Religious images in Christian theology

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Religious images in Christian theology have a role within the liturgical and devotional life of adherents of certain Christian denominations. The use of religious images has often been a contentious issue in Christian history. Concern over idolatry is the driving force behind the various traditions of aniconism in Christianity.

In the

symbol to identify Christian places of worship and Christian homes.[1] The Synod of Elvira (306 AD - 312 AD) "prohibited the exhibition of images in churches".[2] However, since the 3rd century AD, images have been used within Christian worship within parts of Christendom,[3] although some ancient Churches, such as the Church of the East, have apparently long traditions of not using images.[4] However, there is also both literary and archaeological evidence for the early presence of images in the Church of the East tradition.[5]

Certain periods of Christian history have seen supporters of aniconism in Christianity, first with the movement of

Reformed faith.[7][8]

The church father

Christian Bible, as well as imagery of Jesus.[13] In Western Christianity, it is common for believers to have a home altar,[14][15] while dwelling places belonging to communicants of the Eastern Christian Churches often have an icon corner.[16]

A

Catholic devotional practices such as scapulars and the veneration of statues and flat images of the Virgin Mary
and other saints, which Catholics do not consider idolatry.

Jewish origins

Main article: Idolatry in Judaism

Idolatry is prohibited by many verses in the Old Testament, but there is no one section that clearly defines idolatry. Rather there are a number of commandments on this subject spread through the books of the Hebrew Bible, some of which were written in different historical eras, in response to different issues. Idolatry in the Hebrew Bible is defined as the worship of idols (or images); the worship of polytheistic gods by use of idols (or images) and even the use of idols in the worship of Yahweh (God).[citation needed]

The Israelites used various images in connection with their worship, including carved

Hezekiah destroyed the Serpent, which the Hebrew people had been burning incense to (2 Kings 18:4
).

New Testament

See also: Council of Jerusalem

Mosaic Law in the Sermon on the Mount, he does not speak of issues regarding the meaning of the commandment against idolatry. His teachings, however, uphold that worship should be directed to God alone (Matthew 4:10 which is itself a quote of Deuteronomy 6:13, see also Shema in Christianity, Great Commandment, and Ministry of Jesus
).

The

scandal was not caused by it. However, he said that the gods worshiped in idolatry were in his belief demons, and that any act of direct participation in their worship remained forbidden (1 Corinthians 10:14-22).[18] See also the Law of Christ
.

The New Testament also uses the term "idolatry" to refer to worship like passion for things such as wealth, as in Colossians 3:5, "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed which is idolatry." Some Christian theologians see the absolutization of an idea as idolatrous.[19] Therefore, undue focus on particular features of Christianity to the exclusion of others would constitute idolatry.

The New Testament does contain the rudiments of an argument which provides a basis for religious images or icons. Jesus was visible, and orthodox Christian doctrine maintains that Jesus is

YHWH incarnate. In the Gospel of John, Jesus stated that because his disciples had seen him, they had seen God the Father (Gospel of John 14:7-9 [20]). Paul of Tarsus referred to Jesus as the "image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15).[21] Theologians such as John of Damascus argued that the connection between Jesus' incarnation and the use of images is so strong that to reject or prohibit the use of images is tantamount to denying the Incarnation of Jesus
.

Church fathers contain strong denunciations of these practices, which seem to have included outright idol-worship. Statues on secular buildings, however, could serve as expression of secular power in various periods of Christianity, without implications of idol-worship.[22]

The use of icons and symbols in Christian worship

Main article: Aniconism in Christianity
National Roman Museum
.

peacock, Lamb of God, or an anchor (the Labarum or Chi-Rho was a later development). Later, personified symbols were used, including Jonah, whose three days in the belly of the whale pre-figured the interval between Christ's death and Resurrection, Daniel in the lion's den, or Orpheus
charming the animals.

The image of "

The Good Shepherd", a beardless youth in pastoral scenes collecting sheep, was the most common of these images, and was probably not understood as a portrait of the historical Jesus. The depiction of Jesus
already from the 3rd century included images very similar to what became the traditional image of Jesus, with a longish face and long straight hair. As the Church increased in size and popularity, the need to educate illiterate converts led to the use of pictures which portrayed biblical stories, along with images of saints, angels, prophets, and the Cross (though only portrayed in a bejewelled, glorified state).

