blhowes
Puritan Board Professor
Today I was thinking about the practice of some churches of putting pictures of Jesus in the sanctuary. I've never given it much thought, but why do they do that? What is the reasoning behind putting up an artist's rendition of what they thought Jesus may have looked like? What purpose does it serve?
Have you ever tried to convince somebody who attends such a church that displaying an image of Jesus violated one of the 10 commandments and should not be in the church? How did you go about explaining it - I'd imagine they'd usually say they're not worshipping the image?
Exo 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Have you ever tried to convince somebody who attends such a church that displaying an image of Jesus violated one of the 10 commandments and should not be in the church? How did you go about explaining it - I'd imagine they'd usually say they're not worshipping the image?