Becoming by Beholding

I've long since left my teenage years behind, however, I still remember the feeling of loss, grief, disconnection, and searching that followed my being kicked out of my childhood church of Jehovah's Witnesses (a denomination I would now consider to be cultish).

I was lost. I didn't understand God. I couldn't wade through the remnants of my faith. I didn't feel grounded and I didn't feel as if I was part of anything. In many ways, I struggle with this sense of "belonging" to this day.

As I read "Becoming by Beholding: The Power of the Imagination in Spiritual Formation," I was reminded of the weeks, months, and years after I left Jehovah's Witnesses and I began searching for what I actually believed in terms of Jesus, God, faith, church, and my own relationships.

As a longtime creative, there's no question that my ability to connect to the power of my imagination in many ways helped me maintain a relationship with God when the church as I knew it imploded. I had nothing, but I had God.

Again, sometimes, I still feel the same. I'm a weirdo who seldom fits in anywhere. I'm a disabled adult who can seldom "get" anywhere. I'm single, actually a longtime widow, and for much of my life I've lived a solitary existence. I awaken at 4am nearly every morning and pray - for those I know who are suffering, for my church, for my friends and, yes, at times even for my enemies.

I'm not quite sure how Lanta Davis has never been on my radar, however, I'm grateful now that she is. As a lifelong Hoosier, I'm also somewhat joyous that she's professor of humanities and literature in the John Wesley Honors College at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana.

Dr. Davis (PhD, Baylor University) has written on the Christian imagination and formation and has been published in such works as Christianity Today, Christian Century, Smithsonian Magazine, Plough, and others.

"Becoming by Beholding" places the imagination at the center of spiritual formation by recovering key works from the Christian tradition. It revives the "art of fashioning the soul" as essential to Christian spiritual formation and character development.

Dr. Davis indicates that many of the challenges facing the contemporary Christian church - nationalism, consumerism, and partisan politics - stem from a crisis of imagination. Dr. Davis nudges us toward a reorientation away from diseased cultural forms and back toward historic Christian imaginative traditions better reflecting the love, joy, and wonder of the gospel.

Indeed, while "Becoming by Bolding" is no doubt an academic endeavor, the passion for the gospel is vivid and vibrant.

Individuals like myself, especially those who embrace the intersection of arts and theology, will rejoice with "Becoming by Beholding." Each chapter brings to life a different work of Christian imagination - icons, sacred architecture, imaginative prayer, bestiaries, and personifications of the virtues and vices.

The final book, not included in the ARC I received for review, will also include a twenty-page insert featuring numerous full-color images that will no doubt drive home the message even more powerfully.

If I longed for anything here, it might be at least minimally addressing many of the toxic qualities of contemporary Christianity and looking at the same in the historic church. Paul, for example, wrote many letters to churches discussing their challenges, obstacles, failures, etc. While it often feels as if the church is more toxic than it's ever been, how is reorienting our gaze impacted by the knowledge that even in the historic church there were toxic and corrupt concerns?

This a minor quibble, really, and it's largely grounded in my own desire to explore this topic even more fully and to explore this topic with passion. As someone who has been an activist around Indiana, and not so long ago in Marion, I can't help but wish I'd stumbled across Dr. Davis while I was there. This is no doubt a coffee conversation.

I can often become disconcerted with my home state, though I do love Indiana. However, it makes me feel better knowing someone like Dr. Lanta Davis is here and adding such intelligence and wonder to the worlds of religion, faith, and spiritual development. This is no doubt a book I will be reading again - there's so much to absorb - and further reflecting upon this valuable writing within the context of my own faith journey and spiritual development.

I also agree with Davis that we sometimes think imagination is like a fantasy that doesn't have attachment with real lives. I never think imagination as a tool to build spiritual formation. But as Davis told, that nationalism and consumerism is a part of crisis imagination. This is important reorientation in theology to build our spiritual life.

Christian sanctification is largely dominated by left-brained approaches like devotional reading, Bible study, journaling, and prayer. Becoming by Beholding adds a more creative approach to spiritual formation. Lanta Davis takes the reader on a journey through centuries of Christian imagination, pausing to reflect on cathedrals and catacombs, practicing Lectio Divina, praying through a labyrinth, and pondering the writings of Aquinas, Augustine and Alighieri. Along the way, we are encouraged, likewise, to use our imagination as a tool in spiritual formation. Treading into places where evangelicals are reluctant to roam, Davis walks right in, observes, and extracts timeless truths tied securely to Scripture. I am inspired by Davis to dig deeper into the rich symbolism of the church. The section on the seven deadly sins and corresponding virtues is craftily written. A brief mention of modern examples of imaginative spiritual formation left me thirsty for more.

