
Holy Imagination
A Literary and Theological Introduction to the Whole Bible
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $21.49
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Janina Edwards
About this listen
The many voices in scripture form a dialogue with readers, which produce theological truths that are larger than the individual parts. This introduction is informed by both literary theory and theology. It groups sections of the whole Bible together by genre. Each section identifies and describes the genre (such as historiography, poetry, prophecy, gospel, letter, apocalypse), and then moves into a discussion about the literary characteristics and theological insights.
The words of scripture not only come a long way to find us but like a poem must be read with attention. Poetry doesn't yield meaning easily, and it doesn't promise to make sense. We know to look past the words on the page and find the images, tropes, sounds, and metaphors that are meaning-full. This type of writing invites, rather demands, the imagination. We must accept that we will only get so close, but that this is close enough. Our imagination spans the gaps left by sparse language and incomplete narratives. We return again and again, with more information and perhaps more experiences. The words are the same, but we are not; and for that reason there are always new discoveries.
©2021 Abingdon Press (P)2022 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Prophetic Imagination
- 40th Anniversary Edition
- By: Walter Brueggemann
- Narrated by: Jim Denison
- Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this 40th anniversary edition of the classic book from one of the most influential biblical scholars of our time, Walter Brueggemann, offers a theological and ethical reading of the Hebrew Bible.
-
-
Grateful for a world reknown Hebrew Scriptures scholar
- By bean481 on 04-14-24
-
Just as I Am
- A Memoir
- By: Cicely Tyson, Michelle Burford
- Narrated by: Cicely Tyson, Viola Davis, Robin Miles
- Length: 16 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just as I Am is my truth. It is me, plain and unvarnished, with the glitter and garland set aside. Here, I am indeed Cicely, the actress who has been blessed to grace the stage and screen for six decades. Yet I am also the church girl who once rarely spoke a word. I am the teenager who sought solace in the verses of the old hymn for which this book is named. I am a daughter and mother, a sister, and a friend. I am an observer of human nature and the dreamer of audacious dreams.
-
-
A Legend and National Treasure
- By Mz Fabulous on 01-29-21
By: Cicely Tyson, and others
-
Meditations of the Heart
- By: Howard Thurman, Yolanda Pierce
- Narrated by: Susan Dalian
- Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Howard Thurman’s Meditations of the Heart is a beautiful collection of over 150 prayers, poems, and meditations on prayer, community, and the joys and rituals of life by one of our greatest spiritual leaders. Thurman, a spiritualist and mystic, was renowned for the quiet beauty of his reflections on humanity and our relationship with God.
-
-
The ease of the narration.
- By Gertrude Hall on 10-16-24
By: Howard Thurman, and others
-
Paul
- A Biography
- By: N. T. Wright
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this definitive biography, renowned Bible scholar, Anglican bishop, and best-selling author N. T. Wright offers a radical look at the apostle Paul, illuminating the humanity and remarkable achievements of this intellectual who invented Christian theology - transforming a faith and changing the world. For centuries, Paul, the apostle who "saw the light on the Road to Damascus" and made a miraculous conversion from zealous Pharisee persecutor to devoted follower of Christ, has been one of the church's most widely cited saints.
-
-
Different type of writing for Wright is helpful
- By Adam Shields on 04-25-18
By: N. T. Wright
-
Urban Apologetics
- Restoring Black Dignity with the Gospel
- By: Eric Mason
- Narrated by: Isaiah Young
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many young African Americans are disinterested in Christianity and others are leaving the church in search of what these false religious ideas appear to offer, a spirituality more indigenous to their history and ethnicity. Edited by Dr. Eric Mason and featuring a top-notch lineup of contributors, Urban Apologetics is the first book focused entirely on cults, religious groups, and ethnocentric ideologies prevalent in the black community.
-
-
One of the Best Apologetic books around
- By LJS86 on 04-10-21
By: Eric Mason
-
Christians Against Christianity
- How Right-Wing Evangelicals Are Destroying Our Nation and Our Faith
- By: Obery M. Hendricks Jr
- Narrated by: Ron Butler
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Today’s right-wing Evangelical Christianity stands as the very antithesis of the message of Jesus Christ. In his new book, Christians Against Christianity, best-selling author and religious scholar Obery M. Hendricks Jr. challenges right-wing evangelicals on the terrain of their own religious claims, exposing the falsehoods, contradictions, and misuses of the Bible that are embedded in their rabid homophobia, their poorly veiled racism and demonizing of immigrants and Muslims, and their ungodly alliance with big business against the interests of American workers.
-
-
Same As Right Only Left
- By Sam.i.Ann on 07-25-21
-
The Prophetic Imagination
- 40th Anniversary Edition
- By: Walter Brueggemann
- Narrated by: Jim Denison
- Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this 40th anniversary edition of the classic book from one of the most influential biblical scholars of our time, Walter Brueggemann, offers a theological and ethical reading of the Hebrew Bible.
