In this Trinity Forum Conversation, author Lanta Davis, along with special guest host and Trinity Forum Senior Fellow Jessica Hooten Wilson, delve into the power of imagination and its role in our spiritual formation. The discussion centers on Davis's book Becoming by Beholding, which explores Christian imagination through art, literature, and historical practices.

These friends and scholars discuss the transformative potential of engaging with sacred art, the virtues, and traditional practices like Lectio Divina:

"In Jesus's parables ... He's constantly showing us that there's more hidden behind the surface than we think. The mustard seed is not just a mustard seed. Yeast is not just yeast ... Jesus shows us heavenly meanings ... This is what the incarnation helps us understand, that the divine is not just up above. It's all around us. It's here and now. That when God became matter, all the material world changed because of it."

We hope this conversation will resonate with you as you explore the good, the true, and the beautiful in your own corner of creation. 

This podcast is an edited version of our Online Conversation recorded in March 2025. You can access the full conversation with transcript here.

Learn more about Lanta Davis and Jessica Hooten Wilson.

Episode Outline

00:00 Welcome and Introduction

04:47 Exploring the Power of Imagination

05:37 The Concept of Becoming by Beholding

07:46 Living in an Enchanted World

10:53 Tradition and the Logic of Eternity

13:49 Orthodoxy, Orthopraxy, and Orthopathy

17:22 The Role of Icons and Medieval Bestiaries

23:25 Lectio Divina and Imaginative Prayer

27:20 Virtues and Vices: A Deeper Look

30:38 Understanding Virtue and Its Historical Context

31:37 The Practicality of Virtue Personifications

32:32 Teaching Virtues in Everyday Life

33:50 Exploring Courage Through Art

36:30 Incorporating Virtue in Contemporary Art

38:15 Imagination and Its Role in Understanding Reality

45:28 Scripture, Culture, and the Fruits of the Spirit

49:49 Global Christian Art and Imagination

51:34 Resources for Teaching and Engaging with Art

54:46 Travel and Exploration of Christian Art

56:33 Desire, Trust, and Identity in Modern Culture

59:39 The Last Word with Lanta Davis

Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:

Becoming by Beholding, by Lanta Davis
Jessica Hooten Wilson
Ralph C. Wood
In the Beauty of Holiness, by David Lyle Jeffrey
Luke Ferriter
“Hurrahing in Harvest”, by ​​Gerard Manley Hopkins
Four Quartets, by T. S. Eliot
Orthodoxy, by G. K. Chesterton
Flannery O’Connor
Grace Hammond
On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life Through Great Books, by Karen Swallow Prior
Alan Noble
A Secular Age, by Charles Taylor
Dorothy Sayers
The Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri
James K.A. Smith
Kristin Lavransdatter, by Sigrid Undset
John Donne
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Related Trinity Forum Readings:
Kristin Lavransdatter, by Sigrid Undset
Spirit and Imagination: Reflections from Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The Strangest Story in the World, by G.K. Chesterton