Captured: A Wesleyan Contribution to Christian Imagination

Abstract

This article examines the Wesleyan contribution to Christian imagination, defined as “the mind’s creation or use of images in the pursuit of goodness, beauty, and love.” Following an analysis of the Wesleys’ use of the concept, it identifies the ways in which both John and Charles mitigate negative views of imagination as a danger and turn the “redeemed imagination” to their advantage in their quest to renew the church. Four salient elements emerge in this regard: 1) the Wesleys helped Christians in their own time and beyond to imagine a different church. The imagination fosters renewal; 2) they offered an imaginative approach to the Bible that brought the Word to life. The imagination opens scripture; 3) Charles Wesley’s hymns functioned as imaginative icons that brought people closer to God and God’s way. The imagination creates “thin-spaces”; and 4) the Wesleys imagined a “new creation” for and with their followers, comprised of both a personal dimension (perfect love) and a social dimension (God’s reign). The imagination inspires shalom. The article concludes with suggestions about how these qualities might impact our life of faith in Christ today.