On Beauty and the Imagination: Justin Bailey

The theologian Sarah Coakley once asked in a poignant essay on belief in God: “What are you seeking? Because if these arguments simply add up to a range of arid, abstract possibilities, then they are not grabbing you existentially in the way that they would if you were prepared to put your life on the line...”  Coakley’s question frames the conclusion of the new book *Reimaginging Apologetics: The Beauty of Faith in a Secular Age* by our guest today, Dr. Justin Bailey. Justin is assistant professor of theology at Dordt University, and works at the intersection of theology, culture, and ministry. And his wonderful new book asks his readers to rethink Christian witness, not as a defensive, overly intellectual project, but as an attempt to reveal the beauty of an imaginative faith. Or, to use Coakley’s words, is there anything beautiful enough about religious faith that you’d be prepared to stake your life on it?