After the end of persecution, and the adoption of Christianity by

Eastern Orthodox art it is avoided to the current day. It only reappeared in Carolingian art
, among peoples who had no memory of pagan religious statues.

Paintings of Old Testament scenes are found in Jewish

Dura Europos Synagogue in Syria.[23] Catholic and Orthodox historians affirm, on the basis of these archeological finds in the Catacombs, that the veneration of icons and relics
had begun well before Constantine I.

Christian use of relics also dates to the catacombs, when Christians found themselves praying in the presence of the bodies of martyrs, sometimes using their tombs as altars for sharing the

Catholicism, Lutheranism and Eastern Orthodoxy is, the central act of Christian worship. Many stories of the earliest martyrs end with an account of how Christians would gather up the martyr's remains, to the extent possible, in order to retain the martyr's relics. This is shown in the written record of the martyrdom of Saint Polycarp, a personal disciple of Saint John the Apostle
.

Significant periods of

Byzantine iconoclasm (730-787), motivated by a strictly literal interpretation of the second commandment and interaction with Muslims who have a very strict teachings against the creation of images. Iconoclasm was officially condemned by the Western and Eastern Churches at the Second Council of Nicaea
in 787 AD (the Western Church was not represented, but approved the decrees later).

This decision was based on the arguments including that the biblical commandment forbidding images of God was because no-one had seen God. But, by the Incarnation of Jesus, who is God incarnate in visible matter, humankind has now seen God. It was therefore argued that they were not depicting the invisible God, but God as He appeared in the flesh.[9]

The Libri Carolini are a response prepared in the court of Charlemagne, when under the mistaken impression that the Nicea Council had approved the worship as opposed to the veneration of images.

The emblem of the Moravian Church depicts an image of the Lamb of God (Agnus Dei in ecclesiastical Latin) with the flag of victory, surrounded by the Latin inscription: Vicit agnus noster, eum sequamur (English: "Our Lamb has conquered, let us follow Him").

Different understandings of the use of images

Catholicism

Catholics use images, such as the crucifix, the cross, in religious life and pray using depictions of saints. They also venerate images and liturgical objects by kissing, bowing, and making the sign of the cross. They point to the Old Testament patterns of worship followed by the Hebrew people as examples of how certain places and things used in worship may be treated with reverence or venerated, without worshiping them. The Ark of the Covenant was treated with great reverence and included images of cherubim on top of it (Exodus 25:18–22), and certain miracles were associated with it, yet this was not condemned as it was commissioned by the God of Israel Himself for the manifestation of His presence as well as physical manifestations of His Judgement and Glory.

Catholicism interprets the commandment not to make "any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above" to mean to not "bow down and worship" the image in and of itself nor a false god through the image. Catholic theology offers the following explanations of liturgical practice that features images, icons, statues, and the like:

A 1512 altarpiece adorns the chancel of Drothem Church, a medieval-era Lutheran parish of the Church of Sweden.

The Catholic Church states that

Benedict XVI says, "Worship of an idol, instead of opening the human heart to Otherness, to a liberating relationship that permits the person to emerge from the narrow space of his own selfishness to enter the dimensions of love and of reciprocal giving, shuts the person into the exclusive and desperate circle of self-seeking"[27]

Lutheran and Orthodox

A recent joint Lutheran-Orthodox statement made in the 7th Plenary of the Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission,[28] in July 1993 in Helsinki, reaffirmed the Ecumenical Council decisions on the nature of Christ and the veneration of images:

