Imagination Redeemed
The Permanent Things: Reflections on Tradition, Culture, and the Good Society
The Baptized Imagination
C.S. Lewis, the renowned British author, scholar, and Christian apologist, stands as a towering figure in 20th-century literature and thought. His work, spanning from children’s fantasy to scholarly criticism, offers us a profound example of what he termed the “baptized imagination” – a creative faculty transformed and illuminated by Christian faith.
Lewis’s concept of the baptized imagination is not about creating overtly religious propaganda. Rather, it’s about allowing one’s faith to permeate and transfigure one’s entire worldview, including the realm of imagination. This approach enables the creation of stories that resonate with deep spiritual truths without being didactic or heavy-handed.
Narnia: A Gateway to Moral Truth
Perhaps nowhere is this baptized imagination more evident than in Lewis’s beloved Chronicles of Narnia. These seven books, ostensibly children’s stories, are rich with moral and spiritual significance. Take, for instance, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. On the surface, it’s an enchanting tale of talking animals and magical realms. Yet, it’s also a powerful allegory of sacrifice, redemption, and the triumph of good over evil.
The character of Aslan, the great lion, serves as a Christ figure, willingly sacrificing himself for Edmund’s treachery and rising again to defeat the White Witch. Through this narrative, Lewis invites readers – especially young ones – to engage with deep theological concepts in an accessible and emotionally resonant way.
Till We Have Faces: Myth and Meaning
While Narnia remains Lewis’s most famous work, his last novel, Till We Have Faces, offers perhaps his most mature exploration of myth, faith, and the human condition. This retelling of the classical myth of Cupid and Psyche delves deep into themes of love, jealousy, and the nature of divine revelation.
The protagonist, Orual, grapples with questions of faith and doubt, love and resentment, in a narrative that challenges readers to examine their own relationships with the divine. Lewis’s genius lies in his ability to use this ancient myth as a vehicle for exploring timeless spiritual truths, demonstrating how story can illuminate the deepest recesses of the human heart.
The Power of Story in Shaping Values
Lewis understood, perhaps better than most, the power of story to shape our moral imagination. In his essay On Stories, he writes, “The story does what no theorem can quite do. It may not be ‘like real life’ in the superficial sense: but it sets before us an image of what reality may well be like at some more central region.”
This insight is crucial for us today. In an age dominated by sound bites, hot takes, and ideological polarization, we desperately need narratives that can engage our moral imagination and help us envision a more virtuous way of being in the world.
Conservatism and the Moral Imagination
I find in Lewis’s approach a powerful tool for cultural renewal. Conservatism, at its best, is not merely about preserving institutions or opposing change. It’s about conserving and transmitting the wisdom, values, and virtues that have stood the test of time.
Lewis’s work exemplifies this conservative ethos. By drawing on ancient myths, medieval cosmology, and Christian theology, he creates stories that connect readers to a rich cultural heritage. At the same time, he addresses perennial human concerns in a way that speaks to contemporary audiences.
This approach offers us a model for how we might nurture moral imagination in our own time. Rather than simply decrying the erosion of traditional values, we can create and promote stories that embody these values in compelling ways.
A Personal Reflection
I’ll never forget the first time I read The Great Divorce. Lewis’s vivid depiction of the choice between heaven and hell, not as distant realms but as states of being we choose day by day, profoundly impacted my understanding of moral choice and eternal consequences.
It isn’t just the theological content that has moved me, but the way Lewis employed imagination to make these truths viscerally real. For example, each character vignette in the story has continued to haunt me whenever I have caught myself playing out the very same scenes in my life. This experience underscores for me the unique power of literature to shape our moral sensibilities in ways that purely abstract arguments often cannot.
Cultivating Moral Imagination Today
So how can we apply these insights in our own lives and communities? Here are a few suggestions:
Expose yourself and your children to great literature that grapples with timeless moral and spiritual truths. Don’t shy away from complexity or challenge.
Engage critically with the stories that surround us. Whether in books, films, or popular culture, learn to discern the underlying values and worldviews being presented.
Create and share stories that embody the values we wish to preserve and promote. This doesn’t mean we all need to write novels, but we can all be storytellers in our own spheres of influence.
Foster environments where moral imagination can flourish. This might mean supporting arts education, promoting reading groups, or simply making time for imaginative play and discussion in our families and communities.
The Stakes of Imagination
As we conclude, let’s remember the high stakes involved in nurturing moral imagination. In The Abolition of Man, Lewis warns of the consequences of an education system that fails to cultivate proper sentiments and moral intuitions. He argues that without a grounded moral imagination, we risk producing “men without chests” – individuals who lack the capacity for moral reasoning and virtuous action.
This warning resonates strongly in our current cultural moment. In a world often dominated by materialism, relativism, and cynicism, the cultivation of moral imagination is more crucial than ever. It’s not just about preserving cultural heritage or promoting good literature. It’s about shaping the very way we perceive and engage with reality.
C.S. Lewis and his concept of the baptized imagination offer us a powerful model for this crucial task. By allowing our faith to inform and transform our creativity, we can create and engage with stories that illuminate truth, awaken moral sensibilities, and point towards the transcendent.
In closing, I want to thank you again for engaging with these ideas. If you’ve found this discussion valuable, I encourage you to share it with others who might benefit from this perspective. Together, we can work to nurture a culture where moral imagination flourishes, shaping hearts and minds for the betterment of our society.
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