RSSWhat is The Christian Imagination?
Art is the signature of man.
-G.K. Chesterton
“If you bring up the topic of ‘imagination’ in Christian circles, you are likely to get varied responses. In my time here on this planet, my perspective on imagination and the arts has changed many times over. When I was young, I created and imagined through clay, water colors, finger paint, and other means. In my teen years, I lost all interest in the poetic and artistic, and instead adopted a rather utilitarian view of how I spend my time, and limited my enjoyment of art to those explicitly Christian. It took going to a Christian college to expand my view beyond. In the years since, through exploration with Madeleine L’Engle, Steve Turner, Rich Mullins, and others, I’ve come to agree with Chesterton, that art and imagination are part of what makes us human. And to expand on that, that imagination is an integral and necessary aspect of what it means to be a Christian. Faith and hope require imagination. Even love, when defined as seeking the best for others, requires imagination. The Gospels tell us of a God who came to earth in the form of a man and gave hope to those who had none. Jesus told stories and loved people, and in the process, helped people see their identity as children of God created in His image and the great story that they were a part of. He rekindled their imagination. And to believe in who Jesus is, and what he did, we have to imagine.”
About Seth Daire
Seth lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he has lived for 7 of the last 8 years. He spent his first 20 years in Northwestern Pennsylvania, growing up in a Pentecostal house church for most of his youth.
From 1994 to 1998, he went to Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsvlvania, where he majored in Speech Communications and Minored in Family Studies. During that time, his interest in the arts rekindled, as he learned to play guitar, got into photography, and started doing more writing.
Influences include various staff from the Coalition for Christian Outreach, Tom Sine, the books of Larry Crabb, the life of musicians Rich Mullins & Keith Green, and the love of St. Francis of Assisi. Of those, Tom Sine is by far his biggest influence. Sine’s views on Christian creativity, thinking about future trends, having a global perspective, holistic Christianity, and discovering new ways to live Christianly in this world have affected him profoundly.
Current Vocation and Volunteer Activities:
Internet Consultant at Crown Point Solutions
Sound Technician, Webmaster, and Board Member at Everyday Joe’s Coffee House
Small Group Leader at Timberline Oldtown Church
Author and Administrator of The Christian Imagination Website and Blog
