Intro to the Evangelical Imagination
Karen Swallow Prior's Recent Book
Speaking about her recent book, The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis, Karen Swallow Prior applies a “literary and artistic sensibility to theological and political questions” concerning evangelicals in the United States today. Much of the tradition’s rich intellectual history has been lost in our national conversation. Tune in to her conversation with Serena Sigillito on the “Public Discourse” to get a glimpse of how expansive the evangelical imagination has been—and what it means for our current moment. You can read her remarks here and enjoy an excerpt from her work below:
And there is, of course, no one evangelical imagination.
Karen Swallow Prior
There is no limit to the things that fill the evangelical imagination. And there is, of course, no one evangelical imagination. There are dozens more subjects I could have chosen to cover in this book beyond those in the chapters that follow. And there are hundreds more examples of each of these I could have included. But these are the ones that I know—the im- ages, metaphors, and stories that I have pondered, taught, examined, or questioned, and seen others do the same.
I must also note that I am not a historian. I am not a theologian. I am not a philosopher. I am an English professor. I am a reader and writer who cares about the way imagination shapes our world and each of us. And I am an evangelical, one who has been formed by the surrounding culture—and cultures—just like everyone else. I am not attempting in these pages to outline a historical linearity, a doctrinal critique, or any post hoc ergo propter hoc claims. I know that correlation is not causation. The human imagination is not so neat as any of these.
In a way, what follows in these pages is simply my testimony. It is a picture of the evangelical imagination as I have found it over the course of years of researching, studying, reading, worshiping, and living and grappling with my own imagination—what fills it and fuels it.
About Karen Swallow Prior
Karen is an author and professor. Most recently she served as research Professor of English and Christianity and Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. She is the author of numerous books including On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books (Brazos 2018). She is host of the popular podcast Jane and Jesus and has a monthly column for Religion News Service. Her writing has appeared at Christianity Today, New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, First Things, Vox, Think Christian, The Gospel Coalition, Books and Culture and other places. She is a Contributing Editor for Comment, a founding member of The Pelican Project, a Senior Fellow at the Trinity Forum, a Senior Fellow at the International Alliance for Christian Education, and a Senior Fellow at the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture.
