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To: Notwithstanding
Actually, most Protestants I know get REALLY MAD when Catholic art or a necklace depicts Christ crucified upon the cross.

It's the form of "art" we disagree with, not the subject of the art.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image ...

18 posted on 01/03/2002 8:56:29 AM PST by topcat54
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To: topcat54
I have seen COUNTLESS protestant books, paintings, films, etc. with images of Jesus and other biblical heroes.
25 posted on 01/03/2002 9:17:36 AM PST by Notwithstanding
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To: topcat54
It's the form of "art" we disagree with, not the subject of the art. "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image..."

Yes. But what about:

"And you shall make two cherubim of gold [i.e., two gold statues of angels]; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end; of one piece of the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be" (Ex. 25:18–20).

"Make [a statue of] a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it shall live. So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live" (Num. 21:8–9).

"[David gave Solomon the plan for the] golden chariot of the cherubim [statues of angels] that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord. All this he made clear by the writing of the hand of the Lord concerning it all, all the work to be done according to the plan" (1 Chr. 28:18–19).

"On the [Temple] walls round about in the inner room and [on] the nave were carved likenesses of cherubim." (Ezekiel 41:17–18)

In the above verses, God Himself commands that graven images be made. Now either God and the Bible contradict themselves, or your interpretation of the Commandment against the making of images is wrong.

The answer, of course, is that your interpretation of the Commandment is wrong. God approves of the use of statuary, stained glass, ikons, and other graven images when they are used for their intended purpose: the glorification and adoration of God. God forbade the adoration of the statues themselves, and of the Canaanite "gods" the statues represented, not the making of graven images per se.

Ever kneel in front of the Bible to pray? The Bible is a book, and, since every book is by definition a graven image, such worship would constitute idolatry by your standards. Of course, only an idiot would think that keeling in front of the Bible is the same thing as worshiping the Bible! In the same way, kneeling to pray before a Crucifix is no more idolatrous than kneeling to pray before a copy of the Bible. In both cases, the graven images serve only to point us towards the One Whom alone we may adore.

For more on this subject, see here.

37 posted on 01/03/2002 9:58:31 AM PST by B-Chan
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To: topcat54
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image ...

I've heard other Protestants mention this as precluding any religious statues. Just curious, though- how do you reconcile a strict, literalist interpretation of this with the fact that the Ark of the Covenant had statues of cherubim on top of it?
121 posted on 01/04/2002 10:00:29 AM PST by Antoninus
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