Word Pictures: Knowing God Through Story and Imagination [Paperback]

Brian Godawa (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 11, 2009 | ISBN-10: 0830837094 | ISBN-13: 978-0830837090

Artist and screen writer Brian Godawa used to revel in his ability to argue the truth of the gospel, often crushing his opponents in the process. In time, however, he began to realize that winning an argument about the logic of Christianity did not equal persuading people to follow Jesus. What was missing?

Through prayer and searching the Scriptures, Godawa realized that while God cares deeply for rationality, propositional truths were not the only, or even the primary, tools he used to reach people with his Truth. In fact, Godawa discovered that story, metaphor and imagery were central to God's communication style because they could go places reason could never go: into the heart.

In his refreshing and challenging book, Godawa helps you break free from the spiritual suffocation of heady faith. Without negating the importance of reason and doctrine, Godawa challenges you to move from understanding the Bible "literally" to "literarily" by exploring the poetry, parables and metaphors found in God's Word. Weaving historical insight, pop culture and personal narrative throughout, Godawa reveals the importance God places on imagination and creativity in the Scriptures, and provides a biblical foundation for Christians to pursue image, beauty, wonder and mystery in their faith.

For any Christian who wants to learn how to communicate and defend the Gospel in a postmodern context, this book will help you find a path between the two extremes of intellectualized faith and anti-intellectual faith by recovering a biblical balance between intellect and imagination.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Godawa is one of the best thinkers on Christianity, art and culture writing today. His latest work, Word Pictures, encourages a much more holistic viewing of movies and TV, which in turn leads to a more complete understanding of the Word of God. His work will make you want to first reach for your Bible and then view (or, even better, make) art that engages the culture and advances the kingdom of God. He has also convinced me that I am a 'literarialist.' Read this book and you'll probably become one too." (Dean Batali, TV writer, That '70s Show and Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

"Brian Godawa is that rare combination of industry professional and serious intellectual who is respected by the academic community and the media industry as well. When Brian speaks, I make notes, because what he thinks matters. Word Pictures is exactly what the culture needs to hear right now. We've moved from a text-based culture to a visually based culture, and Brian's book is the key to making that transition. It's changed my thinking about understanding the Bible in a postmodern era." (Phil Cooke, president and creative director, Cooke Pictures, Santa Monica, California)

"Brian Godawa's incisive delineation of word pictures in the aftermath of a collapsed modernity heralds a new, thoughtful, biblically postmodern perspective of movies and the arts. This is a biblically holistic perspective. As a Hollywood insider, Godawa is uniquely situated to assess both the assets and liabilities of today's major movie industry and to offer valuable suggestions to Christians for how they should interact with it. We all would do well to listen carefully to Godawa's well-honed argument and heed his advice." (P. Andrew Sandlin, president, Center for Cultural Leadership)

"Accessible and engaging, Word Pictures introduces readers to the popular discourse among religious conservatives about visual culture in a mass-mediated society. The strength of Word Pictures lies in the author's fresh explication of biblical passages, 'literarily' situating them in both generic and cultural contexts and then drawing interesting parallels for thinking about contemporary popular art." (William Romanowski, professor of communication arts and sciences, Calvin College, and author of Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture)

"Brian Godawa's book is an exploration of the literary nature of the Bible. It is a spirited and balanced defense of the imagination as a potential conveyer of truth. There is a lot of good literary theory in the book, as well as an autobiographical story line. Pervading all this wealth is a sense of the author's energetic mind. The thoroughness of research makes the book a triumph of scholarship as well." (Leland Ryken, Clyde S. Kilby Professor of English, Wheaton College, and editor of The Christian Imagination: The Practice of Faith in Literature and Writing)

"A timely corrective to those of us who would reduce faith to words and arguments, given by an author who uses words and arguments so well. In Word Pictures Brian Godawa manages to be contemporary without being trendy, faithful to tradition without being hidebound. It should be read by anyone concerned for the well-being of biblical truth in twenty-first-century popular culture." (Steve Turner, author of Imagine: A Vision for Christians in the Arts)

"This book deserves, and will delight, a wide readership. Part autobiography, part biblical studies, part apologetics, part aesthetics, part historical theology, only a 'Renaissance man' like artist-intellectual-communicator Brian Godawa could have brought together 'word' and 'image' with such serene, soaring mastery. I'll be requiring it in my preaching courses." (Leonard Sweet, author of Out of the Question . . . Into the Mystery)