Thank you to Baker Academic & Brazos Press for the advance copy through NetGalley. My digital copy did not include the 20-page color insert. I look forward to seeing the images. They will be a helpful companion to the text.

This is the sort of book that as you're reading, you start making a list of everyone that you need to recommend it to or gift it to; and then you give up on the list because you realize that it should really just include everyone you know. I can't remember the last time I highlighted as much of a book as I read. Lanta Davis has written a beautiful guide to the power of the imagination and the ways in which we can cultivate it for the good of our souls and our spirits. I look forward to chasing her footnotes and spending time with the images and works of art that she discusses.

In Becoming by Beholding, the author lays out a scholarly look at the images which have influenced the Christian faith over time. She contrasts these images with modern interpretations and shows how we have at times misinterpreted these images with our modern ideas and context. Overall I found this to be an interesting and scholarly read, well researched and well presented. This book will interest anyone who would like to understand the imagery surrounding their faith.

I've enjoyed recent trends and discoveries in spiritual formation. It takes a while for a book to come to press so the ideas aren't completely new to me.

This book highlights the mysteries of our faith: the beauty of art, the thoughtfulness of writing, the history in orthodoxy and orthopraxy. I was fascinated by the threads of care- and carefulness related to Christian beliefs and praxis.

If you are teaching, experiencing, or considering a spiritual director or spiritual formation, I recommend that you ponder these explorations and exercises. Caution is advised: stay close to the scriptures and examine what you read as you open your heart to experiencing God-with-us-in-Christ in new ways.

I enjoyed a lot about this read, and am looking forward to seeing/procuring a published copy!

The eARC wasn't all it could have been, as no pictures were included; I found myself googling a fair few of the referenced art pieces since (ironically) my imagination could only fill in so much. ;) I think it would have been a much stronger reading and reviewing experience had even some pictures been included, but so it goes.

I was a European Studies major in college, and was especially fascinated by Eastern Orthodoxy--so particularly enjoyed Davis's section on icons in this read. It provided plenty of food for thought as I am Protestant, and helped shine new light on a practice I'm not as familiar with as I'd like to be. I've studied some of the art masters and authors she referenced, too, which lent depth and connection to the experience.

A few statements (to me, anyway) read much more moderate or left-leaning than I felt were necessary (references to the January 6 events in DC, as well as education and what belongs--or doesn't--in public schools). They rang out of place and unnecessarily polarizing given the book's topic, and I felt they could have been easily swapped out for different/more neutral examples. That aside, the book is informative and thought provoking, and I look forward to seeing the final version in all its design glory. :)

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was a fascinating read - there's so much about ancient religious practices that have been lost to time that Davis has laid out here.

It's really very hard to associate art in any form with the church as it is today, especially since the church is so often the most vocal against any form of artistic expression that deviates from "standard painting" or "literary novel" (with the emphasis on must be clean and family-friendly).

I was particularly captured by the potential meaning(s) behind the weird illustrations you often see laughed at in monastic/ancient texts, and how bestiaries were used more as devotionals than actual books about strange animals! It puts a lot of things in to context. As someone who could never get through Paradise Lost, it was also interesting to see the shifts in literature and our understanding of "the seven deadly sins" as opposed to what it was originally intended/written to be.

The only downside of reading this as a digital arc was that the images never made it through, so I had to do some side googling to see what was being talked about. The image descriptions in the book did help though!

This book is potentially a great resource for Christian artists in the current day who are looking to see how other Christians have expressed their faith artistically throughout the years.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Baker Academic via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

When young, our parents tell us fairy tales and other bedtime stories. In school, we learn through play and imagination. At home, we love watching cartoons with happy endings. Tales often begin with the familiar words "A Long time ago..." and end with that memorable phrase "... And they lived happily ever after." As we grow, imagination seems to take a backseat. Life then becomes a crazy rat race that leaves little room for imagination. Fantasies dissipate. Realities mandate. Imagination stagnate. Author Lanta Davis asserts that it is time to restore a healthy sense of imagination, in particular, to Christian Spiritual Formation. This is done by learning from our forefathers of the faith through tradition and the historical expressions of the faith. If we unearth the treasures of Christian artistic tradition, we can rediscover the rich legacies of the past. We can renew a fresh imagination to breathe creativity into our present world. We can also restore our understanding of identity and beyond. From an archeological dig into history and tradition, the author develops for us a three-pronged approach: "Right Belief," "Right Practice," and "Moral Character."

