Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Changes
- That Hideous Strength
- Abolition of Man
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
- Perelandra
- The Last Battle
Virtually anyone who takes their faith seriously, at least over a certain age, would claim a pivotal role for Lewis' writings, I am thinking. But what makes this list fascinating to me is that with the Exception of Abolition of Man, these are all works of fiction. This fact reveals three amazing things to me: the power of image over argument, the cultural changes our image society has wrought, the futility of argument.
The power of image over argument
How many people remember the innumerable posts I have here written about the necessity of genuine and deep transformation as a necessary result of a genuine confrontation with Christ? (A truthful answer of "none" will not here hurt my feelings) But how many can remember the story of Aslan "de-dragoning" Eustace in Dawn Treader?
Our brains seem to be wired for the image/narrative, but detailed argument requires way too much energy. Christianity has survived these millennia not by virtue of argument, but by the compelling and overwhelming imagery that captured the hearts and minds of countless illiterate generations.
The cultural changes our image saturated society has wrought
The seemingly overwhelming appeal of media lies in the fact that it is, essentially imagery. This fact represents that much maligned phrase "post enlightenment." We are, I think but a generation or two away from the death of the rhetorical argument that we love so - particularly in this place of words known as the blogosphere.
The futility of argument
History is likely to show that rhetoric and argument were the blip on the radar. So what is the church to do? The answer to date has been to master the new media - to find ways to present "our message" with video and You Tube and Facebook....
But I think God has a much different idea in mind - there is only one "media" that is eternal - US! God did the whole contract, argument, words thing, it is called the covenant with Israel. It was a prelude, not to new media, but to incarnation.
Could it be that this period of words and rhetoric that we have enjoyed since the Reformation has also been prelude, not to God again incarnating, but to us finally figuring out how to let Him manifest in us? Where we finally become the message. Where our transformation is all the witness, all the argument, all the evidence another needs to understand the saving grace and the glory of Jesus Christ.
Lord, I pray for that day.
Technorati Tags:image, literature, c.s. lewis, transofrmation, media
Generated By Technorati Tag Generator