7. As Lutherans and Orthodox we affirm that the teachings of the ecumenical councils are authoritative for our churches. The ecumenical councils maintain the integrity of the teaching of the undivided Church concerning the saving, illuminating/justifying and glorifying acts of God and reject heresies which subvert the saving work of God in Christ. Orthodox and Lutherans, however, have different histories. Lutherans have received the Nicaeno?Constantinopolitan Creed with the addition of the filioque. The Seventh Ecumenical Council, the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, which rejected iconoclasm and restored the veneration of icons in the churches, was not part of the tradition received by the Reformation. Lutherans, however, rejected the iconoclasm of the 16th century, and affirmed the distinction between adoration due to the Triune God alone and all other forms of veneration (CA 21). Through historical research this council has become better known. Nevertheless it does not have the same significance for Lutherans as it does for the Orthodox. Yet, Lutherans and Orthodox are in agreement that the Second Council of Nicaea confirms the christological teaching of the earlier councils and in setting forth the role of images (icons) in the lives of the faithful reaffirms the reality of the incarnation of the eternal Word of God, when it states: "The more frequently, Christ, Mary, the mother of God, and the saints are seen, the more are those who see them drawn to remember and long for those who serve as models, and to pay these icons the tribute of salutation and respectful veneration. Certainly this is not the full adoration in accordance with our faith, which is properly paid only to the divine nature, but it resembles that given to the figure of the honored and life?giving cross, and also to the holy books of the gospels and to other sacred objects" (Definition of the Second Council of Nicaea).

high altar of St. Wolfgang's Church, Schneeberg and as Lutheran sacred imagery, reflects "the devotional forms of fifteenth- and early sixteenth century northern art".[31] Lutheran sacred art, however, gained a new function in addition to exciting one's mind to thoughts of the Divine by also serving a didactic purpose.[31] He saw the Evangelical Lutheran Church as a continuation of the "ancient, apostolic church" and Lutherans therefore continued to worship in pre-Reformation churches, generally with few alterations to the interior.[32]

Cleveland
.

Methodism

Writing for the United Methodist Church, Tricia Brown discusses the importance of sacred art:[33]

Throughout the ages, art has been a part of the church. God designed the temple, employing artisans to create its beautiful and ornate workmanship. Churches of old included stained-glass windows created to illustrate God’s word, and even the most simple country churches often include beautiful wooden crosses and podiums. Writers, speakers and musicians have always taken part in worship services. Art is and always has been part of the church. It is simply another way in which people wonder at and express God’s creativity, love and majesty.[33]

The Methodist Modern Art Collection is housed by the Methodist Church of Great Britain, and the Secretary of the Methodist Conference, the Revd Canon Gareth J Powell, writes that it features "vibrant expressions of God's love, and a whole range of conversations that are both missional and pastoral".[34]

Calvinism

Reformed Christianity has been known at times for its simple, unadorned churches and lifestyles, as depicted in this photograph of the interior of a Calvinist church in Semarang.

Presbyterian traditions,[35] was always extremely hostile to all publicly displayed religious images, which were systematically destroyed by Calvinists, as in the Beeldenstorm in the Netherlands.[36] Towards the end of the 16th century there were disputes between Lutherans and Calvinists, with the Lutherans offering strong opposition to Calvinist iconoclasm.[37][38] Though both groupings did not object to book illustrations or prints of biblical events, or portraits of reformers, production of large-scale religious art virtually ceased in Protestant regions after about 1540, and artists shifted to secular subjects, ironically often including revived classical mythology
.

The earliest

Puritans within the Church of England, the use of ritual implements prescribed by the Book of Common Prayer was a frequent cause of conflict. (See vestments controversy
)

Non-use by Amish

The

Anabaptist
Christian group that forbids the use of images in secular life. In their critiques these groups argue that such practices are in effect little different from idolatry, and that they localize and particularize God, who, they argue, is beyond human depiction.

