kevin.carroll
Puritan Board Junior
Last year when the Passion of the Christ came out I went and saw it with a clear conscience. I had been in conversation with some about whether or not the idea violated the Second Commandment.
I read, with interest, the archived exchange on the Board over this very issue and recognized the arguments made by those who did not see the movie (and such) as sinful. I had made the very same arguments. I honestly believed that the Divines went beyond the Commandment in their application of it.
And yet I was troubled by one thing: the prohibition against making images of the Deity was crystal clear. And no matter how much I reasoned that Jesus was man and could be represented in his humanity, I could not get around Jesus as God, too. I felt like my arguments had a vaguely Nestorian feel and that was an unpleasant thought to me.
So, I grimly set about to study it. I read the banter online. I read John of Damascus and studied the Iconoclast Controversy. I read Calvin (should have started there!)--both his commentaries on the Law and the Institutes. And I prayed...
And THEN, casting about for something "light and easy" to cover on Sunday nights, I decided to preach a series, "10 Weeks in the 10 Commandments." (Actually, the series is winding up being 11 weeks. Have to have intro stuff, ya know! ) In my studies, I finally have come to the deep conviction that I was wrong. Such movies and representations of Christ are sinful, inasmuch as the do not (nor can they) accurately represent the infinitude and majesty of the Godhead.
So here I am...a little more Reformed, I suppose...on the slippery slope, as they say...only this slope is a good one. I've notified my Session that I removed the exception today.
I say all this to ask a question (and in asking, I suppose this thread might do better in the Patoral Concerns forum): our church has been outside of presbytery for five years and without a minister for almost as long before I got here. A lot of shennanigans have gone on here that should not have. We are sort of this strange hybrid of presbyterian congregationalism (go figure). The authority of the Session is disregarded a lot (though I am laboring to change that AND to get us back into a presbytery). One thing that happened shortly before I came here was that one of the church's elderly men had a (honestly quite lovely) remake of DaVinci's Last Supper made which he had put up over the sanctuary doors.
I have two BIG problems with it:
1. It was done without Session approval (or foreknowledge). That was improper, all other things being equal.
2. Even before I changed my views on the Second Commandment, having such a diplay IN THE CHURCH seemed too close to the spirit of the Commandment for comfort. Now I am sure of it.
I talked with Fred at length on the phone about this issue today (Thanks!). In addition to his sage counsel on how to handle this problem, I would welcome input from the board. Any and all are welcome to answer, but I am keen to hear from the ministers here particularly. No offense to "y'all," but there is something to be said for the gentleness of a pastor's heart! (Calling it an abomination and burning the whole building down would not go over well! ) What would you do?
I read, with interest, the archived exchange on the Board over this very issue and recognized the arguments made by those who did not see the movie (and such) as sinful. I had made the very same arguments. I honestly believed that the Divines went beyond the Commandment in their application of it.
And yet I was troubled by one thing: the prohibition against making images of the Deity was crystal clear. And no matter how much I reasoned that Jesus was man and could be represented in his humanity, I could not get around Jesus as God, too. I felt like my arguments had a vaguely Nestorian feel and that was an unpleasant thought to me.
So, I grimly set about to study it. I read the banter online. I read John of Damascus and studied the Iconoclast Controversy. I read Calvin (should have started there!)--both his commentaries on the Law and the Institutes. And I prayed...
And THEN, casting about for something "light and easy" to cover on Sunday nights, I decided to preach a series, "10 Weeks in the 10 Commandments." (Actually, the series is winding up being 11 weeks. Have to have intro stuff, ya know! ) In my studies, I finally have come to the deep conviction that I was wrong. Such movies and representations of Christ are sinful, inasmuch as the do not (nor can they) accurately represent the infinitude and majesty of the Godhead.
So here I am...a little more Reformed, I suppose...on the slippery slope, as they say...only this slope is a good one. I've notified my Session that I removed the exception today.
I say all this to ask a question (and in asking, I suppose this thread might do better in the Patoral Concerns forum): our church has been outside of presbytery for five years and without a minister for almost as long before I got here. A lot of shennanigans have gone on here that should not have. We are sort of this strange hybrid of presbyterian congregationalism (go figure). The authority of the Session is disregarded a lot (though I am laboring to change that AND to get us back into a presbytery). One thing that happened shortly before I came here was that one of the church's elderly men had a (honestly quite lovely) remake of DaVinci's Last Supper made which he had put up over the sanctuary doors.
I have two BIG problems with it:
1. It was done without Session approval (or foreknowledge). That was improper, all other things being equal.
2. Even before I changed my views on the Second Commandment, having such a diplay IN THE CHURCH seemed too close to the spirit of the Commandment for comfort. Now I am sure of it.
I talked with Fred at length on the phone about this issue today (Thanks!). In addition to his sage counsel on how to handle this problem, I would welcome input from the board. Any and all are welcome to answer, but I am keen to hear from the ministers here particularly. No offense to "y'all," but there is something to be said for the gentleness of a pastor's heart! (Calling it an abomination and burning the whole building down would not go over well! ) What would you do?