Choosing to Preach Discussion

re: #12 - Images and Ideas

Posted by Kallie Hutton on Aug. 25, 2010 at 14:28

I do not see how an image and an idea can be separated; you cannot have one without another. And idea will always create an image and vice versa. If you want to get away from leaving people to run wild with their interpretations of images or ideas, all you need to do is provide both the image and the idea together- the one will keep the other orthodox.

re: #12 - Images and Ideas

Posted by Sunhee SunHee Jung on Sep. 30, 2009 at 16:29

Ideas and images. . .

Although both ideas and images have their respective power, for me, images hold the greatest power. When I listen to music, I visualize images and scenes in my mind. Sometimes I can also connect with the created world and with people when my imagination is triggered and ideas flow in me. Even though only using the imagination has some risks to deliver the message to the congregation because of different personal own interpretation, I love to use that aspect of who God has made me to share his word. However, I can say that ideas and images are like roommates that need to go together for fulfilling their tasks beautifully. Ideas can become more radiant because of the presence of images and they also define clearly their identity by the ideas they reflect. Thanks.

re: #12 - Images and Ideas

Posted by Sydney Bergsma on Feb. 25, 2009 at 00:14

"That’s a great idea, what does it look like?" Often in my thinking I have an idea come to mind but may find myself explaining the idea through an image. I can also see an image and find something ( like an idea) that may explain the image. It’s not so much which is which it’s the explanation in between that makes sense out of the two. In my mind the idea is words and the image puts the words into color. The key is making that picture understandable. Hey we’ve all seen modern art (the image) and we wonder what’s the idea behind that. If people walk away wonder what you were trying to say or explain then we’ve got a problem. Clarity in either one brings out the point.

re: #12 - Images and Ideas

Posted by Karl Popke on Feb. 16, 2009 at 21:49

One might say that mental events are actions-in-the-making consisting of both ideas and images. Ideas and images are perceptual searches. We "hear" a song in our minds by "listening" for notes, the sound of instruments and voices, the words. It is the image of such things that stimulate ideas, yet if the image is misdirecting, the idea may also be misdirected. Therefore it is necessary that both the idea and image are leading in the same direction. To try to present an idea without an image is dangerous because the one who receives only the idea will apply it to his own image, which based on his own experience. To present an image without directing it to a specific idea is just as hazardous and may bear the same results. It will be based on personal experience, rather than understanding and comprehending what the speaker had intended.

re: #12 - Images and Ideas

Posted by Jeff Edwards on Feb. 16, 2009 at 11:51

As others have said below, ideas and images are innately connected. In fact, I would say that an idea IS an image (in words). Images are powerful and so are words. Both can touch the heart. Both can activate the mind, and yet no two people ever hear an idea exactly the same way. In a broad sense, I would say they are equal.

Both ideas and images require focus, and when they are not clearly considered and honed, they can be dangerous. When they work together, ideas and images can bring focus to each other. Independently, they can be used and abused to manipulate, to politicize, to over-simplify, or to generalize.

re: #12 - Images and Ideas

Posted by Jeffery Chan on Feb. 03, 2009 at 15:27

In expressive power, both images and ideas are extremely potent. Depending upon the message being expressed, one may be preferable over the other. For example, an artist may produce a painting and display it without a title or expressed idea because they desire viewers to find their own message within the image. In this situation, an idea expressly stated would defeat the artist’s purpose. Similarly, a legislator or judge may express an idea as concisely and succinctly as possible in order to convey clearly the law they are communicating. An image may muddy the interpretation of this message. However, it is probably safe to say that in most cases, the judicious combined use of an image with an idea will most effectively convey the intended message to the widest range of recipients.

Inherently, there is no real danger in presenting an image without an idea or an idea without a corresponding image—if the communicator does not mind that there is a greater possibility of misunderstanding, misinterpretation, or the complete lack of understanding at all. Because different people respond differently to messages and how they are communicated, using both an image and an idea will help to ensure that more people understand the communicated message and the minimum amount of misinterpretation.

re: #12 - Images and Ideas

Posted by Kevin O'Coin on Jan. 15, 2009 at 20:10

Images and ideas are equally valuable and equally useful, but they need each other. As Kent himself pointed out in class a few days ago, it is very difficult to adequately understand a newspaper cartoon without the caption, and, in fact, such a cartoon could be open to many divergent (but apparently equally valid) interpretations. Likewise, I have personally had the experience of gazing at works of art in galleries and, though captivated by the imagery of a painting, found myself completely at a loss for what it meant. Now, if everything could be expressed via words, we wouldn’t need art (a picture is worth a thousands words, as they say), but an image without an explanation can be misdirective. On the other hand, an idea without a image can be boring and completely pass over that segment of the population that is more visually oriented in its learning style. We need both together.

re: #12 - Images and Ideas

Posted by Keith Whitaker on Sep. 28, 2007 at 13:35

The expressive power of an image and/or an idea is dependent upon two thing, at least as far as I can tell. First, it depends on the individual. Some people seem to be hardwired to respond to a cognitive idea whereas others are drawn to an experiential image. At times, however, either of these individuals may be impacted by both. This brings us to the second factor involved: the Holy Spirit. Indeed, it is the Spirit of God who takes either the ideas or the images that the preacher presents in order to probe the inner heart of a person. The combination of these two factors highlights the beautiful mystery surrounding the preacher’s calling. We use human forms to communicate a divine message. We speak of that which cannot be understood. Yet, God, in his mercy and grace, steps in and reveals himself to us.

re: #12 - Images and Ideas

Posted by dave ellis on Feb. 19, 2007 at 22:52

I think ideas are stronger when they are joined up with an image, just like a great image will usally convey an idea. We should not try to separt these two things but try to bring them together which, I believe will connect with a larger % of your audience. An image without an idea leaves that image open to be interperted any way the person wants to see it. So if you are using that image in a message, people can get what ever they want out of it, and that begs the question if you are trying to commmunicate something then choose an image that conveys the idea that you are wanting to communicate. Ideas without a image may work, but it has to have some tie in to poeples lives or it will just become noise. I like this question, i think I will muse over it some more. Blessings

re: #12 - Images and Ideas

Posted by Steve Driediger on Jan. 30, 2007 at 18:10

The dangerous thing about both images and ideas is that they tend to be fairly open to subjective interpretation. They do not offer much explanation of the ‘facts’ on their own. That, of course, is what many people find appealing about them: the listener is easily able to appropriate the idea/image into her context and find some relevant meaning in it. Images and ideas are most powerful when they are offered with a guide (though perhaps not a stringent set of rules) for their interpretation and application.