In Front | Using Imagination Responsibly

One of the worst things you can do when reading the Bible is to let your imagination be your guide. Your imagination is populated with scenarios and meanings that come mostly from your own experience. But the Bible comes from a different time and place and refers to people, ideas and institutions that are often foreign to us. So we have to do our homework In the Text and, especially, Behind the Text before we can be confident we are getting at the original meaning. 

But is there a place for imagination at all?

As long as it follows the careful reading of the Bible in its literary and cultural context, the answer is yes. The responsible use of imagination is actually an important exercise In Front of the Text. We want to imagine sights, sounds and smells, if possible, but even more importantly, feelings and sentiments. 

What was going on in Jephthah’s head when he vowed to offer anything that walked out of his house (Judges 11)? And what did it feel like to be Jephthah’s daughter, condemned to die as a result of her father’s vow?

The responsible use of imagination calls for cultural competency and emotional empathy. You may develop these capacities in settings very different than Bible study, perhaps in counseling or in cross-cultural missions. Although you never want to lead your Bible study with imagination, you never want to end without it.