In Praise of Imagination

I can still remember the first time I heard someone, in this instance a prof in my undergrad studies, say that faith was an act of imagination. Being the good fundamentalist kid I was (at that point), I was appalled! “No! What I / we believe is the TRUTH – imagination has nothing to do with it!”. When they went on to point out that the word “imagination” simply meant the ability to form images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses, I was somewhat mollified, but I guess it bugged me enough that decades later it’s still with me. However, at this point in my own exploration of what I believe, imagination has become the key that unlocks the door of “next”, instead of a threat to literalist constructs. I can appreciate that this isn’t everyone’s story, but I think the fact that both a deeply entrenched evangelical scholar and a loose cannon heretic (among many others) see imagination as valuable is pretty interesting, and quite possibly a good reason to explore it further. Which we will do in the Talky Bit on Sunday.

This is a Full Circle Sunday, which means we’ll make some music together as well as enjoying Community Time. There will be something cued up for the Littles as well. We’ll start at 10:45 a.m. at VA Cafe (171 McDermot Avenue). For a short video of how to find us, click here. We’ll livestream the morning here and podcast the Talky Bit later in the week here.  Join us if you can. There’s always time to just hang and chat, and I must say that I’ve been finding our conversations especially open-hearted and meaningful lately. In a world where too many people are lonely, it’s a gift to be together.

Also, in the interest of continuing to be together, The Table needs your financial support. I know not everyone has the capacity to contribute in this particular way but the need is pressing. If you are able to give, we welcome your gift and will make sure you get a tax receipt if you want one.

I’ll see you on Sunday.