A review by lighthousebooks
The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis by Karen Swallow Prior

5.0

I really enjoyed this survey of the ways in which evangelicalism is a product of history and culture and how that is reflected in art, literature, and metaphor. This book helped me to understand the dissonance I feel at times between what the Bible says and what is practiced in evangelicalism, a movement that began as a response to the neglect of biblical truth and that has since morphed into a broader cultural mindset. 

My favorite chapters were 3, Conversion and 4, Testimony, but I also enjoyed 6, Sentimentality and 7, Materialism. All resonated so much with my experience. 

When Dr. Prior references “Hurt,” a song performed by Johnny Cash, I highly recommend you listen to it as she suggests before proceeding to read. Powerful 😭

The book does get a little technical and may initially be more appealing to literary theory or worldview nerds 🙋‍♀️, but it is not a difficult read. It is a thought-provoking and educational read that I highly recommend.