Close your eyes and see what pops up when you think of God. What did you see?
This guy?
Maybe this dude?
Maybe something from this masterpiece?
Whether you were influenced by chick tracts, Hollywood, Greek mythology or something else - our imaginations scramble for something to rest on when we’re learning to trust God. It’s just how we’re wired. Most of our imaginations found an image when we were kids and never updated it as we grew in knowledge.
So, how do we contend with that, responsibly, as story Bible creators?
One of the more polarizing choices we made with The Book of Belonging was our decision to depict the divine in our illustrations. It’s something we battled within ourselves, amongst ourselves and certainly against our publishing higher-ups…
When asked about this in a recent interview, Rachel gave this answer:
“I'm proud to participate in the robust tradition of sacred art and iconography within the Christian faith. We artists have had centuries of making sometimes beautiful and often wacky art, depicting the divine. And what I love so much about all of this work is that if we hold it loosely, these visual metaphors can be handholds for people seeking closeness with God. Icons are not the truth of a thing, but instead a representation of a thing and I think our readers are hungry to have stories and pictures for their children that open the floor for mystery and questions rather than setting them up with safe answers. I know that there are risks of trying to portray God visually, but I didn't want to swing the other way and make God this non-character in the book, always off-screen and distant.
I think the disembodied, head-focused faith that many of us inherited has done a lot of damage.
And it was important to me that among the many fluid and sparkly illustrations of God in the book (like God as pillar of fire) that there would also be room for depictions of God with human features. God with hands that hold and hug and a face that smiles and cries. There's plenty of scriptural precedent referencing the humanness of God in Scripture. God walks with Eve and Adam in the garden. God wrestles with Jacob, God takes on flesh in Jesus. And I wanted to lean into those depictions with humility rather than leaning away from them in fear.”
To be specific, Rachel depicts God in a couple of different ways throughout the book, based on Biblical analogies. Sometimes a fire, sometimes a bird, sometimes like wind and sometimes with vaguely human features like a face and hands, etc. But we have a whole section in the Introduction, breaking this down for kids. Here’s an excerpt:
We’ve imagined God with a face that frowns and smiles, with arms
that help and hold, with a mouth to breathe and speak. In some stories,
God is shown looking like a hovering bird, a covering cloud, or a bright-
ening fire. But it’s important to remember that we don’t know what God
looks like. We only know what God is like. So each picture is a beautiful,
true idea for our eyes to rest on while our hearts do the important work of
learning to trust God’s big, mysterious fullness
Our kids’ imaginations are going to find an image to rest on, no matter what. We all do it. And I’m just thrilled to offer our kids concepts that are based on God’s character and also leave space for wonder.
What about you? What outside influences shaped the way you imagine God? Has that image changed over time? Have you ever asked kids how they picture God? Have you ever considered how you hope they will answer?
We’d love to hear in the comments!
Have y’all read Octavia Butler‘s short story “The Book of Martha“ from the collection Bloodchild and Other Stories? Some good reflections on how, culturally, we picture God in there, and how interacting with the divine changes the main character Martha’s own expectations.
Also, it’s not what you’re going for, and I like the choices you’ve made, but one of my favorite abstract depictions of God the Father comes from the webcomic SMBC. God is always shown as a gold disk with seven triangles. https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/the-snake-show
*LOVE* all of this! I’m still referencing old images as you mentioned when I think about God. God as a paternal figure; a larger than life male. But this misses so much mystery and inclusion of what else God is. I am more excited than ever to see this gem of a book you two have created, and look forward so much to the stories and illustrations.