Surreal Christianity—A Journey with Jesus, Jung and Dali


Psalm 23s

“The image is a pure creation of the mind.  It cannot be born from a comparison, but from two realities, more or less distant, brought together.  The more the relation between the two realities is distant and accurate, the stronger the image will be—the more it will possess emotional power and poetic reality.”

These words, found in André Breton’s 1924 Surrealist Manifesto, come from the French poet Pierre Reverdy.

Reading the quote, I immediately think of Jesus Christ.  Jesus “…is the image of the invisible God,…” Col 1:15 (ESV).  True God and true man.  Because of sin, these realities are distant.  But in Jesus, these two realities are fully brought together.  God and man brought together as an infant entering into our four dimensions of space and time.  I hold this image of Christ in my mind; my understanding is reinforced and deepened by reading Scripture, by prayer, and through insights provided to me by the Holy Spirit.

As Reverdy predicts, the image of Christ that I hold in my mind sets up a very powerful emotional, intellectual, and spiritual reality for me.  The poetry and the mystery of Christ beg me to engage more deeply.  I turn the image of Christ over in my mind, trying to visualize Him.  Not surprisingly, this generates far more questions than answers.

But I need to know.  I need answers.  I want to explore this man with the Spirit of God who walked our earth.  I press on, seeking guidance through Scripture, prayer, sermons, small group discussions, and art.

The answers come.  They come unceasingly, during the day, and during the night.  As I continue to wrestle with Christ, my mind is renewed.  Christ spills over and is absorbed into my soul.  My behavior changes as I am slowly transformed.

This Jesus then becomes the most surreal concept I hold in my mind.  He has captured my thoughts, my dreams and my soul.

Surreal Christianity.  Putting those two words together feels bizarre, almost wrong.  Yet, Jesus appears to fit Reverdy’s words in the Surrealist Manifesto.  This is an interesting premise, and makes for interesting discussions, but there is much more.  By understanding Surrealism we can directly apply it to our study of Scripture.  For instance, Psalm 1:2 challenges us to chew on Scripture day and night.  Jesus instructs us to love God with all our mind.  Surrealism enables us to more fully address these challenges.

Going forward, we will examine techniques commonly employed by Surrealistic artists, and show how these techniques enhance our study of Scripture.  These techniques offer fresh approaches to the study of God’s Word, and will help us renew our minds.