Photography Sinful ?

[Soloist]

I am more concerned about the graven images of Washington, Jackson, Franklin, et al, which many people worship for both business and personal use.

It's always been interesting to me that there never was a group that really raised a fuss about this. (Or the Emperor's effigy on coinage.)

Might be because Jesus didn’t seem to have a problem with using money an image on it.

Wife: bunny trail, but that parable is actually more meaningful to me since I heard someone explain that Caesars image was engraved on the coin, whereas we are made in the image of God, and we are to render unto Caesar what is Caesars and unto God what is God’s.

[Ken]

It's always been interesting to me that there never was a group that really raised a fuss about this. (Or the Emperor's effigy on coinage.)

Might be because Jesus didn’t seem to have a problem with using money an image on it.

Wife: bunny trail, but that parable is actually more meaningful to me since I heard someone explain that Caesars image was engraved on the coin, whereas we are made in the image of God, and we are to render unto Caesar what is Caesars and unto God what is God’s.

No one is exactly sure which coin was the tribute coin in that verse. But one common guess is that it was this silver Denaris showing emperor Tiberius with a seated Livia on the reverse

[Josh]

Coinage often had an inscription on it praising or worshipping the emperor, too.

[Sudsy]

Yes and many old, especially Protestant churches, that have beautiful stained glass windows. Our downtown, Catholic, United, Presbyterian, Anglican and First Baptist church all have stained glass window paintings and I have always enjoyed these in my visits. As long as we are worshipping the God in the stories these depict and not the pictures themselves, I don't believe we have crossed the line into idolatry. To me, this is like having a cross to wear or one shown somewhere in a church. It is not the cross we worship but the One who died on a cross to save us from our sins.

I think a lot of historic church art, especially stuff like Medieval cathedrals, was from an era in which the majority of the populace was illiterate and did not have Bibles to read or study. So pictures as reflected in stained glass and other forms of art were one of the only ways to narrate Biblical messages to an illiterate populace.

True but I think it also true that although we now have multiple versions and easy access to Bibles today there still are many who have never read one or any portion of one. Although Trump says he has many Bibles that he loves, when questioned about a favourite verse, he dodged the question. He now promotes his own KJV version that includes political texts with scripture. More Bibles collecting dust. More mixing politics with religion. Well, thats another issue.

More people in our culture are able to read a Bible but since they don't, one could suggest that stained glass windows might still cause some to think about Jesus even when they only come to a church for a wedding and/or funeral.

Myself I especially liked the sun shining through the coloured glass depictions of Jesus such as one of those in our First Baptist church of Jesus sitting with a group of children at His feet. For me, it helped me to focus on Jesus on Sunday mornings and get my mind off earthy things when I came into the church.

[Valerie]

Yes and many old, especially Protestant churches, that have beautiful stained glass windows. Our downtown, Catholic, United, Presbyterian, Anglican and First Baptist church all have stained glass window paintings and I have always enjoyed these in my visits. As long as we are worshipping the God in the stories these depict and not the pictures themselves, I don't believe we have crossed the line into idolatry. To me, this is like having a cross to wear or one shown somewhere in a church. It is not the cross we worship but the One who died on a cross to save us from our sins.

I think a lot of historic church art, especially stuff like Medieval cathedrals, was from an era in which the majority of the populace was illiterate and did not have Bibles to read or study. So pictures as reflected in stained glass and other forms of art were one of the only ways to narrate Biblical messages to an illiterate populace.

True but I think it also true that although we now have multiple versions and easy access to Bibles today there still are many who have never read one or any portion of one. Although Trump says he has many Bibles that he loves, when questioned about a favourite verse, he dodged the question. He now promotes his own KJV version that includes political texts with scripture. More Bibles collecting dust. More mixing politics with religion. Well, thats another issue.

More people in our culture are able to read a Bible but since they don't, one could suggest that stained glass windows might still cause some to think about Jesus even when they only come to a church for a wedding and/or funeral.

Myself I especially liked the sun shining through the coloured glass depictions of Jesus such as one of those in our First Baptist church of Jesus sitting with a group of children at His feet. For me, it helped me to focus on Jesus on Sunday mornings and get my mind off earthy things when I came into the church.

That was the whole purpose of icons. To "tell the story" in art form, especially to illiterate- and as the saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words. Luke was the first one to do a drawing of the Virgin Mary & Jesus. (Church history). Because God became man- that prohibition was removed of likeness being God's.

If their conviction takes the commandments to apply the way some Anabaptists do, I don't suppose that's wrong necessarily but my understanding it is a wrong interpretation. That then leafs to a distrust in interpretations in these groups. A simple reading for myself from my earliest Bible study years never made a connection to photographs. O e can idolize a live "anything" so anyone can idolize a picture. That doesn't mean pictures are idols.