The Christian Imagination

This is a post a long time coming. I’ve debated with myself how much I even want to talk about politics, versus art and imagination. But really, imagination is a key component in this discussion. Walter Brueggemann, a Bible scholar, wrote The Prophetic Imagination several years ago, and talked about how rulers often discourage imagination and out-of-the-box thinking because it makes for a society that is easier to control, and makes it easier for those in power to stay in power. Prime examples of this can be seen in some African countries where the rulers live large and their people are without hope.

In the United States, we’re more in danger of becoming comfortable, lethargic, and apathetic, and still losing our imagination. But every 4 years, we get to be at each other’s throats over the Presidential election. Now, the next leader of the world’s most powerful country is not insignficant, but sometimes I get the impression that this is all people care about, as if there aren’t a number of other things people could do with their lives that matter, beyond arguing and voting for a single candidate.

Now, even with a moderate Republican and liberal Democrat, it seems people are settling into the liberal vs. conservative, Republican vs. Democrat camps to talk about how the other guy will bring about the end of civilization, like people said about Bush, like people said about Clinton, and on and on.

And the part that really annoys me is the oversimplification of it all. Somehow all the complex issues and complex people are able to be reduced into soundbites and various logical fallacies, and that’s assuming the candidates stances and platforms aren’t just words said to get votes. Yet, not only can we reduce the candidates, we can simplify so much that one side is always right and the other side is always wrong. Once we get there, we can just say, “Well, they’re a liberal,” and the discussion can be dismissed with those words. And actually, in a recent discussion I overheard, a guy said that Emergents were usually liberals and then equated them with socialists. Reductionism at it’s finest.

Funny thing is, I used to be squarely on the Religious Right. I went to Christian Coalition meetings, was a Republican Committeeman for a few years, was in the audience of the Rush Limbaugh show, met David Barton of Wallbuilders, and on and on. And after 4 years of going to a Christian college, I stopped thinking about just the USA and started thinking of myself as more of a world Christian, such that what’s in the best interest of the USA just doesn’t always seem like the Christian thing to do, and where the pragmatism (whatever works, common sense, etc) of Conservatism seems to rely on the wisdom of men too much while ignoring the life of faith…faith that sometimes propels us to aim for ideals. Prime example, I’ve come to be a big believer in fair trade with the 3rd world, a cause that is mostly championed by liberals. And why do I believe in it? Because, to me, it seems to be the more Biblical stance.

And so I have a hard time in election year, because not only does my search for truth sometimes lead me to different sides of the equation, but sometimes I end up off the line altogether. We can get so caught up in the dichotomies between each side that we may fail to see that there is no line, but that there are multiple choices in some cases, if we would use our imagination and actually think about it.

That’s one of the dangers of taking the Bible seriously, we may be challenged. My journey has led me to more of a moderate political AND religious stance, not because I can’t make up my mind, but because I have made choices, and they are sometimes conservative, sometimes liberal, and sometimes neither. It also forces me to look at things more wholistically. One comment I just read said that Obama is the least pro-life presidential candidate in a long time. If true (and you never know these days from what people say since there is rarely a source), and I’ll assume it is for now, then there’s the second part of the comment: thus, how could any Christian possibly consider voting for him? I honestly don’t know who I’m going to vote for because I want to research these guys myself and come to my own conclusions, and I find it insulting to have someone else reduce whether I should vote for someone to one issue crafted using problematic terminology. What about the whole body of work that the candidate has put together, coupled with who they are as a person? And while I oppose abortion, I have trouble reconciling the notion of pro-life with pro-torture, pro-war, pro-death penalty, no fair trade, and other typically conservative stances. All that to say, there is nothing simple about these issues, because there are a lot of factors surrounding them.

There’s a lot in this post that could be debated or that people could take issue with. I’m okay with that. If you want me to elaborate on anything, let me know. And if you flat-out disagree, you’re welcome to tell me that.

I’ve been reading through Taking it to the Streets this year. It’s a great book about how to live out faith as an artist, and gives some awesome examples of artists being incarnational on the streets of their city.

One story I found very cool is that of John Bjerklie, who started attending a Bible study targeting the homeless of New York City. He was invited to lead the Bible study through art, which he had done for five years at the time the book was written.

One of the things that I always did that helped me in my growth as an artist was I would read the Bible and I’d try to draw. So with the homeless people, we read the Bible and try to draw, I mean it’s about as basic as it gets. We would say, “What’s the picture that comes to your mind?” And then we’d sit down and we’d try to draw it, and it was just mind-blowing what would come out. (Corbitt & Nix-Early, 133)

That is amazing on so many levels, and profound in its simplicity. He also put together a Christmas calendar yearly featuring drawings from the Bible study members. All profits went to meet the needs of the homless group members.

Corbitt, J. Nathan & Nix-Early, Vivian. Taking it to the Streets. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. 2003.

As part of my involvement in the coffee house community that we call Everyday Joe’s Coffee House, I mix sound for about 2 concerts a month, and have done so for 3 years or so.

I love live music, and this gives me a good incentive to not only hear their music, to but serve the musicians and get to know them a little better. It also gets me outside myself, as I have to be attentive to bringing out the best sound possible for any given song, to help the musicians enjoy themselves, and to keep the audience in mind as well. It’s rather surreal, really.

And while the sound is very important, so is the human element. Caring about people, and caring about the sound, and encouraging the musicians, and learning to empathize better with all that they have been through lately (driving, touring, lack of sleep, etc). We have all sorts of musicians from all sorts of places playing all sorts of styles come through our doors and grace our stage. Some share our faith in Christ, others don’t, but every weekend, we have an opportunity to love on them, and listen to them, and hear them, and it’s wonderful. The really cool part is how we’ve been able to build an extended family with some musicians and our coffee house community.

It just occured to me today that my life as a part-time volunteer sound tech is very relevant to this blog, yet I haven’t talked much about it, so this is a start. We hear a lot of great independent and soon-to-be-more-famous musicians, and there are some great ones to know. I may share some concert experiences, and who knows, maybe eventually I’ll have an occasional interview.

And if you are a musician and would like to play at our coffee house in Fort Collins, Colorado, let us know.