Today, we continue our Summer Forecast with Dr. Lanta Davis, who will be teaching "Imagination and Spiritual Formation" at Regent Summer School from June 29 - July 3. In this conversation, Lanta introduces us to how the imagination shapes our lives with God. She brings us back through Christian history to show how visual art, stories, and symbols shape our faith, identity, and understanding of God. We discuss how the contemporary imagination is being influenced by consumerism and political agendas, and reflect on the power of images of Jesus in particular. Lanta takes us deep into the fascinating world of saints' lives and bestiaries as sources that train and model our imaginative capacities, but also gives practical suggestions for ways to practice growing our imaginative capacities through visual art and literature. We hope you enjoy this conversation and consider joining us this summer for a class that may contain unicorns!

Lanta's Bio

Dr. Lanta Davis writes and teaches about the sacramental imagination, beauty, and character formation. Her book, Becoming by Beholding: The Power of the Imagination in Spiritual Formation (Baker, 2024), was named one of Christianity Today’s best books of the year. Her writing has also appeared in publications such as Smithsonian Magazine, National Geographic, Christianity Today, Plough, Parabola, and Christian Century. As a Professor of Humanities and Literature for the John Wesley Honors College at Indiana Wesleyan University, she has researched and lectured on topics as diverse as ancient Christian mosaics, sacred architecture, virtues and vices, pilgrimages, memento mori art, and contemporary Irish fiction. She will be teaching Imagination and Spiritual Formation at Regent from June 29 to July 3. 

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