In the talk given by Birgit Meyer, she discusses that the reformation of the second commandment in the Catholic religion, is about how God forbids man to worship him through an idol, in this case, images of the divine because it is only a representation of God but it is not God himself. As we continue to pray to the divine through images or statues, especially in church or any other religious gathering, I think that the theme as well as the point that Meyer was trying to make is that people are more skeptical nowadays about the existence of heaven or about any religious figures because they do not have tangible proof therefore, these images and statues gives people some sort of proof that religious beings exists and that their power will be …show more content…
On the statue it says “Our Lady has said that the Eternal Father is making use of modern technology to communicate with a fallen generation, a generation whose hearts are so hardened and eyes so blinded, that they need some kind of tangible proof of the authenticity of the Bayside visions” (Wojcik, p.309-310)”. This quote is implying that nowadays people do not believe in religion because they are not given absolute proof that the divine exists. We can look at this even deeper and wonder why people are so quick to believe anything that they read on social media and the Internet. Even though this information is tangible, it does not necessarily make it true therefore how can we question the legitimacy of the power of religion just because we do not see it. In the text one of the individuals at the Virgin Mary statue gave their reason as to why they took pictures of it and they say, “the Holy Spirit enters the camera and creates the images that are inside the camera” (Wojcik, 1996). Many people have different reasons as to why they believe in God however if someone feels linked with a religious being through a camera, there is no negativity in
Another example of Christian iconography is The Transfiguration. It is located in the Church of Saint Catherine’s monaster...
I found the photography piece “From the Road to Tepeyac,” by Alinka Echeverria intriguing. This photography piece was a man kneeling down with a sculpture tied to his back. The woman in the statue had a green flag with multiple stars draped around her. This woman appeared to be the Virgin Mary. Underneath the Virgin Mary was an angel with green, white and red wings. The colors on the flag around the Virgin Mary and the angel’s wings represent Mexico. Also, the stars on the flag present the repetition constructed in this photography piece. There is no physical line for the foreground; however, this piece directs the eye from one point to another by implication. When I first saw this photography piece, I questioned why the statue of the Virgin Mary and an angel were on the man’s back. I realized the Virgin Mary and ...
...t would help bring into understandable light the mystery of the Church’s teachings. Finally, achievements in re-creating human emotion would ensure the painting’s, and therefore the Church’s teachings would leave an indelible mark on all of its viewers.
Mathias Grunewald (c. 1470-1528) was a German painter who created the Isenheim Altarpiece between 1512 and 1516. This work consists of different wings that fold out to reveal more of the work (Collings, 2007) (including the crucifixion of Christ), is on the display at the Unterlinden Museum at Colmar, Alsace, France, and was commissioned for the Monastery of Saint Anthony in Isenheim, near Colmar. On one of these wings is the figure of Saint Anthony of Egypt, whose temptation has been the inspiration for many works of art as well as literature. Unlike other artists of the Renaissance period, Grunewald’s paintings depict religious figures as artists of the middle ages had done, creating imagery for the Church in Rome. And while the Isenheim Altarpiece, and indeed the Temptation of Saint Anthony, was commissioned b...
Ziggy Marley once said, “God is like the sun. When the sun shines, it shines for everyone. God is for everyone.” In the same way, Abbot Suger built the Basilica of St. Denis so that sunlight would flood throughout the building and symbolize the power of God inviting visitors into the cathedral. The Basilica of St. Denis was an artistic response to the rise of the Catholic Church’s power for it was modeled to be a physical representation of heaven, which the church heavily preached upon. (Thesis) As the basilica represented the shift from Romanesque architecture to Gothic, Abbot Suger introduced new techniques that transformed cathedrals to look more spacious and “heavenly”. (Map Statement #1-Art History) By allowing sunlight to come through the large windows, Abbot Suger instilled the Neo-Platonic idea that the sun was the physical representation of God. (Map Statement #2 –Philosophy) Also, at that time, the church was rising in power, so the new structural style of the basilica brought more converts and eventually more power to the church. (Map Statement #3 –Social Institutions) [Insert Literature Map Statement] The Basilica of St. Denis was built so that worshippers would be in awe of the “heaven-like” setting, which would cause more people to declare their faith to God and to the church.
The past three decades dozens of religious aspirations took place. A weird event in the 1970s where a 1700 year old relic was oozing blood at St.Adrians Church (Taylor 68). Since the beginning of January the statues began to weep and for the next 7 months oil spewed out from its fingers. It then stopped then started again and the 2nd time the oil it spewed out was used to anoint 14 icons ( Taylor 68) At the St. Nicholas Orthodox the statues weeped and kept weeping for 7 months (Taylor 68). In Hanover park on July 1997 on 2420 Glendale Terrace an image of the Virgin Mary appeared from security lights (Taylor 68). Also in the St.George Orthodox the statues were weeping oil during holy week (Taylor 68).
