Originally posted by Ray Stiegler:
What does this verse mean and how does this relate to the use of Icons in the Church?
Since therefore we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the divinity is like an image fashioned from gold, silver, or stone by human art and imagination.
Often misunderstood - this line needs context. He was speaking to the men of his day - so we must know something about the experiences of Paul and the experience of the Jews to whom he was speaking - else the text becomes unanchored from reality. We must know something of the language, the common phrases, the culture and society in which they were.
There was a period in archeology and science when ancient man was looked upon as a primitive child like intelligence. Much of modern biblical research, unfortunately, retains some of that mentality. It is false - a figment of our own grandiose imagination. They were just as intelligent as we - they simply did not have the development of tools that we have today - and we do not yet have the tool other will have tomorrow. However - the evolution of man�s tool - is NOT a measure of his intelligence. It is rather a measure of time.
Some of the scientific and architectural feats these ancients had accomplished with the simpler set of tool - we still do not understand how they did them. Our own intelligence flounders at �how did they do that with such simple tools??� This displays a high level of intelligent equal to our own. And so we should not think of any age of �early� man - as being anything other than - just like us in every way.
The Jews�
Past scholars called them amulets - and archeology has discovered their wide use among the Jews - well before the time of Christ. Now an amulet by definition is some item to which is attributed a superstition of powers inherent to the material of the item. So you will often find it said that the Jews used �amulets to ward off evil�. But the real comparison is with ikons, rosary, prayer beads, crosses on the wall, the Jewish tradition of nailing a portion of the old testament at the main door to their house, religious metals worn about the neck, ceremonies of marriage, birth, and death. .. . and so on. Would it be fair to call these modern items (no matter which Christian religion) as magical amulets?? Incantations? Magic??
Archeology has discovered that among the Jews such religious items abounded in wide spread use. Necklaces, bracelets and other items inscribed with the name of Yahweh or some symbol to represent the God of Israel or the Temple. Statues and inscriptions that remind one of Moses and critical events within the history of Israel. The Jewish people have always been rather gifted at artwork. Once can say that the Temple itself (the most precious gold, the most valuable polished stones, the prized wood of the cedar of Lebanon) certainly represented in the minds of the Jews - the �house� where Yahweh lived - where his presence descended like a dark cloud. Itself - a �graven image� of heavenly things as given to Moses by God himself.
And so there - clearly - was no ban on the Jews - to the use of wood, stone, and gold in order to fashion items of human art for religious use - artwork which depicts events and concept - about God.
Early Christians�
Clearly evidence show that the same mindset carried over to the early Christians. Persecuted at first and their lands and good confiscated to the point of poverty - places of their hidden burial places (often catacombs) were often identified first - by paintings on the walls - depictions of Jesus - apostles - figurative drawings - a slain lamb - a fish - events - combinations of human figures which include Christ himelf - and symbolic figures (cross - fish - tau.. Etc..) etc�
As Christianity developed and became more open � precious items such as gold, silver, polished stone - and wonderful art works of �human art from the imagination of man� (compare this to your quote of Paul) were widely used by common Christians and the successors of the apostles. The height of this artwork can probably be said to have reached its peak with Constantine and the Byzantine empire.
So it is clear that neither the Jews before Christ - nor the apostolic churches after His history appearance - held any ban - on the use of such items to signify (after all - they are just symbols) saints, events, or as specific to the Christians - the human nature of Jesus Christ (God) himself.
So it is clear that there exists a proper use of these items - and an improper use.
As regards the Jews specifically (which Jesus was a Jew) the ban of depicting the nature of God himself within art form - made perfect sense in as much as the Moses theology presented God as a living Providence. The cause - and mover - of all things created and all events - and therefore (not a creature-created - himself) God in his own nature is unknowable to any of the human senses. And so the particular ban on speaking the name of God (which name was obviously spoken and written) and the ban on making statues to depict his unknowable God nature - was itself a symbolic ban that pointed its theological meaning. A - ritual - meaning - expressing something symbolic when used in ceremony. Scriptures talks of the �hands� of God - the �face� - the white hair - and its �engraved� words paint for us a picture of God near to a human King of great age who sites in heaven at a Council of the Gods. This is no different than The Geek portrait of Zeus or the Roman portrait of Jupiter - or any other culture of the time. The written word - the artistic drawing or carving - all human symbols intended to create in our mind and imagination - some image - of meaning.
The Jews do depict the presence of God (sometimes) as a dark cloud which descended on Sinai and �went before them as a pillar� during the Exodus. That is clear from Jewish art - past and present. They often (like Christians) depict God as a man of great age with white hair - above the clouds - looking down upon the earth (think of the Sistine chapel painting).
Egypt�
Moses must be recognized as a governor and a formative leader in the way of Hebrew social life. His laws (religious and social) were meant to give form - to Hebrew social and cultural day to day life.
One must keep in mind that the original Hebrews (a name which means - wandering immigrant) did not have a common heritage, nor linage in historical terms. No more than does the modern day immigrants which come from varied backgrounds, countries and cultures - to the United States today seeking work. Hebrews were foreigners to Egypt - come drifting in from the deserts - to the fertile places of Egypt - seeking work - seeking shelter - seeking to become a part of the most prosperous county at the time. An oasis in the desert of plenty, education, wealth and work. Even less did they have a common language between them� the language of the land (Egypt) became a common language - just as the English directions of American managers becomes a common language among the Polish, Russian, Mexican, Indian - etc� immigrants to America.
