Rahppoye, Hekmat-e Honar

Rahppoye, Hekmat-e Honar

The Role of productive Imagination and Theopoetics in the Analysis of Contemporary Christian Aesthetics

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Mohammad Sadegh Gheisari
Master of Art Research, Faculty of Theoretical Sciences and Higher Art Studies, University of Art, Tehran, Iran.
10.22034/rph.2025.2044806.1084
Abstract
Theopoetics, as a contemporary approach to interpreting religious texts, seeks to recreate and reinterpret sacred scriptures through the lens of productive and artistic imagination. This method enables us to derive new meanings from religious texts and connect them to modern life and its challenges. In this article, drawing on Paul Ricoeur's theory, the role of productive imagination in this tradition and the theopoetic reading of holy texts is explored in greater depth. Ricoeur emphasizes imagination as a transformative force, demonstrating how it can expand and augment reality. The article also analyzes examples of sacred imagery in religious language and art, examining how religious works of art (such as icons) generate meaningful and impactful images through linguistic creativity. These metaphors and images are conveyed to audiences through the imagination of the creator, potentially transforming individuals' religious understanding and experiences. Additionally, the article considers the motivations behind the emergence of theopoetics in the contemporary era and argues that this approach offers a response to the spiritual and cultural needs of modern society. Overall, the article aims to demonstrate that theopoetics, with its emphasis on creativity and imagination, provides a new avenue for rereading and interpreting religious texts, contributing to a deeper and more meaningful religious experience.
Keywords
Theopoetics
productive imagination
sacred text
Paul Ricoeur
Christian aesthetics

Subjects

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Hopper, S. R. (1992). The literary imagination and the doing of theology. In R. M. Keiser & T. Stoneburner (Eds.), The way of transfiguration: Religious imagination as theopoiesis (pp. 207–229). Westminster/John Knox Press.

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Ricoeur, P. (1981). Hermeneutics and the human sciences (J. B. Thompson, Ed. & Trans.). Cambridge University Press.

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Ricoeur, P. (2024). Lectures on imagination (G. H. Taylor, R. D. Sweeney, J. Amalric, & P. F. Crosby, Eds.). University of Chicago Press.

Ricoeur, P., & Venema, H. I. (2000). Identifying selfhood: Imagination, narrative, and hermeneutics in the thought of Paul Ricœur. State University of New York Press.

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Caputo, J. D., & Keller, C. (2006-2007). Theopoetic/Theopolitic. Cross Currents, 56(4), 105–111.
Eckhart, M. (1983). Meditations with Meister Eckhart (M. Fox, Trans. & Ed.). Bear and Company.
Kearney, R. (2006). Epiphanies of the everyday: Toward a micro-eschatology. In J. P. Manoussakis (Ed.), After God (pp. 3–20). Fordham University Press.
Kearney, R. (2010). Anatheism: Returning to God after God. Columbia University Press.
Kearney, R. (2001). The God who may be: A hermeneutics of religion. Indiana University Press.
Kearney, R. (2002). On stories. Routledge.
Kearney, R. (1988). The wake of imagination: Toward a postmodern culture. University of Minnesota Press.
Keefe-Perry, C. (2014). A heraldic ethic: Critical resistance, theopoetic embodiment, and dialogical impulses. THEOPOETICS, 1(1), 34–69.
Keller, C. (2003). Face of the deep: A theology of becoming. Routledge.
Geniusas, S. (2015). Between phenomenology and hermeneutics: Paul Ricoeur’s philosophy of imagination. Human Studies, 38, 223–241.
Geniusas, S. (2016). Against the Sartrean background: Ricoeur’s lectures on imagination. Research in Phenomenology, 46, 98–116.
Johnson, M. (1987). The body in the mind: The bodily basis of meaning, imagination, and reason. University of Chicago Press.
Ricoeur, P. (1981). Hermeneutics and the human sciences (J. B. Thompson, Ed. & Trans.). Cambridge University Press.
Ricoeur, P., & Venema, H. I. (2000). Identifying selfhood: Imagination, narrative, and hermeneutics in the thought of Paul Ricœur. State University of New York Press.
Ricoeur, P. (1979). The function of fiction in shaping reality. Man and World, 12, 123–141.
Ricoeur, P. (1974). The conflict of interpretations: Essays in hermeneutics. Northwestern University Press.
Ricoeur, P. (2024). Lectures on imagination (G. H. Taylor, R. D. Sweeney, J. Amalric, & P. F. Crosby, Eds.). University of Chicago Press.
Holland, S. (2006). How do stories save us? Eerdmans.
Hopper, S. R. (1967). Interpretation: The poetry of meaning. In D. L. Miller (Ed.), Interpretation: The poetry of meaning (pp. ix-xxi). Harcourt Brace.
Miller, D. L. (1987). Introduction: 'Why persimmons?' and other poems: Transformations of theology in poetry. In S. R. Hopper, The way of transfiguration: Religious imagination as theopoiesis (pp. 1-15). Scholars Press.
Hopper, S. R. (1992). The literary imagination and the doing of theology. In R. M. Keiser & T. Stoneburner (Eds.), The way of transfiguration: Religious imagination as theopoiesis (pp. 207–229). Westminster/John Knox Press.
Rahppoye, Hekmat-e Honar
Volume 3, Issue 2 - Serial Number 5
January 2025
Pages 139-146

  • Receive Date 03 November 2024
  • Revise Date 10 January 2025
  • Accept Date 20 January 2025