Van Eyck’s work of the Ghent Altarpiece was not simply a representation of symbols that alluded to Christianity. Van Eyck’s vivid sense of the actual world allowed him to be able to reconstruct reality along with its endless limitations. His audience was so extensively involved with his paintings that it may seem almost esoteric. T...
As soon as the main character Richard is introduced into the story line we learn his beliefs about god before we even learn his name. Perhaps Villarreal, even this early, is tiring to show readers that in the Mexican American culture religion, specifically Catholicism, plays an extremely large role. Richard carries his Virgin Mary picture home which he received as a reward for being the first in his age group to learn the catechism protecting it in his handkerchief. The Catholic Church has often rewarded people for their achievements when pertaining to studying their religion in hope that they will encourage them to remain catholic. When I attended catechism I was always rewarded for having perfect attendance. This idea that you will be rewarded for an achievement or attendance may be a way for the church to make sure you are there every Sunday and behaving well. Richard claims that the picture had little value to him but it was a symbol of recognition. Surely he would go home and present it to his mother knowing that it being from the church would mean a lot to her. Many times I would do the same thing with my tokens of recognition, posting them proudly on the refrigerator, not because it was worth anything, but because of the praise I would received for it.
1. Viladesau, Richard. "Counter-Reformation Theology And Art: The Example Of Rubens's Paintings Of The Passion*." Toronto Journal Of Theology 28.1 (2012): 29-42. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.
The Italian Architects of the seventeenth century faced a huge volume of orders to carry out. The most required orders were churches. (Bazin 15) When Urban VIII became pope he asked Bernini to design a baldachino, also known as a canopy, to define the altar area. Bernini built something that was half sculpture and half architecture that had four columns that were very detailed. The columns were designed with spiraling grooves and vines made of bronze. The spiraling and decorative effects were made to symbolize the union of the new and Old Testaments, the vine of the Eucharist climbing the columns of the temple of Solomon. The Eucharist was the Christian ceremony commemorating the Last Supper. The elements of the Ionic and Corinthian orders are at the top of the columns. Angels are along the entablatu...
In March 1996, Ralph Norwood, treasurer of Polaroid Corporation, was asked to consider refinancing proposals from investment bankers of $150 million of debt due to mature in January 1997. Gary DiCamillo, newly appointed CEO of the firm,in reaction to the company's lagging share price, had set forth a new plan to agressively expoit the existing Polaroid brand, introduce product extensions, and enter new emerging markets. Before Norwood can choose a refinancing proposal, he must consider the funding needs of DiCamillo's new corporate strategy and the capital structure which would provide the lowest cost of capital and most financial flexibility. Norwood also needed to consider the maturity structure of debt.
Looking at the painting “The Incredibility of Saint Thomas”, the power seems to lie in the skepticism exhibited by Apostle Thomas. The painter seems interested in Thomas’ doubt at the time he is pushed to the limits to believe about Jesus’ resurrection (Miller, Vandome, & McBrewster, 2010).
According to Exodus 20:4 God tells his chosen people “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.”(KJV). Early Christian theologians took the second commandment very seriously; they thought that images of Christ and God were wrong because they considered them to be idols or graven images; breaking the second commandment. Most Christians, in the early days and now, believe that God has no form, allowing Him to be omnipresent; early theologians believed that making in image of God or Jesus Christ confines Him. According to Justin Martyr in First Apology, ch. IX because earlier cultures used images to have the presence of certain gods around, which would make the Christian God “soulless and dead,” like the gods in the other cultures. Minucius Felix also argues that God is to big to confined into a small temple or shrine, he says in Octavius, ch. XXXII “What temple can I build for him, when the whole uni...
In the Northern European Renaissance lived a scholar by the name of Erasmus. Erasmus was particularly concerned with the corruption going on within the Church. Since he was so intrigued by the abuses of the church, he decided to write an essay titled, “In Praise of Folly”. In this essay, Erasmus describes many different hypocritical actions and thoughts played out by the church. One of these included looking for guidance and intersession through statues, relics, specific prayers, idols, and saints. Erasmus did not this was necessary because it was only distraction someone from finding Jesus. One of the things the church did that Erasmus thought was hypocritical was being a part of Holy Orders. Erasmus saw this at hypocritical because though you were supposed to be humbled and help others, being a part of this typically only made one more self-absorbed. Most of the people in Holy Orders got consumed in the power and wealth received from being in this position, and forgot why they became a part of Holy Orders in the first place. Another issue Erasmus saw within the church had to do with the Pope. The Pope was supposed to be the leader of the church and a complete representation of Christ, yet the Pope was holding huge parties and spending ample amounts of money. Erasmus believed the church needed to reevaluate what it was doing and use the Spirit as guidance and defense instead...
The controversy surrounding the release of The Da Vinci Code created several different reactions from religious people. “Some have taken offense at its religious content” (Reidy 1). The reaction described by Reidy is the most common reaction of those of the Christian faith. Readers more open to the possibility of there being truth in Brown’s novel become huge fans of the book. In Reidy’s article, he q...