the biblical text or the traditions of religion, but also as they proliferate into popular culture. This exploration emerges from what has long been present in horror: an engagement with the same questions that animate religious thought – questions about the nature of the divine, humanity's place in the universe, the distribution of justice, and what it means to live a good life, among many others. Such exploration often involves a theological conversation. Theology and Horror: Explorations of the Dark Religious Imagination pursues questions regarding non-physical realities, spaces where both divinity and horror dwell. Through an exploration of theology and horror, the contributors explore how questions of spirituality, divinity, and religious structures are raised, complicated, and even sometimes answered (at least partially) by works of horror.

Virtual Communion

Virtual Communion

Author: Katherine G. Schmidt

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2020-05-22

Total Pages: 207

ISBN-13: 1978701632

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Virtual Communion: Theology of the Internet and the Catholic Sacramental Imagination provides a theological account of the internet from a Catholic perspective. It engages digital culture by providing a context for media and mediation within the Catholic tradition, specifically focusing on the ecclesiology and sacramentality of the church. Katherine G. Schmidt argues that the Catholic imagination is inherently consonant with the idea of the “virtual,” understood as the creative space between presence and absence, bringing the fields of media studies, internet studies, sociology, history, and theology together in order to give a theological account of the social realities of American Catholicism in light of digital culture. Overall, Schmidt argues that the social possibilities of the internet afford the church great opportunity for building a social context that allows the living out of Eucharistic logic learned in properly liturgical moments.


Book Synopsis Virtual Communion by : Katherine G. Schmidt

Download or read book Virtual Communion written by Katherine G. Schmidt and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2020-05-22 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Virtual Communion: Theology of the Internet and the Catholic Sacramental Imagination provides a theological account of the internet from a Catholic perspective. It engages digital culture by providing a context for media and mediation within the Catholic tradition, specifically focusing on the ecclesiology and sacramentality of the church. Katherine G. Schmidt argues that the Catholic imagination is inherently consonant with the idea of the “virtual,” understood as the creative space between presence and absence, bringing the fields of media studies, internet studies, sociology, history, and theology together in order to give a theological account of the social realities of American Catholicism in light of digital culture. Overall, Schmidt argues that the social possibilities of the internet afford the church great opportunity for building a social context that allows the living out of Eucharistic logic learned in properly liturgical moments.

Hearing and Doing the Word

Hearing and Doing the Word

Author: Daniel J. Treier

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2021-07-29

Total Pages: 506

ISBN-13: 0567662640

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This collection of essays honours Kevin J. Vanhoozer by representing the current state of evangelical hermeneutics in light of his work. The volume consists of three parts: The Biblical Script, Great Performances, and Theodrama Today. Each part contains wide-ranging contributions from well-known scholars, who address important topics for contemporary hermeneutics in dialogue with Vanhoozer's influential work. Kevin J. Vanhoozer is today's leading evangelical theologian of biblical interpretation. He is one of the most influential voices in contemporary hermeneutics, and in academic theology he is one of his generation's most influential evangelicals.


Book Synopsis Hearing and Doing the Word by : Daniel J. Treier

Download or read book Hearing and Doing the Word written by Daniel J. Treier and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-07-29 with total page 506 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of essays honours Kevin J. Vanhoozer by representing the current state of evangelical hermeneutics in light of his work. The volume consists of three parts: The Biblical Script, Great Performances, and Theodrama Today. Each part contains wide-ranging contributions from well-known scholars, who address important topics for contemporary hermeneutics in dialogue with Vanhoozer's influential work. Kevin J. Vanhoozer is today's leading evangelical theologian of biblical interpretation. He is one of the most influential voices in contemporary hermeneutics, and in academic theology he is one of his generation's most influential evangelicals.

Imagination and the Playfulness of God

Imagination and the Playfulness of God

Author: Robin Stockitt

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2011-05-12

Total Pages: 229

ISBN-13: 1498271162

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The human imagination is a reflection of and a participation in the divine imagination; so mused the romantic poet, philosopher and theologian Samuel Taylor Coleridge. His thinking was intuitive, dense, obscure, brilliant, and deeply influenced by German philosophy. This book explores the development of his philosophical theology with particular reference to the imagination, examining the diverse streams that contributed to the originality of his thought. The second section of this book extrapolates his thinking into areas into which Coleridge did not venture. If God is intrinsically imaginative, then how is this manifested? Can we articulate a theology of the ontology of God that is framed in imaginative and creative terms? Drawing on the groundbreaking work of Huizinga on 'play,' this study seeks to develop a theological understanding of God's playfulness.


Book Synopsis Imagination and the Playfulness of God by : Robin Stockitt

Download or read book Imagination and the Playfulness of God written by Robin Stockitt and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2011-05-12 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The human imagination is a reflection of and a participation in the divine imagination; so mused the romantic poet, philosopher and theologian Samuel Taylor Coleridge. His thinking was intuitive, dense, obscure, brilliant, and deeply influenced by German philosophy. This book explores the development of his philosophical theology with particular reference to the imagination, examining the diverse streams that contributed to the originality of his thought. The second section of this book extrapolates his thinking into areas into which Coleridge did not venture. If God is intrinsically imaginative, then how is this manifested? Can we articulate a theology of the ontology of God that is framed in imaginative and creative terms? Drawing on the groundbreaking work of Huizinga on 'play,' this study seeks to develop a theological understanding of God's playfulness.