-
-
Grateful for a world reknown Hebrew Scriptures scholar
- By bean481 on 04-14-24
-
Just as I Am
- A Memoir
- By: Cicely Tyson, Michelle Burford
- Narrated by: Cicely Tyson, Viola Davis, Robin Miles
- Length: 16 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just as I Am is my truth. It is me, plain and unvarnished, with the glitter and garland set aside. Here, I am indeed Cicely, the actress who has been blessed to grace the stage and screen for six decades. Yet I am also the church girl who once rarely spoke a word. I am the teenager who sought solace in the verses of the old hymn for which this book is named. I am a daughter and mother, a sister, and a friend. I am an observer of human nature and the dreamer of audacious dreams.
-
-
A Legend and National Treasure
- By Mz Fabulous on 01-29-21
By: Cicely Tyson, and others
-
Meditations of the Heart
- By: Howard Thurman, Yolanda Pierce
- Narrated by: Susan Dalian
- Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Howard Thurman’s Meditations of the Heart is a beautiful collection of over 150 prayers, poems, and meditations on prayer, community, and the joys and rituals of life by one of our greatest spiritual leaders. Thurman, a spiritualist and mystic, was renowned for the quiet beauty of his reflections on humanity and our relationship with God.
-
-
The ease of the narration.
- By Gertrude Hall on 10-16-24
By: Howard Thurman, and others
-
Paul
- A Biography
- By: N. T. Wright
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this definitive biography, renowned Bible scholar, Anglican bishop, and best-selling author N. T. Wright offers a radical look at the apostle Paul, illuminating the humanity and remarkable achievements of this intellectual who invented Christian theology - transforming a faith and changing the world. For centuries, Paul, the apostle who "saw the light on the Road to Damascus" and made a miraculous conversion from zealous Pharisee persecutor to devoted follower of Christ, has been one of the church's most widely cited saints.
-
-
Different type of writing for Wright is helpful
- By Adam Shields on 04-25-18
By: N. T. Wright
-
Urban Apologetics
- Restoring Black Dignity with the Gospel
- By: Eric Mason
- Narrated by: Isaiah Young
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many young African Americans are disinterested in Christianity and others are leaving the church in search of what these false religious ideas appear to offer, a spirituality more indigenous to their history and ethnicity. Edited by Dr. Eric Mason and featuring a top-notch lineup of contributors, Urban Apologetics is the first book focused entirely on cults, religious groups, and ethnocentric ideologies prevalent in the black community.
-
-
One of the Best Apologetic books around
- By LJS86 on 04-10-21
By: Eric Mason
-
Christians Against Christianity
- How Right-Wing Evangelicals Are Destroying Our Nation and Our Faith
- By: Obery M. Hendricks Jr
- Narrated by: Ron Butler
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Today’s right-wing Evangelical Christianity stands as the very antithesis of the message of Jesus Christ. In his new book, Christians Against Christianity, best-selling author and religious scholar Obery M. Hendricks Jr. challenges right-wing evangelicals on the terrain of their own religious claims, exposing the falsehoods, contradictions, and misuses of the Bible that are embedded in their rabid homophobia, their poorly veiled racism and demonizing of immigrants and Muslims, and their ungodly alliance with big business against the interests of American workers.
-
-
Same As Right Only Left
- By Sam.i.Ann on 07-25-21
-
This Here Flesh
- Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us
- By: Cole Arthur Riley
- Narrated by: Cole Arthur Riley
- Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
So writes Cole Arthur Riley in her unforgettable book of stories and reflections on discovering the sacred in her skin. In these deeply transporting pages, Arthur Riley reflects on the stories of her grandmother and father, and how they revealed to her an embodied, dignity-affirming spirituality, not only in what they believed but in the act of living itself.
-
-
A must read... but physically buy the book!
- By Erintopia on 09-26-22
-
Rest Is Resistance
- A Manifesto
- By: Tricia Hersey
- Narrated by: Tricia Hersey
- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What would it be like to live in a well-rested world? Far too many of us have claimed productivity as the cornerstone of success. Brainwashed by capitalism, we subject our bodies and minds to work at an unrealistic, damaging, and machine‑level pace—feeding into the same engine that enslaved millions into brutal labor for its own relentless benefit. In Rest Is Resistance, Tricia Hersey, aka the Nap Bishop, casts an illuminating light on our troubled relationship with rest and how to imagine and dream our way to a future where rest is exalted.
-
-
What an experience
- By makeba jones on 10-26-22
By: Tricia Hersey
-
The Color of Compromise
- The Truth About the American Church’s Complicity in Racism
- By: Jemar Tisby
- Narrated by: Jemar Tisby, Justin Henry - foreword
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Color of Compromise takes listeners on a historical journey: from America's early colonial days through slavery and the Civil War, covering the tragedy of Jim Crow laws and the victories of the Civil Rights era, to today's Black Lives Matter movement. Author Jemar Tisby reveals the obvious - and the far more subtle - ways the American church has compromised what the Bible teaches about human dignity and equality.
