Pictorial Theology

"On a late October night in 1778, Captain John Ledyard of Connecticut arrived with fear and trembling on the Aleutian island of Unalaska, borne from his ship face down in a fragile skin canoe by natives whose language he did not understand. He was the adventuresome American scout for Captain John Cook's third and last voyage of discovery in the Pacific, and he wrote in his diary of his great "joy and surprise" that he was welcomed on shore by hospitable Christians, both Russian and native. Ledyard noted in his diary that they fed him well and did not retire immediately thereafter as he did but rather "said prayers after the manner of the Greek Church.... I could not but observe with what particular satisfaction the Indians performed their devoirs to God . . . and with what pleasure they went through the multitude of ceremonies attendant on that sort of worship." - James H. Billington [http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/oct1995/v52-3-editorial2.htm]

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the glorious discipline and art of theology was more engaging than most people generally find it? This would be a thing to certainly elicit excitement amongst those who love Christian theology. Yet, how many times, (if at all) have you endeavoured to read a tome of theology or church history, popular or otherwise, and began to quickly feel your eyelids drooping?

As the above quote illustrates, we don’t always need words to see the relevance of faith. Surely there is a need, and I dare say, various potential avenues open, which might be suggested for making theology come alive to the reader.

Now I am all for clear, eloquent language which accurately and elegantly carves out the beautiful lines of redemption and the plan of God; however, this is all too rare, if we are completely honest. Most theology is written for other academics. Not that such works should not be produced, but perhaps, we might want to consider developing a theological vocabulary of more that mere words.

Furthermore, it is inevitable that we shall fall short of capturing the glories of heaven and salvation's grace, when all we have to work with in these attempts is the English language - or German, for that matter. But, as the cliché goes, a picture paints a thousand words.

I posit, that we might think about introducing more metaphors and allegories, and other forms of illustration into our theologizing. Perhaps this suggestion will cause some to halt, and accused me of somehow, blurring or crossing the disciplines in an illegitimate way, but just as Michelangelo captured something of the magnificence of the renaissance conception of humankind in cold, hard marble; similarly, should we not also strive to spread out the wondrous rays of grace and truth with the best means at our disposal, not merely with our words. Perhaps we are so trapped in the Modern that we are unwittingly turning into granite and stone ourselves – at least from the neck down.

There is, of course, the case of the great stained glass windows in so many cathedrals, with sunbeams streaming down over centuries gone by for the literate and illiterate alike; not to mention the works of classical artists, musicians, poets, and the icons of the Eastern church, whose works swell the coffers of church and culture in terms of art and beauty. Christ Himself was engaged in the greatest mission of all, and what did He do? He drew pictures with words, and ultimately, put Himself on display in the most hideous and breathtaking way, on Golgotha's lonely and bleak hillock. There is some inspiration for us to emulate; which, though never certain, might lead to a change of heart and a moment of contrition, to forgiveness, or simply, a small kindness and a careful thought, as might be called for.

I like to imagine that God wrote the bible - inspired it, actually. In this effort, He used lots of stories and pictures to spell out for us His great mission and heartbeat. Everywhere we find trees, rivers, whacky family lines, stirring souls and wretches, dramatic scenes, exploits, tragedy, victory, and sin, most bitter. This is hardly typical of systematic theology the way we like to go about it. Perhaps this is another reason why the bible remains the biggest selling book of all time, year after year. Name one theologian who has even come close? Though we could call to mind some great and important work, there are too few who look for these and can appreciate them.

However, I am not in favour of dumbing down theology - but rather, of lifting it up, but way of elaboration, and in celebration of ideas, embroidering our discussions with many powerful images which resound and repeat in one's imagination, with the earnest hope of touching the soul and motivating one's life.

Spinoza had his theatre of the mind, and with the bible, God has His theatre of the heart and Spirit. Let us emulate the Creators genius and gird ourselves up to the task of picturing for others those great mysteries we have received and pondered in library halls and cosy studies, and gladly share them with as much finesse and artistry as we can.

As the dictionary has it, herewith, I close this post:

Word: Pictorial, 5 of 7 definitions

Main Entry: illustrative

Part of Speech: adjective

Definition: explanatory

Synonyms: allegorical, clarifying, comparative, corroborative, delineative, descriptive, diagrammatic, emblematic, exemplifying, explicatory, expository, figurative, graphic, iconographic, illuminative, illustrational, illustratory, imagistic, imitative, indicative, interpretive, metaphoric, pictorial, pictoric, representative, revealing, sample, specifying, symbolic, typical

[Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.3.1) Copyright © 2007 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC.]

Cheers!