How should a Christian approach imagination?

Imagination isn’t a virtue or a vice, it’s just the standard equipment of all humankind, made in God’s image. We have imagination because God has imagination. But while His imaginations are always good, ours aren’t. Our creativity can do wonderful things and it can also do terrible things.

But the first person filled with the Holy Spirit in the bible was an artist, a craftsman named Bezalel, and the Hebrew makes it clear that his imagination was fired and inspired by the Holy Spirit himself.

I discuss with Kori Frazier Morgan how should we approach something like that?

Kori is an author, disciple, and creative entrepreneur. A graduate of West Virginia University’s Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing, she has been featured in publications such as Shenandoah, SN Review, Blanket Sea, Cantos, and Clayjar Review. She is the author of the novel in short stories The Goodbye-Love Generation and an essay collection, Why I Dyed My Hair Purple & Other Unorthodox Stories, which explores the integral role of the arts in her Christian testimony and is published by Calla Press Publishing. Kori is the founder and Chief Literary Strategist of Inkling Creative Strategies, an author services company that helps writers reach their full creative potential so they can impact and inspire readers. And I can recommend her personally as she’s helped me with a lot of my novels!

This episode digs deeper into “Machashabeth” (מַחֲשָׁבֹ֑ת - meaning ‘artistic work’ or ‘imagination’) in Exodus 31:3-4.

Exodus 31:3-4 - “I have filled him (Bezalel) with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze” (NIV)

Mentioned:

Kori Frazier Morgan’s Site

Why I Dyed My Hair Purple - Kori Frazier Morgan

The Goodbye-Love Generation - Kori Frazier Morgan

Inkling Creative Strategies

Bezalel Media LLC

Wise Blood - Flannery O’Connor

Essay About Books as “Alcohol”

Bandersnatch Books

The Banderpod S5:E6 - S.D. Smith

The Habit S7:E4 - Kori Morgan Dyed Her Hair Purple

Phantastes - George MacDonald

North Wind Manor

What is a Bammerhab?

“You have not given me into the hands of the enemybut have set my feet in a spacious place.” (Ps. 31:8 - NIV)

The phrase “in a spacious place” is the Hebrew word: Bammerhab.

Thanks to:

• Aaron Woodard for Graphic Design

• Dave Allam of Allam House for podcasting techniques

• Bible Hub for Greek / Hebrew resources

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bammerhab.substack.com