actually answering a question

just realized that i never actually adressed the question from 2 posts ago.

"Is imagination a quality of God that is given to His children, or a corruption of His quality of creativity?" or something like that.

although now that i have set myself on answering this, i find that i dont think that creativity and imagination actually have anything to do with each other.

Creative rests upon the root word 'create', and usually has some connotation of originality.

Imagination is rooted in the word 'image', and usually denotes forming images or concepts in the mind.

Now, these two work greatly together, the imagination creating concepts, ideas, and images, while creativity makes them concrete and tangible. but they dont necessarily need each other, nor are they in any way the exact same thing. Creativity has many expressions that dont require imagination (although they may benefit from it) , including problem solving and impromptu art forms, such as free writing or improve acting/singing. Imagination also has many expressions that require no creativity, such as memory recall, like when you mentally retrace your steps when your trying to remember where you put your car keys, doing math problems in your head, and often processing concepts. also, making any mental concept of a sensory experience that isnt actally present requires the imagination.

Just another thought

More pondering on imagination

After my last post, I pretty much found expressions of creativity that were outside of imaginiation, as mentioned in my last post. I also found that, to an extent, imagining is unavoidable, being the process which, if not responsible for, is greatly connected to memory, desigining, or making any kind of plan. But the concept of imagination in fiction still poses a question, with the answers and lines wavering as to their placement. Using Bible gateway, i could only find a few definitions of the term imagine. this is primarily because Bible Gateway only has a concordance for NASB and KJV.

In KJV, the most common definitions revolve around making plans, or devising something. others include reckon, think, and a few specifically about plotting evil

The NASB only has one use of the word, to used by Mordecai to warn Esther not to imagine (in this use, to think or make oneself out to be) that she could escape the fate of her people.

The other versions, while not having a dictionary reference, have contexts which denote similar meaning. But how do these meanings and definitions line up with the definition of what i'm putting on trial here? Is writing fiction in truth devising something or making some plan? I can clearly see in some instances, many in my life, how in my imaginings i planned, devised and worked out evil will towards others. But is this inescapable? Many imaginings are truly and undeniably vile and opposed to God's will. H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, Ann Rice, J.K Rowling, write stories that by their very nature deny His God-ness. But is this avoidable in fiction? or is writing anything other than history effectively an elaborate lie, inherently a sin?

My thought goes to the parable. What is it by its nature? a truth in a story that was revealed to some and not to others. Was Jesus talking about actual seeds that were actually eaten by actual birds? I don't know, He might have been, but i dont think so. (know that i'm discussing parables now because part of what im studying is whether or not allegorical fiction is truly justified by God.) Those stories were about people and things that, as far as we know, did not actually exist. He speaks of things symbolically, doesnt He? and by the nature of Symbolism, doesnt that make them fictional? not to say unreal, He was telling truth in symbols, but can fiction be true? or does that defeat the purpose of fiction? One of the many definitions of fiction is a lie, which is contrary to everything that God is, but another is :an imaginary thing or event, postulated for the purposes of argument or explanation, and isnt that what is done in the parables? But i don't think i can stay on that part of the rant because it will most likely dissolve into a discussion of semantics, and those are NEVER productive.

maybe simply asking the question would get to the point better. Can I write a fictional story about people who dont really exist, doing things that never really happened in a place that never really existed, and not lie? Before you answer, think about this. I dont just mean completely unreal, with no basis in reality. This includes ANYTHING short of historical documentaion and autobiography. a character who is simply BASED on me is not really me and therefore never existed. Would telling his story be a lie even though it is my story? Why not just tell the actual story? i guess thats the question i have to ask myself. But what if the story is so much bigger? more than say or hope to describe? I don't really know, and i hope that people actually comment on this because input would be appreciated.

So at this point, i find myself at a roadblock: Fiction by its very nature seems like a lie, but that cannot be true as Jesus uses fiction and He is incapable of lying. Of course, i could be GREATLY misunderstanding or overthinking some things as i am guilty of that often. but m mind is fried right now, and i need to sleep. till i post again

A Question to Ponder

Recently a question has been assigned to me: a study of sorts.

Is the imagination something we are created with, or is it a corruption of God's creative quality, which He assigns to us?

This question when posed caused me a great deal of distress. For me, the two were almost indistinguishable. how can one be without the other? of course upon bringing that up, God immediately showed me a few things;

1.) Imagining takes us out of the real world. It does not engage with reality in any way, it is the product of our minds and our minds alone.

2.) Other creative outlets for me include poetry, sketching, other forms of writing and singing. Aside from singing in the realm of theatre performance and certain prose writing, none of these activities take me out of reality. My attention is focused on the task at hand, but not to the complete exclusion of reality. In fact, my attention becomes rooted in reality, in the working of the medium with which i am expressing said creativity.

3.)Also, in specific events where the product of creativity was prompted by the Holy Spirit, the mind is barely engaged, or thinking at all, only reacting to the Spirit's voice, which focuses the attention on God.

So, overall, before actually doing study in the Word, which is the next necessary step, it appears that imaginiation is actually quite different than creativity. Imagination is the mind working with and within itself, focused on its own creation. Creativity is a working of the mind with the world around it. and Spirit-prompted creativity focuses on nothing but the Lord, where i desire my focus to always be. So, in short, it seems that Imagination is not a basic part of creativity, but vice versa: Imagination requires creativity, but serves no purpose but to please itself.

Be posting again when i get more Scripture.