Tim Keller: Where Imagination & Innovation Meet

“Reason is the natural organ of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning. Imagination, producing new metaphors or revivifying old, is not the cause of truth, but its condition.” - C.S. Lewis
If imagination is the organ of meaning, and if God orients our imagination, then the gospel offers a creative advantage when it comes to bringing meaning to our work. But what state must our imaginations be in to spark innovation? And what’s the best fuel to keep our imagination running? Tim Keller walks us through how the hope of the gospel is not only the source of our imagination, but the fuel and anchor we need to drive our imagination into innovative terrain.
Timothy Keller is the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City and the author of such New York Times bestselling books as The Reason for God and The Prodigal God. He is also Chairman of Redeemer City to City, which has helped start over 250 churches in global cities worldwide. He lives in New York City with his wife Kathy.

[@brianjosephestanislao3511]

Stay with me on this. It is indirectly related to the video. As an artist, I've been pondering over this idea for a while now.... If a ball in space were to move from A to B, you will not be able to measure the distance it has traveled without seeing it move against a still object. Without that still object, there is no way to prove the ball has moved at all. In the same way, human freedom can only be measured by an immovable plane of reference. Therefore this measure must, for all intents and purposes, be an unchanging standard. This is what we, as theists, loosely call 'morality'. Morality is not rules! It is the true MEASURE OF FREEDOM (movement & free will). Without morality, you can 'move' all you want and believe you have progressed, but you have not budged an inch (or if you have, there is no way to know you are farther away from where you began), thus rendering all your efforts futile. That is the opposite of freedom. People today want Movement without Measure. In principle, Mr. Keller is absolutely right, - rules are intrinsically linked to freedom.

[@RameshBaburbabu]

+Brian Estanislao awesome explanation. I thought I understood morality when Mr.Ravi Zahari explained through a example through a traffic light. When you are at the traffic light and it is red, and you see car in the next lane moves reverse we wonder is that my car moves forward ..? and try to apply break more hard and harder. if still moves then immediately you look for a immovable object on the street like lamp post to make sure you are not moving ... why are we looking for point of reference for simple act ....????? it is a big question to be answered.

[@potterkooy]

😊

[@charliekurtz1895]

Tim Keller is my favorite preacher, especially now that I am on medical leave after suffering a brain aneurism that almost killed me. I was in a coma for 4 weeks. When I regained consciousness, I was told that I said about my wife of 17 years, "I'm not sure who she is, but I think I like her a lot." And no, I don't recall SAYING this!!! The congregation I was serving when I got sick hosted a 'Celebration Service that was filmed and posted onto KZbin. To find it, search KZbin for my full name, "Charles Frank Kurtz". Then spread word that miracles still happen today! For me to be alive to say that is a miracle!!!

[@3rdgrade738]

best sermon yet 3rd grade

[@zach2980]

Christianity says that Jeffrey Dahmer likely ended up in heaven while Anne Frank ended up in hell.

[@hanson4613]

I have never heard that, nor would I defend that. I know Christianity and that statement goes against Christian teaching, so maybe you don’t really understand what my Jesus teaches. Look again.

[@zach2980]

@@hanson4613 who goes to heaven and why?

[@zach2980]

Laughing at the giants seems just as silly as a dirt man and a rib woman.

[@1776iscool]

I really like Timothy Keller and all, but...am I the only one who thinks he looks a bit like a turtle?

[@Birdieupon]

SpecialCrunch I'm sure he thinks that too!

[@1776iscool]

;-;

[@zach2980]

Tim’s denial of evolution hamstrings his other positions. To speak against scientific consensus should warrant evidence. He would do better to just claim ignorance. Multiple camera angles doesn’t make him anymore credible.

[@jude143]

Is this man supposed to be a preacher? What does any of this have to do with preaching the gospel to every creature??? 2 Corinthians 10:5-7 King James Version (KJV)5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.Imagination and emotion came in with the fall, therefore we are warned repeatedly in scripture to avoid both....Run from this nonsense!

[@kentaylor7698]

is there only one way to spread the gospel?

[@ArtiosAcademies]

Yes, he is a preacher. The gospel and God's Word has Truth that applies to EVERY area of life. Christians lose much of their "savor" when they do not take the time or effort to apply that Truth to anything outside of listening to preaching on Sunday and then living their lives like they want the rest of the week.

[@ArtiosAcademies]

To remember that God feels emotion and has demonstrated imagination. Man was made in His image and therefore has both emotion and imagination. Those areas must be "redeemed" and sanctified just like any other area of a believer's life.

[@scotthill5139]

Bud ... sadly ... you are a moron

[@benjousan8470]

Toni Brown - He is a preacher but this is not a “sermon” in a church service. This is not a homogeneously Christian audience, it is something like a lecture on the gospel case for using the creative arts as ministry tools and for the formation of healthy communities. Are you making the case that our imagination does not become sanctified by faith in Christ..?