Part One on Orthodoxy takes us to the iconography of the Face of Jesus. Davis combs the various depictions of Christ from the modern to the ancient, arguing how deficient modern versions are when compared with the past. For all the aesthetic differences of modern-day art, she reminds us that the orthodox way is centered on the Incarnation. Any icons should grow from this Truth. She explains how icons, instead of becoming idols can be turned around to combat and resist any form of idolatry. The key thing is to see icons as a "visible mirror of the invisible," that is, to let the icons enable us to be more like Christ. Unlike the "American Warrior Jesus" idea that uses Jesus in the name of nationalism, or Buddy Jesus in the name of niceness, the image of Jesus Incarnate invites us to mirror Christ instead of cultural trends. Another thing for us to behold is the naturally created world. We learn from St Francis about gratitude for the world we live in. We read about St Jerome who showed us that the natural world is not simply for our consumption but also for our care. St Hildegard's attentiveness toward seeing the Creator in creation led her toward the world of natural remedies. Covering everything from nature to living creatures, we learn that creation is a "mirror of the Creator." We learn about seeing, naming, and knowing as the three practices we should adopt as caretakers of the world.

In Part Two, we move from knowing to doing. We learn about sacred spaces and how Scripture guides us in Christian living. Davis takes us through the world of architecture of worship spaces. She critiques modern churches for focusing on entertainment rather than spiritual formation, for people seeking a "holy fix" instead of fixing their eyes on Jesus. Davis argues that churches can learn from the Early Christian who design churches with the boat in mind. The theme is the Church needs to be oriented regularly to sense where God is and to orientate accordingly. Noting how many cathedrals have embedded images of people, we are reminded that the Church is a fellowship of believers who come together to worship God. On Scripture, we learn of the Ignatian Prayer, the Lectio Divina, the Via Dolorosa (Station of the Cross).

In Part Three, we learn of Orthopathy, the art of forming moral character. Two themes are evident: Avoiding Evil and Doing Good. It is about us being thrust into the world of spiritual warfare. Using Dante's Divine Comedy as a guide, we go through various vices and contrast them with corresponding virtues. Finally, the art of imitating virtues is via the images of Lady Fortitude, Lady Temperance, Lady Justice, and Lady Prudence.

My Thoughts
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Let me offer three thoughts about this book.
Firstly, this book excels in helping us appropriate the visible things of this world to point us toward the invisible God. Spiritual Formation is often quite mystical and mysterious. One of the reasons is because it is not explicitly seen or heard. Like hope, spiritual growth takes time. Like faith, it is something not seen or heard. This book shines in appropriating the visible world into mirrors of spiritual formation. She uses a wide range of objects to do that. Objects like icons as a way to orientate our minds toward Jesus and to learn to see creation as loved by the Creator. She even uses words and the literary art to help fashion our souls. Davis has a way with words. I like the various appropriations of spiritual formation. Phrases such as "Fashioning the Soul," "Stamping the Wax of the Soul," "Geography for the Soul," demonstrate the laser-like focus on the soul as the target for spiritual formation.

Secondly, imagination is key to spiritual formation. Some readers might accuse Davis of not giving enough credit to modern aspects of spirituality. This is understandable as the crux of her book is about learning from tradition and ancient practices. I would argue the opposite. The theme is essentially about redemption. She is not throwing the proverbial baby out with the bathwater. Instead, she urges us to consider the ancient practices to fashion our modern devices toward deeper spiritual formation. It is not abandoning but adapting our imagination of modern things to shape our souls. Our world today is increasingly visual. Technology has played a big part in that transformation. More people watch videos instead of reading books. Pictures attract attention more than mere words. Moving images catch the eye. We consume image data more readily than textual messages. Instead of seeing these developments negatively, why not harness them constructively? Using imagination as a key theme to create and maintain attentiveness to God, author Lanta Davis argues that imagination is a powerful way to become who God has made us to be. What we need is not to abandon images altogether but to redeem them. Instead of letting our imaginations be formed by the world at large, we need to refocus our attention toward Christlikeness. We correct "malformed imagination" through reformation that is not shaped by the world but by Christ. For this, we can look at various ways like tradition, predecessors, orthodoxy, orthopraxy, and orthopathy to guide our imagination process.

Thirdly, Davis proves to be a sharp cultural critique of how Christians have been shaped more by the world. One of her most powerful chapters is the one on "How Should We Worship?" Lamenting at the way modern churches have adopted the world of entertainment into their environment, she calls us to understand the importance of a place that affects how we worship. Instead of entertainment centers and utility rooms, she calls us to examine the divine design of old, of the temple and the boat. One of the most important observations the author makes is in training the eyes to see. We need to go beyond browsing or speedy looks and practice patience and time to behold beauty in our midst. Beholding is a good present participle for that. If we can move from looking to gazing, to see and behold the things of God with the eyes of the Spirit, we are on our way to spiritual formation for the soul.

Wonderful book!

Lanta Davis (PhD, Baylor University) is professor of humanities and literature in the John Wesley Honors College at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana. 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.

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Baker Academic via NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.