"This is must reading for anyone interested in the huge question of the use of words and the legitimacy of images for theological and apologetic discourse. Brian Godawa has left no stone unturned. Moving insightfully through the Bible, Luther, Calvin, Tolkien, Lewis and, of course, films, Godawa lays to rest the many fears about images and imagination. More than that, he encourages Christians to get involved in the media, with a view to transforming them rather than hiding behind the safe wall of 'Christian art.'" (William Edgar, professor of apologetics, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia)

"At a contentious intersection of faith and contemporary culture, Brian Godawa offers what many of us have been calling for: balance. In a world (and often a church) torn by imbalanced devotion to either word or image, Godawa joins the two with a needed 'and.' He shows a well-developed literacy for both forms of communication, shows how the Bible incorporates both and challenges us to engage our culture creatively and redemptively on both fronts." (Brian McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christian and A Generous Orthodoxy)

"Brian Godawa is that rare breed--a philosopher-artist--who opens our eyes to the aesthetic dimension of spirituality. Cogently argued and fun to read, this book analyzes the rich variety of literary genres found in Scripture itself. Godawa shows convincingly that God interacts with us as whole persons, not only through didactic teaching but also through metaphor, symbol and sacrament." (Nancy R. Pearcey, Francis A. Schaeffer Scholar, World Journalism Institute, and author of Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity)

Review

"At a contentious intersection of faith and contemporary culture, Brian Godawa offers what many of us have been calling for: balance. In a world (and often a church) torn by imbalanced devotion to either word or image, Godawa joins the two with a needed 'and.' He shows a well-developed literacy for both forms of communication, shows how the Bible incorporates both and challenges us to engage our culture creatively and redemptively on both fronts."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: IVP Books (September 11, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830837094
• ISBN-13: 978-0830837090
• Product Dimensions: 0.6 x 5.5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #672,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brian Godawa is the screenwriter for the award-winning feature film, To End All Wars, starring Kiefer Sutherland. It was awarded the Commander in Chief Medal of Service, Honor and Pride by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, won the first Heartland Film Festival by storm, and showcased the 2003 Cannes Film Festival Cinema for Peace.

Most recently, he wrote and directed the documentary Wall of Separation for PBS, Lines That Divide: The Great Stem Cell Debate for CBC Network, and School's Out: Political Correctness Vs. Academic Freedom for Boulevard Pictures. He also adapted to film the bestselling supernatural novel The Visitation by best-selling author Frank Peretti for Ralph Winter (X-Men, Wolverine).

Mr. Godawa's scripts have won multiple awards in such screenplay competitions as Carl Sautter, The Nicholl Fellowship, Austin Heart of Film, Fade-In, Worldfest, Writer's Network, Chesterfield Writer's Film Project, Columbus Discovery Awards and Reader's Digest Screenplay Competition.

He gives lectures at high schools and colleges on screenwriting, as well as the art of watching and writing movies. He has had his articles on movies and philosophy published in magazines around the world, most recently winning First Place from the EPA for his article on the philosophy of The Matrix.

His popular book, Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films with Wisdom and Discernment (InterVarsity Press) is used as a textbook in schools around the country. His book Word Pictures: Knowing God Through Story and Imagination (IVP) addresses the power of image and story in the pages of the Bible to transform the Christian life. His new novel series, the saga Chronicles of the Nephilim is an imaginative retelling of the primeval history of Genesis, the secret plan of the fallen Watchers, and the War of the Seed of the Serpent with the Seed of Eve.

His main website is www.godawa.com.
His novel website is www.ChroniclesoftheNephilim.com
Details on his books, articles and seminars can be found at www.hollywoodworldviews.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended! September 7, 2009

By Dave Vandeveer

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Brian Godawa shows how God works through the arts and not just, or even primarily, through propositional truth. The Bible reveals God's heart through the images and stories of people's lives, and He continues to engage people this way today. Brian exposes our tendency to approach God heartlessly by distilling the doctrine and then ditching the story. In doing this we lose the life of the message, and reduce revelation to cold, heartless proposition.

Word Pictures opened my eyes to how Western Christianity has over emphasized reason and logic at the expense of life. We are to worship God in Spirit and in Truth. Brian challenges us to shed our skepticism of the subjective and embrace life in its fullness.

What we live and experience often influences us more than logical argument. Brian doesn't dismiss the importance of truth; rather he shows that truth is often communicated more impactfully through the medium of art than it is by mere statement.

