(Re)thinking worldview 12

Chapter 12 takes a look at ‘Imaging and truth: Christians and cultural contribution’. It is inevitable that when Christianity and culture is discussed Niebuhr's typology is invoked. A google search on Christ and culture reveals 799 000 hits – adding Niebuhr to the search gives 128 000 hits; over 16 per cent of the total hits. Whereas adding Schilder to Christ and culture gives just over 3 000 hits. It is no surprise then that Bertrand cites Niebuhr. He sums up some of the options very succinctly: ‘Where the isolationist runs and the assimilationist joins, the transformer fights’ (p. 230). He also astutely observes that all three options are:

… in every tradition, every denomination, every church and every believer. … A youth pastor can pierce his tongue and host a skateboarding event for the community, calling it engagement, when in fact it looks more like assimilation’ (p 230).

He then turns to the role of imagination in the ‘creative’ arts. He makes some excellent observations on Christians and the imaginative endeavour, be it in art or in fiction writing. He explores two important questions: ‘ is the Christian imagination creative or didactic? … what is the anatomy of the Christian imagination’ (p. 234).

This is an excellent chapter and really deserves to be expanded in a book. It would be a great service to all, and not just Christian, artists. With particular regard to Christian imagination he makes – and expands upon – four points:

1. Christian imagination is an image bearer’s echo of the Creator
2. Christian imagination embodies the biblical worldview.
3. Christian imagination is incarnational.
4. Christian imagination aspires towards excellence.

These points could also apply to any other creational activity.