(by Dr. Thomas Hohstadt)

Today, we witness the end of a faith that "simply thinks," that forms from mere passive assent, that fades day by day with the dying gasps of the unempowered. Instead, we are learning to participate in the language of prophetic metaphor. We are learning how to "do" metaphor.

Here are the highlights:

Metaphors . . .

¤ . . . require a conscious lifestyle of serious make-believe. They demand new ways of thinking and new spiritual skills.

¤ . . . are inspired dialogue. They are bidirectional--give and take, to-and-fro movements between "here" and "there." They are never-ending, always deepening cycles--started by God and completed by God with the us in the middle.

¤ . . . "do" something; and in that "doing," we "do" something too. In metaphor--as in faith--we give form to the "substance," "evidence" and "proof" of things we do not see. In the same way, metaphor is the prototype of all creativity.

¤ . . . are not an invention of natural skill nor an expression of subjectivity. Neither do they suffer the mediation of man's doctrines.

¤ . . . do not limit themselves to "special occasions"or time-appointed moments. Instead, they move in everything we do.

¤ . . . project a world. They describe what is coming to be. Unlike our modern words which merely "supervene" in life--that is, they only "add to" life--metaphors "intervene" in life--they "change life."

¤ . . . provide the truth to "end times." Metaphors represent our participation in the "end times"--the doing of "end times," anticipating and giving form to a future, real world that God is bringing to pass.

¤ . . . will prove our only advantage in a future world run by computer intelligence. For Power incarnates Power.

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What Do We Do?

If metaphor is the language of the future, how do we take part in that language? Beyond all the poetry, what specific duties do we declare? Beyond all the idealism, what skills do we develop?

And, how do we develop the practice of metaphor when schools insist we put theory before practice? After all, seminaries make rational knowledge the main "power." They make a literal world the main "reality." And, they make the lecture hall the main "Word." As a result, we analyze, classify, examine, and question, but have few skills in "calling those things that be not as though they were."(1)

Thus, unskilled in metaphor, our worldly and otherworldly actions meet only by accident.

Of course, godly metaphor finds a place in any willing vessel, but pure vision prefers a pure heart. So, before seeking the skills of metaphor, we must move the selfish "self" out of the way. We must "die" to the self. Ordinary, everyday lives must become sacrificial offerings.

As Paul reminded, we must "die daily."(2)

Only then will the rivers of revelation flow unrestricted and fulsome. Only then will our voice become the "Word made flesh." Only then will our love "speak" with passion and authority.

Indeed, revelation--without love--counts for nothing.

Mastering Metaphor

Actually, anyone could say they're skilled in metaphor. Metaphor, after all, permeates all of life. There's a vast difference, though, between metaphors that saturate unthinking lives and metaphors that emerge from conscious lifestyles. Aristotle correctly observed, "The greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor."(3)

Today's mastery, however, requires a new way of thinking. It contemplates the unknown more than the known, the awe more than the ordinary, the mystery more than the mundane. It watches the intuition more than the intellect, the content more than the form, the message more than the medium. It feels the ecstasy more than the discipline, the compelling more than the control, the artistry more than the technique.

This way of thinking is like seeing our self see. We stand to one side and reflect on something totally outside our self. We stand present to this world, yet not at home in it. Half-seeing, half-blind, we follow things probably as precise as math, yet as elusive as spirit.

And, as in a hall of mirrors, we see one thing but notice many things. We see a collage of incongruous images but feel at home with their paradox.

If all this "mastery" seems too much for the novice, we can at least begin with alert expectancy. We can watch for something to catch fire. We can listen for the "aha" moment. We can see the familiar turning strange, or capture the ordinary fusing with grace.

Without doubt, today's mastery of metaphor requires a different way of thinking.

"You cannot study Pleasure in the moment of nuptial embrace, nor repentance while repenting, nor analyze the nature of humor while roaring with laughter."(4)

C. S. Lewis