On the Podcast: The Language of Creation
What does it mean to participate in creation as an act of worship?
A young girl found herself wandering through a forest at night. She could hear a nightingale singing, and as her eyes grew accustomed to the moonlight, she could see the trees around her more distinctly. She could see silver birches, oaks, and beeches.
She found herself longing to know what the trees were thinking and to hear them talk. She imagined the birch’s soft showery voice and penchant for dancing. The oak’s wizened but hearty appearance. The beech’s smooth and stately elegance.
“Oh trees, trees, trees,” whispered Lucy, “Wake! Don’t you remember it? Don’t you remember me?”
The trees rustled as if they could hear her—but nothing else happened. And Lucy went to sleep that night disappointed.
But a few nights later, she woke out of the deepest sleep you could imagine, and heard a voice calling her back into the woods. She sat up, not with fear but with excitement.
The trees were moving. Not waving. Walking.
She walked towards them, her heart beating wildly. She could hear almost a tune in the sounds they were making. And she could catch glimpses in which they looked a little less like trees and a little more like strangely branchy and leafy people. She danced fearlessly among them until she saw, in the center, the reason for it all: the great lion, Aslan.
These scenes from C.S. Lewis’ Prince Caspian have a strange and nearly universal effect on people. Prince Caspian is set in a disenchanted Narnia, and when Aslan arrives, trees and rivers and all sorts of things are awakened.
When we reach these scenes with Lucy, we read them in a hush.
It’s as if we know that, even for our world, there’s something true about them.
But what exactly is that truth? Christianity doesn’t teach pantheism, where we worship the creation; but neither does it teach Gnosticism, where nothing physical matters. Yet in our modern age, Christians have been guilty of both, and most of us don’t really know what to do with stuff in between those extremes.
How close is Lucy’s perspective to what ours should be? Do dryads and naiads and river gods only exist in Narnia? What is the relationship between objects and the supernatural realm? What are we to do with the trees?
Join Brian Brown, Sarah Howell, and Amy Baik Lee as we seek to reclaim a Christian vision for a reenchanted creation—not just the 30,000-foot view, but what to do with everyday objects.
Announcement
Mark your calendars for the weekend of Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday: September 19-20. It’s high time the Anselm Society hosted a big gathering for learning, feasting, and moments of “you too? I thought I was the only one!”
So join us that weekend for A Long-Expected Feast! Tickets go on sale August 15, first-come, first-serve.
True to hobbit tradition, we're offering not just one meal, but a full weekend of feasting—on food, fellowship, and the fruits of imagination. After some quality fellowship and Lord of the Rings trivia on Friday, we’ll take a one-day retreat complete with morning workshops, afternoon adventures, a delicious themed supper, and an evening pub night filled with the magic of Middle Earth. Come hungry for more than food; leave equipped for the adventures ahead.
Resources Mentioned in This Episode
Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis, of course
Walking on Water by Madeleine L’Engle
The Beauty of Everyday Things by Soetsu Yanagi
In the House of Tom Bombadil by C. R. Wiley
Esther Meek, philosopher
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The work of artist Josh Tiessen
There must be someone in this world—which rejected God and in this rejection, in this blasphemy, became a chaos of darkness—there must be someone to stand in its center, and to discern, to see it again as full of divine riches, as the cup full of life and joy, as beauty and wisdom, and to thank God for it. This “someone” is Christ, the new Adam who restores that “Eucharistic life” which I, the old Adam, have rejected and lost; who makes me again what I am, and restores the world to me. And if the Church is in Christ, its initial act is always this act of thanksgiving, of returning the world to God.”
- Alexander Schmemann
Discussion Questions
You may listen to podcast episodes while commuting, exercising, or doing chores. We certainly hope that Imagination Redeemed is part your everyday life!
But IF you got the wild idea to, say, host a listening party—or listen separately and come together with friends to discuss the episode over a Colombian meal … well, we’d want you to have discussion questions for the occasion!
(While we’re on the subject, should book listening clubs become a bigger thing? We vote yes.)
How close is Lucy's perspective in Prince Caspian to what ours should be?
What is the relationship between objects and the supernatural realm?
How do we begin noticing and reveling in creation in our daily lives?
How does appreciating an element of God’s creation take you further up and further in, especially if you're reading God's word in dialogue with it?
Further Recommended Reading and Listening
For the Senses
If being still really matters so much, if being present really matters so much, if seeing the beautiful multiplicity of layers of meaning and communion in what God has made, if that is all real, then how shall we feast? We will be getting into that in the coming weeks, including at Housemoot, where Brian and Christina Brown and Sarah Howell will lead a session titled, “Why We Feast: How a Healed Relationship with Food Forms Us to Renew the World.”
Find the full description of their session and other Housemoot details here:
In Closing
The Imagination Redeemed podcast is a production of The Anselm Society. It’s easy to see this world as disenchanted, and to give up hope that there’s more. But you were made to see the world with the eyes of heaven. And to live a bountiful life that participates in the life of God…like in the great stories. To help make this show possible, go to anselmsociety.org/podcast25 and make a donation.
The Anselm Society is a place where you can come in and experience that beauty, joyful celebration, and ancient wisdom. And go out renewed, bringing that life to your vocation, home, & church. Learn more at anselmsociety.org, and join us next time as we pursue a renaissance of the Christian imagination together.
Love the idea of these listening question. I really enjoy the podcast so it's a nice tough to get me thinking with others. Hope the gathering goes well in September. What a great idea.