"The imagination of the thoughts of man's heart are only evil evil continually." So states Genesis 6, is there any
place, therefor, for imagination in the Christian life, or should it be shunned?
It is my option that imagination is amoral, it can be used for good, or for evil. Henry V demonstrates the use of the imagination for things of the less honorable sort. In Act I, Scene I, The archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Ely use their imagination to devise a scheme to stop the passing of a certain bill. For, if it were to pass, the Church would be striped of over half of their possessions. To prevent this, Canterbury decides to distract Henry from the bill by encouraging war with France, agreeing to take up a collection for the war effort.
The bishop's motives a clearly selfish, he being unwilling to allow the king to "drink deep" of the Church's funds.
While Canterbury uses his imagination for selfish reasons, there are many Christians who have used their imagination for good: C.S. Lewis, Galileo, J.R.R. Tolkien, Sir Isaac Newton, to name a few. Their works are prime examples of how a Christian should use his or her imagination.
So, should
imagination be a part of a Christian life? I certainly think so. Is Shakespeare's view of imagination
a Christian one? I doubt it.
PS, Sorry this is a bit late. :)