See also

References

  1. ISBN 9780567577368
    . ...early Christians, and remains a Christian symbol to this day. In early Christian art, fish represented the souls of believers, while fishermen imaged the apostles as founders of the Church and thus fishers of souls.35 But, paradoxically, the 'saved' fish are the ones caught in the net of the fisherman. As Jerome puts it: 'The apostles have fished for us and have drawn us out of the sea of this world that, from dead, we might become alive.'
  2. ISBN 9780810136014
    . The Synod of Elvira (306-312) prohibited the exhibition of images in churches on the same terms as the participation of Christians in pagan games--obviously understanding both phenomena as kindred.
  3. ISBN 9781597529020
    . Third century visual and verbal evidence is not in disagreement; both reveal an early and generally accepted use of images in the settings of christian worship.
  4. ^ Browne, Laurence E. (1933). The Eclipse of Christianity in Asia: From the Time of Muhammad Till the Fourteenth Century. Cambridge University Press. p. 79. In modern times the Nestorians alone of all the Eastern Churches have abandoned he use of images, only using the cross to which they pay the greatest reverence. The use of a plain cross without the figure of Christ on it goes back at least as far as the middle of the thirteenth century, for William of Rubruck, in his journey across Asia from Southern Russia as far as the town of Karakorum, mentions several times that the Armenians and Nestorians whom he meet used the cross but not the crucifix. In response to Rubruck's questions they could only reply that it was their custom. Whatever the cause may have been it was apparently not due to any dislike of images or pictures in general. When the Roman Catholic missionaries went to Malabar they found that the Nestorian Christians there did not use images and said, "We are Christians. We do not worship idols".
  5. doi:10.7227/BJRL.78.3.11
    . Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  6. ISBN 9781598849967
    .
  7. ISBN 9781588365002
    . The Beeldenstorm, or Iconoclastic Fury, involved roving bands of radical Calvinists who were utterly opposed to all religious images and decorations in churches and who acted on their beliefs by storming into Catholic churches and destroying all artwork and finery.
  8. ISBN 9780968987391
    . Devoutly Catholic but opposed to Inquisition tactics, they backed William of Orange in subduing the Calvinist uprising of the Dutch beeldenstorm on behalf of regent Margaret of Parma, and had come willingly to the council at her invitation.
  9. ^
    ISBN 978-1-119-67155-8
    .
  10. ISBN 9780802828880
    . However, in Anglican churches statues and images are far less prevalent than in Lutheran or Roman Catholic places of worship.
  11. ISBN 9780567262325
    . In Greek and Russian Orthodox churches icons play a very significant part in the piety of ordinary believers who often pray before their icons.
  12. ISBN 9781498224246
    . It is not uncommon to see icons of saints in Lutheran households and churches. Many Lutherans also adopt a historic church calendar wherein certain feast days are held in remembrance of great saints. This includes both biblical saints as well as venerable figures in church history. ... Lutherans use images, icons, and statues as tools to instruct and remind people of central elements of their faith. The crucifix is a constant reminder of the gospel. It is often placed in the sanctuary to remind both the pastor and the congregation that Christ and his cross are the center of the church's worship life. Churches use images of saints to remind the congregation of the great faith of those who have come before them, and to remind them of the unity of the church in heaven and on earth. It is a valuable picture of the communion of saints as expressed in the creed.
  13. ISBN 9781442244320
    . Protestants also displayed devotional art as images and objects. Beginning in the 1830s, lithographers produced and sold cheap images for display in parlors. These included scenes of families reading the Bible, children praying, and Jesus preaching. Protestants also adorned their homes with handmade wall crosses and embroidered Bible quotes. Whether bought in the marketplace or handmade, Protestant art connected homes and families to God and Jesus. Catholics also displayed devotional art in homes. In the 1870s, Irish immigrants adapted protestant domestic religion. This home art often emulated church art.
  14. ISBN 9780806652948
    . Some Lutherans designate a special place in the home where they can focus during personal devotions. This space could include a Bible, candles, and small colored paraments or hangings that change according to the seasons of the church calendar.
  15. ISBN 9780898705669
    . One thing some families do is make a family altar with pictures of Jesus, candles, a crucifix, and other religious articles. This family altar reminds the family of the importance of prayer.
  16. ISBN 9780814646847