Just as (given enough time) varied immigrant communities living long enough in the United States have US culture as a commonality between them - so too we can assume that 400 years or being the working class in Egypt (where class was strictly divided by birth) - we can assume that the original and divers languages of these communities were almost forgotten - and a lower dialect of the Egyptian language was their day to day tongue. Exposed daily to Egyptian philosophy and religion (bound tightly to the government projects they were employed to build).
And so (to cut this short) any ban such as found in the mouth of Moses to the �Hebrew� people who followed him out from Egypt (�You shall not make graven images to worship.� ) MUST have had relevance to something of a misuse of �art images� within Egypt at the time of Moses. Something of which the Hebrew people had long been exposed.
The era of scholastics which gave us the broken Darwin - Evolution of Species - also gave us broken views of ancient cultures. Modern research is well away that Egyptians did not worship animals or animal headed men or any such thing. They did not expect mummies to get up and walk around as the movies portray. These are figments of the imagination of �scholars�. These symbols of ceremony and religion were entirely symbolic for what comes down to a way to express varied aspects of - One Unknowable God. Egypt was monotheistic - Yet the more one is removed from education in some system - the more one is apt to misunderstand that system.. And so, at times in the history of Egypt, is the history of factions (like in any religion) which used religion and the popularity of one or another interpretation - became political tools in the hands of those seeking power. One must be reminded of the era of Europe in which Kings battles Popes - for power. Divisions within religion became - weapons.
Certainly - we have already proved that the finding of Jewish art and artifices, and early Christian art and artifacts - included - art and art items to depict aspects of divinity, saints, and events - of religion.
Blah - blah blah blah�
Now all this just goes to show how important it is to understand the spiritual meaning of any text of scriptures - and how that spiritual meaning (real meaning which we can live by day to day) is anchored to proper context - and often slaughter - by not knowing the context and not taking into account what the church herself may say about it.
Now - to cut right to the heart of the matter� (too late Ray - any one has already ceased reading from boredom)..
The most accepted translation �You shall not make graven images to worship.� is a mistranslation if we are to understand it as it was meant. This mistranslation comes from the mindset of those early scholars who believed that ancient peoples were primitive of intellect and all of them worshiped sticks and stones and statues and were full of superstition. These same scholars also gave us - Darwin - and before that they told us the world was - flat. So the scholarship of any period of time - is mixed - results.
The real translation (in context as well as Hebrew) is �You shall not worship human artwork.� It is not a ban - against art work - nor artwork which symbolically depicts something of the divinity (as we have proven by the use of art work among the Jews and among early Christians).
So rather than interpreter Paul or Moses in strict literal ways - as if we were expected to be robots under a law of which we are not expected to question or understand God�s reasons for giving (something Jesus often tried to free us from) - the context of these in real life is rather simple - rather simple indeed.
Do not worship any art work used in religion - as if it (the artwork) were the divinity - itself. This has always been a rather simple and basic tenant of the church (prophets - apostles). And no one should complicate this for you.
God in his nature is unknowable to the senses. He is the cause of all nature - and events - and therefore is not - anything to be found within nature (neither stone, nor gold, nor silver, nor sticks, nor fire, nor artwork formed of these).
This is a very basic - and fundamental - doctrine of Judaism and Christianity - and as such - you should already know this. And you should not be having any real confusion between artwork - and God himself.
As a simple and fundamental principle of most traditional religions - you should have no reason to suspect or assume that anyone else (involved in another religion) is having this fundamental and basic difficulty - unless that person is obviously in metal difficulty (stress, psychosis, extreme neurosis) or has fallen to some cult (by which you will see the stress, psychosis, etc� tied to these cults).
So if you know anyone whom is troubling you by offering you a �higher standard of Christianity� - relax - they are trying to be more �Christian� than God would like them to be and in doing that they often attack God�s own children as �less Christian� as they.
Compassion and human understanding based upon good conscience - are the hall marks of a Christian - not - how meticulous we interpreter the laws and rules of religion. Therefore you will find many people who are not members of the church militant (visible) who are indeed closer to Christ than are some members of the church militant (visible). Jesus refers to these when he said �When did I feed you? When did I clothe you? - I tell you if you did that to even one of my little children - you did it to me.� and �But Lord - ! We cast of devils in your name??!! - Get away from me - members of my church though you were - I never knew you.�
Now - after all my words - did not we know this already? Did we not already from our youth - understand this and no one really needed to tell us? We were born into Christianity in many ways - and some of these things are taken for granted here in nations with a long Chritian heritage.
At one peroid of my life I became very frustratied with Chritianity - and I threw of many religious items - including that I broke a beuatiful and rare statuse of Mary. I regret that I no longer have that statue of rare beauty - but in no way do I think I "killed Mary" or hurt God or anything more to my action than - a period of human furstration. While in an Orthodox church I cross myself left to right, in a Catholic church I cross myself right to left - and if I ever get to a Mosque (I have muslim friends) I will bow with my forehead to the ground... and in Synogouge I will stand when they stand and bob my head when they rock and bob thier heads. It is God - that I worship - and I am not confused between Him and human artwork, ceremony and cultural expression. Niether am I bias between any of his children. He - wishes me to be Catholic - so Catholic I am - and Catholic I will remain - but I am just one - of his children - and one of no authoity nor position. Just one - of many.
These are my thoughts.
-ray
.
. However, I'll let you know when I do put my work on-line and you can send me your opinions.