It is time for Christians to embrace the arts for our own good, and to engage the culture around us. If you have ever felt like something was missing from your Christianity, this book will inspire you to see the multiple mediums that God uses to communicate His truth to people. No more cookie cutter Christianity!!! God's drama in the 21sta century will use the arts: movies, stories, pictures, symbols, sculpture, paintings, drama, videos, YouTube, blogs, facebook, and more. Are you ready for a challenge? Read this book!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A much-needed primer on Christian creativity February 20, 2010

By Jacob A. Davis

Format:Paperback

There seems to be a recent movement within the Protestant community to finally start talking about the arts and their role in the Christian life. Numerous publishers in the evangelical and mainline streams have released direct or indirect approaches to the matter as of late, from groundbreaking to the pitiful. With so many books now in the mix (and my personal bookshelf space gradually being depleted as a result), it is refreshing to find a book that I can recommend to everyone as a starting point for study on the broad subject of a Christian approach to art, literature, film, and (most importantly and comprehensively) the imagination.

Acting more as a selection of related but independent essays, apologist and screenwriter Brian Godawa takes the reader on a journey through various topics of interest. Rather than spend time writing chapters like "How do we approach art/books/movies/etc.," Godawa tackles the larger themes at stake that influence how we approach all of the creative arts. From a master apologist, it is an apologetic for the use of image and story in the Christian life. This is no small feat for someone in a tradition that has largely been iconoclastic since its inception (from the non-Lutheran aspects of the Reformation to the current day) and which has taken an almost exclusively literal and propositional approach to the entire text of the scriptures for well over a century in overcompensating reaction to liberal textural criticism.

Godawa steps into the battle zone and in the pages gives an appeal to the scriptures for the use of story and images, citing direct references in the pages.... He also importantly addresses issues of literal readings versus the broad range of literary genres and forms in the scriptures, pointing to how hyperbole, satire, poetry, and such enrich the scripture experience by stirring the human imagination. The role of the Christian in the artistic fields is also discussed, as is the long battle for and against iconoclasm in the church. Most highly important is the resounding theme echoed throughout of battling a Christianity of "dehumanized abstraction and an intellectual faith that lack[s] imagination."

There are selective moments where I have disagreements with Godawa, but his work overall stands as an important benchmark in the promotion of the imagination and the creative arts from an Evangelical Protestant perspective and as a primer for a Christian approach to various fields associated with it. Even on my sparse disagreements, I believe Godawa has struck up a conversation worth having and raises important thoughts and questions beneficial to each reader. Therefore, I wholeheartedly recommend the book and, further, I intend to use this book as an instruction tool in future arts-related ministry endeavors. Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Encouraging, challenging, thought-provoking October 23, 2009

By Tom Bajoras

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Brian Godawa is a very clear communicator as well as a gifted filmmaker. (I highly recommend his film, To End All Wars, which is available here on Amazon.) His latest book tackles the big questions, "what does God think of art?," "what is the purpose of art (and of artists)?" and "what is the relationship between visual art and written word?"

Having been raised in a devout Roman Catholic family, some of my early memories are of being inside churches adorned with beautiful paintings and sculpture. As an adult, I've traveled to places as diverse as Italy and Thailand, and I've marveled at the magnificent works--paintings, sculptures, architecture, tapestries, etc.--created by deeply religious artists throughout the ages. The question then that troubles me is why are places of worship in modern America often so plain, so painfully devoid of any visual art? Art used to be found primarily in churches and temples, not in museums; now the opposite is true.

This book not only explains the reasons for this development; it also presents a detailed, logically consistent, biblically based argument for how we must change our thinking in order to re-integrate the arts into a Christian worldview.

The book is incredibly well researched. Godawa always goes back to the bible and supports his arguments with scripture. It's not just a well-constructed logical argument (although it is that also). We read about artists in the bible, including some whose work would definitely NOT be on the list of nice art for Sunday school classroom walls. We learn that the bible is filled with stories about God communicating to people through visual media, music, dance, drama, architecture, costume design, and even avant garde performance art.... Godawa says that his research shows that only 20% of the bible is expository writing. And the very first person in the bible who is ever described as being "filled with the Holy Spirit" is in fact an artist, Bezalel. (If you haven't heard of him, look him up in an online Bible concordance; it's a great story.)

This book is a huge encouragement to artists, such as myself, working in non-representational forms. I'm a composer, and much of what I create is instrumental music. I sometimes feel that the church has little use for my music, and yet I am certain that this is my primary gift from God. This book tells artists like me that our gifts have purpose and value.

Thank you, Brian, for reminding us that our God loves both truth AND beauty. Read more ›