    . Without a doubt, then, liturgy and shared devotion are integrated in Eastern Christianity; icons are present in both private and public spaces. In the home, most Eastern Christians have an icon corner where members of the family and guests alike may "greet" the saints in prayer.
  17. ^ Geoffrey W. Bromiley International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Grand Rapids: William B Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982), vol. 2 p 794.
  18. ^ "1 Corinthians 10:14-22 KJV - Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from". Bible Gateway. Retrieved 2013-09-20.
  19. ^ John MacQuarrie, Principles of Christian Theology (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1977), 145.
  20. ^ "John 14:7-9 NKJV - The Father Revealed - "If you had". Bible Gateway. Retrieved 2013-09-20.
  21. ^ "Colossians 1 NKJV - Greeting - Paul, an apostle of Jesus". Bible Gateway. Retrieved 2013-09-20.
  22. ^ Péter Bokody, "Idolatry or Power: St. Francis in Front of the Sultan," In Promoting the Saints: Cults and Their Contexts from Late Antiquity until the Early Modern Period, ed. Ottó Gecser and others (Budapest: CEU Press, 2010), 69-81. https://www.academia.edu/1787059/Idolatry_or_Power_St._Francis_in_Front_of_the_Sultan
  23. ^ "The Icon FAQ". Orthodoxinfo.com. Retrieved 2013-09-20.
  24. ^ a b Fortescue, Adrian. "Veneration of Images" The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 15 July 2019Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  25. ^ Summa Theologica text
  26. ^ Catechism of The Catholic Church, passage 2113, pp.460, Geoffrey Chapman, 1999
  27. ^ General Audience. June 15, 2011
  28. ^ "lutheran orthodox". Helsinki.fi. Retrieved 2013-09-20.
  29. ^ "Luther and the Iconoclasts". Lutheran Reformation. 2016-06-09. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  30. ISBN 9780820486857
    . Although some reformers, such as John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli, rejected all images, Martin Luther defended the importance of images as tools for instruction and aids to devotion.
  31. ^
    ISBN 9780761843375
    .
  32. ISSN 0950-4125
    .
  33. ^ a b Brown, Tricia (2018). "Bring the beauty of the arts to your church | United Methodist Communications". United Methodist Church. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  34. ^ Powell, Gareth J. "Introduction". Methodist Church in Britain. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  35. ISBN 9780810872240
    . While Germany and the Scandinavian countries adopted the Lutheran model of church and state, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Hungary, what is now the Czech Republic, and Scotland created Reformed Churches based, in varying ways, on the model Calvin set up in Geneva. Although England pursued the Reformation ideal in its own way, leading to the formation of the Anglican Communion, the theology of the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England were heavily influenced by Calvinism.
  36. ISBN 9781424069224
    . In an episode known as the Great Iconoclasm, bands of Calvinists visited Catholic churches in the Netherlands in 1566, shattering stained-glass windows, smashing statues, and destroying paintings and other artworks they perceived as idolatrous.
  37. ISBN 9781442271593
    . Lutherans continued to worship in pre-Reformation churches, generally with few alterations to the interior. It has even been suggested that in Germany to this day one finds more ancient Marian altarpieces in Lutheran than in Catholic churches. Thus in Germany and in Scandinavia many pieces of medieval art and architecture survived. Joseph Leo Koerner has noted that Lutherans, seeing themselves in the tradition of the ancient, apostolic church, sought to defend as well as reform the use of images. "An empty, white-washed church proclaimed a wholly spiritualized cult, at odds with Luther's doctrine of Christ's real presence in the sacraments" (Koerner 2004, 58). In fact, in the 16th century some of the strongest opposition to destruction of images came not from Catholics but from Lutherans against Calvinists: "You black Calvinist, you give permission to smash our pictures and hack our crosses; we are going to smash you and your Calvinist priests in return" (Koerner 2004, 58). Works of art continued to be displayed in Lutheran churches, often including an imposing large crucifix in the sanctuary, a clear reference to Luther's theologia crucis. ... In contrast, Reformed (Calvinist) churches are strikingly different. Usually unadorned and somewhat lacking in aesthetic appeal, pictures, sculptures, and ornate altar-pieces are largely absent; there are few or no candles; and crucifixes or crosses are also mostly absent.
  38. ISBN 9780191578885
    . Iconoclastic incidents during the Calvinist 'Second Reformation' in Germany provoked reactive riots by Lutheran mobs, while Protestant image-breaking in the Baltic region deeply antagonized the neighbouring Eastern Orthodox, a group with whom reformers might have hoped to make common cause.
  39. ^ Knowing God, IVP, 1973, Page 42
  40. ^ Knowing God, IVP, 1973, Page 43

External links

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