Becoming by Beholding

Restoring the Imagination to Its Central Role in Spiritual FormationBecoming by Beholding restores the imagination to its central role in spiritual formation by recovering key works from the Christian tradition, enabling us to experience the formative power of the imagination for ourselves."This valuable volume invites us to pause from stuffing mental fast food into the hungry spaces in our souls and feast instead on gourmet fare from the Christian past. Whether you are drawn more by the dragons, the cathedrals, or the lady virtues, there is food for the Christian imagination here to linger over and savor."--David I. Smith, Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning, Calvin University"The church--Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox--should thank Lanta Davis for this book. Each page reminds you of the astonishing breadth and beauty and magic of the kingdom of God. Through Davis's exploration of Scripture, medieval bestiaries, poems, cathedrals, icons, and paintings, our imaginations are reignited!"--Jessica Hooten Wilson, Pepperdine University"Becoming by Beholding is a work to behold. Not only is this book a study in beauty, imagination, and spiritual formation; it also models the very practices it preaches. To read it is to witness beauty and imagination at work and thus to leave its pages better formed and more ready to be formed by all the goodness the world has to offer."--Karen Swallow Prior, author of The Evangelical Imagination"Becoming by Beholding ushers us into a rich, strange, and beautiful art gallery that unveils our own hearts and minds. Davis's engaging tour draws deeply from the Christian tradition of spiritual masters to show how the architecture of Chartres Cathedral, iconic imagery of Jesus, Station Island's stations of the cross, and the literary genius of Dante teem with spiritual insights that reveal Christ and his life in us."--Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, Calvin University; author of Glittering Vices"Do you think nonfiction is more serious, grown-up, and useful than moving stories, beautiful buildings, and pretty pictures? Let Davis guide you through the Christian artists and makers who testify across the centuries that the stories and images we behold indelibly shape our souls."--Jeffrey Bilbro, Grove City College; editor-in-chief, Front Porch Republic"With the wisdom of a master guide, Davis takes us on a pilgrimage, excavating the riches of the Christian imaginative tradition. The journey is illuminating and surprising, marked by encounters with holiness."--Justin Ariel Bailey, Dordt University