Reading Is Believing: The Christian Faith Through Literature and Film

David Cunningham is one of my favourite contemporary Anglican theologians. This particular books follows an intriguing pattern, using the Apostles' Creed as a framework for examining the kinds of theological narratives that can come from literature and film. Looking at items as diverse as Shakespeare's 'Winter's Tale' and Sr. Helen Prejean's 'Dead Man Walking', Cunningham traces theological principles from the traditional formula of the creed through more popular and secular creative works. This is an effective and interesting look at theology and the arts, one that can cause the reader to rethink everyday experiences of reading and film-viewing.Cunningham contends that literature and film cause the readers/viewers to engage humanity more fully than a philosophical text or creed is likely to do; this is one of the features of narrative theology generally. This helps to emphasise a communal aspect Christian belief, which from the beginning has been a communal piece. Just as the Christian story itself is a narrative (each of the canonical gospels presents a narrative structure), drama and storytelling in other contexts have the ability to touch the human soul deeply. Following this, the stories not only help people understand the principles, but also serve to embody them - Christianity being an incarnational religion, embodiment of the principles is a strong device.Each chapter takes up a different line from the Apostles' Creed (the introduction beginning with the 'I believe...'). To each of these lines of faithful affirmation, Cunningham pairs a work of literature (most of which have also been made into films). These pairings are as follows:+ God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth-- Iris Murdoch, 'The Time of the Angels'+ Jesus Christ, God's Only Son, Our Lord-- Nikos Kazantzakis, 'The Last Temptation of Christ'+ Conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary-- P.D. James, 'The Children of Men'+ Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was Crucified, Died, and Buried-- Charles Dickens, 'Hard Times'+ Descended into Hell, On the Third Day Rose Again-- David James Duncan, 'The Brothers K'+ Ascended into Heaven, Sitting at the Right Hand of God-- William Shakespeare, 'The Winter's Tale'+ He Will Come to Judge the Living and the Dead-- Toni Morrison, 'Beloved'+ I Believe in the Holy Spirit-- Flannery O'Connor, 'The Enduring Chill'+ The Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints-- Barbara Kingsolver, 'Animal Dreams'+ The Forgiveness of Sins-- Helen Prejean, 'Dead Man Walking'+ The Resurrection of the Flesh-- Graham Greene, 'The End of the Affair'+ And the Life Everlasting-- Guiseppe Tornatore, 'A Pure Formality'Creeds are, Cunningham says, more prayers and living statements of belief rather than laundry lists to be recited by rote. When we say 'Amen' to the creed at the end of the recitation, we are calling for it to be enacted, embodied, and lived. These stories help demonstrate points at which the statements of the creed come

If you're like me and most Christians I know, you want to understand how your faith actually connects with and informs your everyday life: business, family, whatever. The less we see the connection between the statements of our faith and our life as lived each day, the less relevance it has and the less interest we have in it. We may believe it, as we would a mathematical formula, but we don't actually LIVE it day by day.David Cunningham helps us see the connection. He uses the statements of the Apostles' Creed and builds a chapter around each one; e.g. "God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth" deals with the Trinity whereas "Ascended into Heaven" treats the implication of the belief that Jesus ascended to God the Father. There are twelve chapters covering the whole of the faith in a summary manner.Relating these faith statements to the real world, Cunningham does through fascinating explications of books and film. So, each chapter begins with a theological treatment of the credal statement, and ends with a treatment of the relevance of that statement as seen in the book or the film. This is soooo helpful.As to the book's theology, don't be fearful. The author is clear and accessible in his writing. Masterful really. I've done some reading in theology (my hobby) and I can see how well he explains his topic and how well he avoids getting caught up in arcane arguments, the relevance of which most of us have difficulty seeing. His concern is to make our faith alive, to help us see where the rubber meets the road. I for one think he achieves his objective.One small but annoying drawback is that the book has no index. This makes it hard to find your way back to something you want to recall unless you've underlined a lot. To my mind, just about every book that isn't a piece of literature should have an index, and even there I might argue for an index. They are so helpful.Overall, this is a very good piece of work and well worth the price of having it. It makes theology clear, interesting, and relevant. It gives content to our beliefs, such that they're not simply statements we recite but have no idea how they affect anything we do. And who wouldn't want that kind of help?