-
-
A Challenging Review to Write
- By Maximus on 02-19-19
By: Jemar Tisby
-
A Black Theology of Liberation (50th Anniversary Edition)
- By: James H. Cone, Peter J. Paris - foreword
- Narrated by: Amir Abdullah
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With the publication of his two early works, Black Theology & Black Power (1969) and A Black Theology of Liberation (1970), James Cone emerged as one of the most creative and provocative theological voices in North America. His books offered a searing indictment of white theology and society and introduced a radical presentation of the Christian message of our time. Combining the visions of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., Cone radically reappraised Christianity from the perspective of the oppressed black community in North America.
-
-
A breath of fresh understanding
- By Cassondra Jackson on 03-21-24
By: James H. Cone, and others
-
Black Theology and Black Power
- By: James H. Cone, Cornel West - introduction
- Narrated by: Leon Nixon
- Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
First published in 1969, Black Theology and Black Power is the first systematic presentation of black theology that also introduced the voice of a young theologian who would shake the foundations of American theology. Relating the militant struggle for liberation with the gospel message of salvation, James Cone laid the foundations for an interpretation of Christianity from the perspective of the oppressed that retains its urgency and challenge today.
-
-
Powerful Theologic Warning to the Organized White Church From Black Theologian
- By Carl on 12-29-23
By: James H. Cone, and others
-
The Unseen Realm
- By: Dr. Michael S. Heiser
- Narrated by: Gordon Greenhill
- Length: 15 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Unseen Realm, Dr. Michael Heiser examines the ancient context of scripture, explaining how its supernatural worldview can help us grow in our understanding of God. He illuminates intriguing and amazing passages of the Bible that have been hiding in plain sight. You'll find yourself engaged in an enthusiastic pursuit of the truth, resulting in a new appreciation for God's word.
-
-
But the paper book.
- By garth jeffcoat on 05-26-18
-
First Nations Version
- An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament
- By: Terry Wildman
- Narrated by: Kyla García, Kaipo Schwab, Terry Wildman
- Length: 28 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many First Nations tribes communicate with the cultural and linguistic thought patterns found in their original tongues. The First Nations Version (FNV) recounts the Creator's Story—the Christian Scriptures—following the tradition of Native storytellers' oral cultures. This way of speaking, with its simple yet profound beauty and rich cultural idioms, still resonates in the hearts of First Nations people. Whether you are Native or not, you will experience the Scriptures in a fresh and new way.
-
-
Beautiful!
- By Katrina P. on 10-01-22
By: Terry Wildman
-
Surprised by Hope
- Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church
- By: N. T. Wright
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For years, Christians have been asking, "If you died tonight, do you know where you would go?" It turns out that many believers have been giving the wrong answer. It is not heaven. Wright outlines the present confusion about a Christian's future hope and shows how it is deeply intertwined with how we live today. Wright asserts that Christianity's most distinctive idea is bodily resurrection, and provides a magisterial defense for a literal resurrection of Jesus. Wright then explores our expectation of "new heavens and a new earth".
-
-
A valuable yet partial lens for viewing mission
- By Scott Macdonald on 01-16-19
By: N. T. Wright
-
Love Is the Way
- Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times
- By: Bishop Michael Curry, Sara Grace
- Narrated by: Bishop Michael Curry
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Much of the world met Bishop Curry when he delivered his sermon on the redemptive power of love at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle. Here, he expands on his message of hope in an inspirational road map for living the way of love, illuminated with moving lessons from his own life. Through the prism of his faith, ancestry, and personal journey, Love Is the Way shows us how America came this far and, more important, how to go a whole lot further.
-
-
Hopeful and grateful
- By Amazon Customer on 10-11-20
By: Bishop Michael Curry, and others
-
Jesus and the Disinherited
- By: Howard Thurman, Dr. Kelly Douglas Rev.
- Narrated by: Leon Nixon
- Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this classic theological treatise, the acclaimed theologian and religious leader Howard Thurman (1900-1981) demonstrates how the gospel may be read as a manual of resistance for the poor and disenfranchised. Jesus is a partner in the pain of the oppressed and the example of His life offers a solution to ending the descent into moral nihilism. Hatred does not empower—it decays. Only through self-love and love of one another can God's justice prevail.
-
-
The Architecture for All Liberation Theology
- By salemowalk on 10-27-22
By: Howard Thurman, and others
-
The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story
- By: Craig G. Bartholomew, Michael W. Goheen
- Narrated by: Tim Danko
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This best-selling textbook surveys the grand narrative of the Bible, demonstrating how the biblical story forms the foundation of a Christian worldview.
-
-
A Rich and Wonderful Overview
- By Nichole Sims on 07-15-23
By: Craig G. Bartholomew, and others
-
Light of the World
- By: Amy-Jill Levine
- Narrated by: Nan McNamara
- Length: 4 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Light of the World: A Beginner's Guide to Advent, author, professor, and biblical scholar Amy-Jill Levine explores the biblical texts surrounding the story of the birth of Jesus.
-
-
Short book but excellent insights
- By Amazon Customer on 12-27-20
By: Amy-Jill Levine