Practice
Becoming by Beholding The Power of the Imagination in Spiritual Formation Lanta Davis
This book restores the imagination to its central role in spiritual formation by recovering key works from the Christian tradition so readers can experience the formative power of the imagination for themselves. “This valuable volume invites us to pause from stuffing mental fast food into the hungry spaces in our souls and feast instead on gourmet fare from the Christian past. Whether you are drawn more by the dragons, the cathedrals, or the lady virtues, there is food for the Christian imagination here to linger over and savor.” —DAVID I. SMITH, Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning, Calvin University “The church—Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox—should thank Lanta Davis for this book. Each page reminds you of the astonish- ing breadth and beauty and magic of the kingdom of God. Through Davis’s exploration of Scripture, medieval bestiaries, poems, cathedrals, icons, and paintings, our imaginations are reignited!” —JESSICA HOOTEN WILSON, Pepperdine University “ Becoming by Beholding is a work to behold. To read it is to witness beauty and imagination at work and thus to leave its pages better formed and more ready to be formed by all the goodness the world has to offer.” —KAREN SWALLOW PRIOR, author of The Evangelical Imagination “ Becoming by Beholding ushers us into a rich, strange, and beau- tiful art gallery that unveils our own hearts and minds. Davis’s engaging tour draws deeply from the Christian tradition of spiritual masters to show how the architecture of Chartres Cathedral, iconic imagery of Jesus, Station Island’s stations of the cross, and the literary genius of Dante teem with spiritual insights that reveal Christ and his life in us.” —REBECCA KONYNDYK D e YOUNG, Calvin University; author of Glittering Vices “Do you think nonfiction is more serious, grown-up, and useful than moving stories, beautiful buildings, and pretty pictures? Let Lanta Davis guide you through the Christian artists and makers who testify across the centuries that the stories and images we behold indelibly shape our souls.” —JEFFREY BILBRO, Grove City College; editor-in-chief, Front Porch Republic “With the wisdom of a master guide, Davis takes us on a pilgrim- age, excavating the riches of the Christian imaginative tradition. The journey is illuminating and surprising, marked by encounters with holiness.” —JUSTIN ARIEL BAILEY, Dordt University
NOW AVAILABLE • 240 pp. • paper • $27.99 • 9781540966186
Lanta Davis (PhD, Baylor University) is professor of humanities and literature in the John Wesley Honors College at Indiana Wesleyan University. She was named the IWU Outstanding Scholar of the Year for 2020 and was a Fulbright Scholar at Queen’s University, Belfast. Her work on the Christian imagination and formation has appeared in Christianity Today, the Christian Century , Smithsonian Magazine , Plough , and Christ and Pop Culture.
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