A Theology of Enchantment
July 22, 2009
One of the many reasons I love interacting with kids is their wild imaginations. Children are able to create entire worlds filled with myriad characters who defy human limitations. They delight themselves in seemingly mundane ways through their creativity. I often find myself envying their ability to explore their creativity without being paralyzed by the constraints of what other people may think. Because I appreciate child-like imagination one of my heroes is C.S. Lewis. C.S. Lewis understood this idea of a theology of enchantment.
Alan Jacobs in his book, The Narnian, writes
“. . . Lewis’s mind was above all characterized by a willingness to be enchanted and . . . it was this openness to enchantment that held together the various strands of his life–his delight in laughter, his willingness to accept a world made by a good and loving God, and (in some ways above all) his willingness to submit to the charms of a wonderful story. . . . What is “secretly present in what he said about anything” is an openness to delight, to the sense that there’s more to the world than meets the jaundiced eye, to the possibility that anything could happen to someone who is ready to meet that anything. For someone with eyes to see and the courage to explore, even an old wardrobe full of musty coats could be the doorway into another world.”
It was Lewis’ ability to let his imagination run wild that allowed him to write one of the most popular children’s series of modern times. This same sort of creative ability is available to us as believers. That does not mean we all need to write children’s stories, but I think Christians above all people should feel the freedom, like Lewis, to use our creativity to magnify our Creator. The reason Christians enjoy this privilege is because we are rooted in a story that demands creative expression. Ours is the grand story of the Bible. It is the story of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation. This story should fuel us to use our God-given gift of creativity to communicate the glory of God to a world that is desperately waiting to hear. Therefore, let us develop a robust theology of enchantment in order to more effectively witness to the world.
Delighting in Christ,
Pastor Gabe