[dangus]

Is it sinful to make religious icons?

And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

--Numbers 21:8-9

[G Larry]

Exodus 25:10
“You shall make an ark of acacia wood, tow and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. Plate it inside and out with pure gold around the top of it. Cast four gold rings and fasten them on the four supports of the ark, two rings on the one side and two on the opposite side. Then make poles of acacia wood and plate them with gold. These poles you are to put through the rings on the sides of the ark, for carrying it; they must remain in the rings of the ark and never be withdrawn. In the ark you are to put the commandments which I will give you.”
“You shall then make a propitiatory of pure gold, two cubits and a half ling, on one and a half cubits wide. Make two cherubim of beaten gold for the two ends of the propitiatory, fastening them so that one cherub springs direct from each end. The cherubim shall have their wings spread out above, covering the propitiatory with them; they shall be turned toward each other, but with their faces looking toward the propitiatory. This propitiatory you shall then place on top of the ark. In the ark itself you are to put the commandments, I will tell you all the commands that I wish you to give the Israelites.

[LearsFool]

"And the LORD said unto Moses..."

I can't recall the commandment to Christians to draw/paint/sculpt images of Jesus. Can you refresh my memory?

[aruanan]

Is it sinful to make religious icons?

And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

At the time it wasn't a religious icon because there was nothing it would be iconic of for another millennium and a half, give or take, but a simple matter of survival that depended on one's choosing to believe and look (ha ha, so much for Calvinism). Jesus may have alluded to it in John 12:32 when he said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." That this, not the resurrection, is referring to his being raised up on a pole is in the following verse: "This he said, signifying what death he should die."

[PetroniusMaximus]

ping

[Joe 6-pack]

When you type the letters "L-O-R-D" you are making an icon...a visual representation that symbolizes a concept in a manner that has a generally agreed upon meaning allowing you to communicate that concept with others. Keep in mind that the very letters you type evolved from (gasp) pictures. An iconic representation of Christ is no different, and in fact, has more widely and effectively communicated that thought for two millenia.

Until Gutenberg invented the press, and for sometime after, literacy was largely the domain of clerics and the aristocracy. The vast majority of the laity's knowledge of Biblical events was communicated through painting, sculpture and stained glass. Whether or not they actually "looked" like Christ is no more important than whether or not the letters, "C-h-r-i-s-t" look like Christ. They are a means of conveying the concept of Christ.

Unless of course you have something against sharing the news of God with illiterate people...

[Salvation]

Here is an excellent thread that explains the Jewish, Catholic, Protestant versions of the Commandments. It's been posted before.

The Catholic Church Changed The Ten Commandments? [Ecumenical]

[JSDude1]

No, but of course in this instance (a painting, of Christ), we aren’t worshiping the painting, the artist (and hopefully) many of it’s viewers are worshiping Him!~

Let me ask you something, during prayer with God, do you sometimes have a “picture” of Christ in your mind that you pray/talk to?

[sayuncledave]

Well said, dangus. That was a good article, and I agree, we have a good idea what Our Lord looked like.