Question 7: Imagination

I apologize for not having posted in a while, but here's another essay from class. Enjoy!

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How does a healthy imagination aid our faith?

Albert Einstein once said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Imagination has enabled famous writers and creators of all time to use their knowledge to make what they have become known for. So why is imagination so often downplayed as food only for children’s books, and inapplicable to daily life? As important as children’s books are in the development of a healthy mind, many adults lose their sense of imagination upon reaching what they call maturity, and cast their sights into the modern realm of business. Even those adults who do cling to imagination generally do so to escape from a monotonous or painful life. Both views are, in fact, wrong. Imagination is a God-given gift that, if exercised properly, brings us closer to God.

Imagination is the ability to see or conceive of what is not yet present to the senses. In light of this, imagination and reality are not mutually exclusive. Imagination does not ignore reality, but is actually based off of it. When man creates anything, he creates a sub-reality of God’s reality as described in the book of Genesis. A sub-reality must somehow, however radical the idea behind it may be, adhere to God’s creation while at the same time depend upon the human ability to grasp abstract ideas. Because of this, the creation of sub-realities draws a man closer to God and his act of creation. Secularists, on the other hand, have come to view imagination as an escape from reality and comfort for themselves in their sinful ways. This view is wrong because while it acknowledges the existence of imagination, it ignores the importance of rationalism, both of which God created to be used in wisdom.

Just as imagination should not be used as an escape from reality, it should also not be avoided for the sake of the world’s idea of maturity by depending upon rationalism. Maturation is actually the integration of imagination and rationalism. Realizing that the world we live in is important, while still holding onto imagination, allows us to understand God in a deeper way than rationalism alone allows us to. Thus, to truly mature, a man must reconcile these two ideas, not ignore one or the other. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” This means that imagination allows us to know things that we cannot perceive. Thus, imagination enables us to have faith in God, who cannot be observed in the way rationalism demands we be able to.

Since we cannot observe God and his Church, we must have a healthy imagination to be able to grasp an idea of them. At the fall of man, a spiritual and physical gap was created between man and God which can now only be bridged by a faith in Christ. And to have faith, as we have seen, we need imagination. Thus, imagination is a tool necessary for salvation. Our imagination allows us to grow more like Christ by giving us the ability to create a world in which we can perceive God in a way our physical senses cannot. By creating such a world, we do not view our created world as more important than God’s creation, but rather build off of the necessary and vividly beautiful structure created by God for such an understanding of him. In addition, a healthy, well-developed imagination gives human beings, whether child or adult, the ability to wonder at God’s creation. This wonder has been expressed in a variety of Psalms, including Psalm 92:4, which says, “For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.” Without the sense of wonder produced through imagination, this verse would be meaningless.

Imagination is not a tool which can be claimed only by the profession of writers. It is a tool necessary in all walks of life, in every age, in every place. Imagination gives man the ability to seek after God’s goodness and beauty in whichever profession he goes into, be it mathematics, science, or writing. It allows him to create worlds based on the realm of rationalism which open up wells of truth that cannot be glimpsed through our worldly senses alone. Therefore, contrary to Einstein’s claim, imagination is not more important than knowledge because both imagination and knowledge are equally important. For without knowledge, one cannot exercise a proper use of  imagination, but without imagination, knowledge is useless.