Any respectable parent in America knows that the most valuable thing they must give their young child is a good imagination. They’ve learned this fact from the parenting magazines they are forced to read while being held hostage in pediatricians’ waiting rooms. The magazines have also instructed them in the proper method for cultivating a good imagination. First, buy the child brightly colored toys (conveniently displayed by the magazines’ advertisers). Second, fill the child’s bedroom and classrooms with brightly colored decorations, and third, and most importantly, make them read. It doesn’t really matter what they read, the magazines say – any printed materials will do – although books with brightly colored illustrations are preferable.

But why is the imagination so vital for childhood development? If you ask the same parents, they will likely tell you the magazines say that it keeps the little ones entertained, broadens their horizons, and prepares them for adulthood. Those with the best imaginations will grow up to be actors or architects and make a lot of money, or toy designers or writers and continue the cycle of creativity.

The magazines are mostly right. Their answers are complete and accurate if the imagination can be compared to a skill or talent, like musical inclination, that is enjoyable in youth but which only a select few will have a real use for beyond adolescence. But if the role of the human imagination has been underestimated by the popular culture, they offer only partial answers that overlook the bigger picture.

The imagination truly is much more than the stuff of silly games and make-believe. It serves even a greater purpose than dreaming up new ideas and solving problems. The imagination frees us from the confines of space and time of our world. It gives us eyes and ears for the past and the future. It enables us to sorrow in the death of a carpenter’s son two thousand years ago and to rejoice in anticipation of the birth of a child still hidden in the womb. The imagination can take us back to find historical understanding and project us forward towards the vision of our final destiny. The imagination is so powerful it can even transport us to times and places that will never exist outside of dreams.

The imagination is an innate human capacity that allows every man to see beyond his own senses, and it is beyond our senses that most of reality exists. Ultimately, it is through the imagination that man’s mind can begin to accept the intangible God.

Tolkein knew the imagination was not mere child’s play when he penned the greatest work of literary fiction of the twentieth century. Amazingly, in the most fantastical universe one can sometimes stumble upon the deepest truths and encounter the greatest realities. Fairy tales are not just for the nursery because it is not simply the imagination, but the moral imagination that is so important for maturity. It is not enough to have a good imagination: one must instead have an imagination forged by goodness, truth, and beauty to fulfill the role for which it was intended. Contrary to popular parenting magazines, the choice of reading materials does matter. Well-told stories with a clear distinction between virtue and vice can rapidly aid the development of a healthy moral imagination. The properly formed moral imagination is the lens through which spiritual realities can be seen, and it is only through these spiritual realities that temporal realities make sense.

But the converse is also true. Since the imagination is both essential and irrepressible, it will feed on whatever is set before it. Modern-day America is ready, gleefully dishing up a virtual banquet of movies, music, and books to stuff the open minds. Unfortunately, however, much of what is served is junk food, and much will sicken those who consume it (both figuratively and literally). A warped imagination results in a warped view of reality. Truth is distorted and the soul is pointed away from its Creator.

Is a strict diet or total fasting the only option for the concerned Christian? If it is the only way to avoid sin, yes, but the complete avoidance of any kind of visual or literary stimulus could result in stunted imaginations and underdeveloped personalities. Ideally, the garbage should be tossed out and the hungry imagination allowed to feast on the most nutritious vittles available.

But even when all the hidden delicacies have been searched out, the imagination will not be satiated – not in this life anyway – for it must someday be large enough for the beatific vision, if there even is such a size. That’s where the Christian writer comes in. Not only does the imagination of the culture need to be wrested out of the hands of “the bad guys,” it needs to be transformed. It will not be an easy task. Nor can it be accomplished by just one author. Page after page must be drenched in the blood, sweat, and tears of the concerted efforts of many. In the profound words of TOI’s own Emily Snyder at the 2002 Catholic Writers’ Festival, “Tolkien is dead – get over it!” No laurel-lounging allowed when there’s a job to be done.

But take courage: your efforts will never be in vain, and in good time will see their goal – a culture alive and vibrant with the brightest fantastical fruits of your creation.

Just imagine it.

The End

(c) 2002
By Justine Schmiesing
All Rights Reserved
Biography