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Article: NARRATIVE, SYMBOL, AND RITUAL TOWARDS A REINTEGRATION OF WORD AND IMAGE (Continued)
Page 1 , 2 , 3
by Colin Harbinson
The Word is our ultimate reference point. As
Christians, we too hold a high view of Scripture
that should inform a symbolic and ritual practice
that is firmly rooted in our narrative—our story.
In Christ the invisible was made visible when
“The Word became flesh and dwelt
among us and we beheld his glory …”
With the incarnation as our model, we
must work towards the reintegration of
word and image. To do so will bond
us more significantly to our story,
enrich our spirit, enhance our corporate
worship, more effectively engage our
postmodern world—and pave the way
to welcome back the arts as “front seat”
colleagues.
______________________________
Dr. Colin Harbinson is dean of the
arts at Belhaven College. He is a
writer and choreographer, president
of International Festival of the Arts, and
editor of the Creative Spirit.
1 Brian D. McLaren, A New Kind of Christian (San Francisco
2001), p. 17.
2 Robert Fulford, The Triumph of Narrative (New York 2001),
p. 32.
3 Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit, and Tremper
Longman III, eds., Dictionary of Biblical
Imagery (Downers
Grove, Ill., 1998), p. XII.
4 James C. Livingston, Anatomy of the Sacred (London 2000),
p. 75.
5 A. H. Mathias Zahniser, Symbol and Ceremony (Monrovia,
CA, 1997), p. 3.
6 Robert W. Hovda, “Symbol: The Language of Art and
Liturgy,” Environment and Art
Letter 2, 4 (June 1989), pp.
2-3, reprinted in Robert E. Webber, ed., Music and the
Arts in Christian Worship, Vol. 4, Book 2 (Nashville, TN,
1994), p. 505.
7 Clare Gibson, Sacred Symbols (Rowayton, CT, 1998), pp.
9-10.
8 Gordon Lathrop, “How Symbols Speak,” Liturgy 7, 1
(Summer 1988), pp. 9-13,
reprinted in Webber,
p. 508.
9 Ibid., p. 509.
10 Gibson, p. 7.
11 Lathrop, reprinted in Webber, p. 509.
12 Livingston, p. 77.
13 Zahniser, p. 75.
14 Rabbi Eckstein, What Christians Should Know About Jews and Judaism (Waco 1984),
p. 96.
15 Ibid., p. 25.
16 Zahniser, p. 68.
17 Lathrop, reprinted in Webber, p. 512.
18 Ibid., p. 511.
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