A journey into the world of mythology. Is it true? Is it just a 'story'? Does God speak to us through a mythic lens and if so how does it work? What if we began to think of Gods biblical story as a 'true myth'? Leaning into literary giants such as CS Lewis, Tolkein and others......this is an interesting topic to consider.

The Creative Word is a podcast that explores a mix of theology, poetry and biblical story telling. An attempt to unpack the missional role of artists in the world.

Unpacking the story of the woman at the well from John 4. Otherwise known as St Photini the evangelist and martyr. This is one of my heros from the bible, and from history, and I have sought to present some of her life from different angles using poetry, storytelling and a theatre monologue that wonders what she might have been thinking as her life came to an end.

This is a meditational one to sit down to and enjoy a decent cup of coffee.

The Creative Word is a podcast that explores a mix of theology, poetry and biblical story telling. An attempt to unpack the missional role of artists in the world.

I am approaching this topic from a protestant perspective! It is my humble attempt to find appropriate language to translate it's meaning, purpose and beauty for those that are new to it. I am hoping that it will act as a bridge for you to go deeper into the wonderful world of christian iconography. I have listed some great website below for you to check out.....In the end, orthodox theologians are going to go deeper than I am able to, so enjoy the rabbit trail😃

About halfway through this episode I unpack my own views on three icons, as a means of helping the listener to interpret and translate meaning. You will need to look at this icons as I talk, either printed off, or on a screen. Here are the links;

1. Jesus the Pantocrator

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_Pantocrator#/media/File:Jesus-Christ-from-Hagia-Sophia.jpg

2. The Trinity or Hospitality of Abraham (Rublev)

https://love2justice.wordpress.com/2012/12/09/the-holy-trinity-by-andrei-rublev/

3. The Baptism of Jesus or Theophany

https://saintaidan.ca/2021/12/28/theophany-icon-explained/

Orthodox Theologians;

Orthodox Theology - Vladimir Lossky

The Orthodox Way - Biship Kalistos Ware

A More Christlike God - Brad Jerszak

The Icon: Window on the Kingdom - Michel Quenot

Sites to check out.....

https://orthodoxwiki.org/Iconography

https://www.goarch.org/-/the-icon-of-the-resurrection

https://www.thesymbolicworld.com (and podcast) - Jonathon Pageau

https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/lordofspirits/ (podcast)

https://www.orthodoxroad.com/why-do-the-orthodox-have-icons/

The Creative Word is a podcast that explores a mix of theology, poetry and biblical story telling. An attempt to unpack the missional role of artists in the world.

In this episode I begin a conversation about the role of imagination and how we relate to God and the world around us. Does imagination have a spiritual dynamic and how can we cultivate this in being more missional in the world and birthing new things with God.

(Books mentioned; Francis Shaeffer - Art and the Bible, Stephen Covey - 7 Habits of highly effective people, Sir Ken Robinson - The Element, Edith Shaeffer - Hifdden Art, Darrow Miller - www.darrowmillerand friends.com, William Wordsworth - I wandered lonely as a cloud)

The Creative Word is a podcast that explores a mix of theology, poetry and biblical story telling. An attempt to unpack the missional role of artists in the world.

In this episode I try to explore the idea of beauty and how it might be defined. What is a biblical framework for this and more importantly what is Gods intention for the role of beauty in our lives and the world as a whole.

(Books mentioned; Darrow Miller - Aesthetic Poverty in the Church (and) Worldview and Art articles, Skye Jethani - Futureville, Hans Rookmaaker - Modern Art and the Deat of a Culture, Makoto Fujimura - Culture Care, Vishal Mangalwadi - The Book That Made Your World)

The Creative Word is a podcast that explores a mix of theology, poetry and biblical story telling. An attempt to unpack the missional role of artists in the world.

This episode is a little different. Every once in a while I will throw in a kind of devotional story telling moment. This time its a narrative tour from the creation of the world to the return of the prodigal son. I hope you enjoy it.....let me know what you think!

The Creative Word is a podcast that explores a mix of theology, poetry and biblical story telling. An attempt to unpack the missional role of artists in the world.

Music kindly used by;

music_for_video from Pixabay

This is part 2 of exploring the role of Art. Can artists fit in the church and what is their unique contribution to its life and mission.

The Creative Word is a podcast that explores a mix of theology, poetry and biblical story telling. An attempt to unpack the missional role of artists in the world.

In this episode I am looking at the wider role of art. What is art and what purpose does it have? What do we mean by the word creativity and where does it come from? There will be a part 2 to this episode which will begin to look at the role of Christian art and what role it might have within the church......

The Creative Word is a podcast that explores a mix of theology, poetry and biblical story telling. An attempt to unpack the missional role of artists in the world.

This brief overview of the arts from a biblical perspective explores the journey of creativity and art from the book of Genesis all the way through the bible narrative to the time of Jesus.....

The Creative Word is a podcast that explores a mix of theology, poetry and biblical story telling. An attempt to unpack the missional role of artists in the world.