Imagination, theology, and literature (D. W. D. Shaw memorial lecture 2022)

Abstract

In the first annual D. W. D. Shaw memorial lecture, delivered on 9 February 2022 Prof Paul Fiddes considers the human capacity for imagination, theology, and the literary arts. Looking at the interplay between creativity and order, Fiddes underscores the indispensable role that images play in theology alongside its commitment to concepts, and argues for the necessity of imagination for the work of theology as a response to God’s self-revelation. Without it, he contends, theology finds itself devoid of movement and life, stuck in an attempt to enforce complete conceptual control on imagination’s creations.