Oasis of Imagination: Engaging our World through a Better Creativity

The church's cultural witness should be marked by creative cultural engagement, using our imaginations to plant oases in the desert and refresh, challenge, and draw together Christians and non-Christians alike. Ted Turnau's book "Oasis of Imagination" explores the Biblical mandate for engaging culture and why the imaginative path holds promise. He challenges the church to be intentional about its own imaginative lives and how artists and non-artists can support each other in building bridges and being cultural ambassadors to the wider community.

Format: Hardback
Length: 480 pages
Publication date: 20 July 2023
Publisher: Inter-Varsity Press

The church's cultural witness has often been characterized by political coercion or a fearful retreat into the Christian bubble. However, there is an alternative path: engaging in creative cultural interaction that uses our imaginations to create oases in the desert, breathable spaces that refresh, challenge, and bring together Christians and non-Christians alike. Oases offer a respite for the soul, stimulate dialogue, challenge assumptions, and transport the imagination to new horizons. In his book "Oasis of Imagination," Ted Turnau explores the Biblical mandate for engaging culture and why the imaginative path holds promise. He delves into the nature of imagination from both Scripture and nature, raising questions such as what distinguishes a Christian imagination that resonates with non-Christians. Turnau showcases examples of Christian creativity across various mediums, including video games, movies, music, and "The Lord of the Rings." He challenges the church, artists, and non-artists alike to be intentional about their imaginative lives, how artists and non-artists can support each other, and how they can together build bridges and serve as cultural ambassadors to the broader community. "Oasis of Imagination" is a comprehensive and thought-provoking work that equips and encourages Christians, regardless of their vocation, to consider how to engage imaginatively in the broader cultural conversation, moving beyond the culture wars and Christian bubbles. It seeks to ignite a conversation within the church between its artists and non-artists about the best ways to unleash their God-given creativity to shine light into the broader culture.

Weight: 738g
Dimension: 165 x 245 x 45 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781789744750