"A mere metaphor", "only symbolic", "just a myth" - these tell-tale phrases reveal how figurative language has been cheapened and devalued in our modern and postmodern culture. In this text, Paul Avis argues the contrary: that in fact metaphor, symbol and myth, are the key to a "real" knowledge of God and the sacred. Avis examines what he calls an alternative tradition, stemming from the Romantic poets William Blake and John Keats, drawing on the thought of John Henry Newman, and experience in both modern philosophy and science.

The text draws on a number of non-theological disciplines, from literature to philosophy, to show us that God is appropriately likened to an artist or poet and that the greatest truths are expressed in an imaginative form. Anyone wishing to further their understanding of God, belief and the imagination will find this an inspirational read.