You know, I don't mean to poke fun. Really. I'm not the type to do that. (STOP LAUGHING.) And I certainly don't mean any disrespect. But sometimes, well sometimes you just have to say ... "What?"
Like with this statue. I came across it this week.
Now let's make one thing clear. Jesus is my Lord, my King, my Savior, my Hero, my Everything. And I'm positive He held children just like this one in His arms. No doubt. I am not making fun of Jesus or children. I'm not making fun of any person's faith. It's the expression of faith that sometimes makes me cringe.
Having said that ... do you really think Jesus would have given that child a cross to hold? Obviously, this statue of Jesus was pre-crucifixion. There are no nail scars on the hands. No thorn marks on his brow. I kind of doubt that He walked around handing out miniature crosses to children. Actually, I doubt that He met many children with blond hair. Maybe I'm wrong about this and if so I'm sure you all will let me know. Still, I have my doubts. A cross was an instrument of torture and execution and I kind of doubt that the God of love would have tormented children by passing out trinkets of the equivalent of the modern day electric chair or a gurney with an arm rest for your pending lethal injection.
I do like the Lilly's though. That's a nice touch.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Stupid Picture Chronicles #21
Posted by Ron at 5/31/2008 09:23:00 PM
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7 comments:
You're right. This is an odd statue for all of the reasons that you give.
However, I was thinking that maybe this is Joseph holding Jesus. Statues of Joseph are not uncommon in Catholic churches (although he doesn't show up in statue form nearly as often as Mrs. Joseph); the cross in the child's hand would have been there to indicate that the child was Jesus.
Uhhhhhh. Ummmmmm.
Oh. Well then. Never mind.
WAIT! Assuming that you are correct we are left with a Joseph who has hands that look like they've never touched a hammer. And we have a blond haired, blue eyed Jesus. Still kind of problematic for me.
Joseph, huh? And He gave his Son a cross to play with?
I know, it's all artsy and symbolic. I guess I just missed class the day they taught that part.
Oh, and lest I offend my Catholic friends I did not take this picture in a Catholic church. It wasn't in a church at all. I'll leave it at that. :)
is that baby chris in jesus' arms? i'm not surprised. i don't see too many statues of you and jesus.
Your queries remind me of something I read recently:
People continue to suffer from the influence of primitive concepts of God. The gods who go on a rampage in the storm; who shake the earth in their wrath and strike down men in their anger; who inflict their judgments of displeasure in times of famine and flood—these are the gods of primitive religion; they are not the Gods who live and rule the universes. Such concepts are a relic of the times when men supposed that the universe was under the guidance and domination of the whims of such imaginary gods. But mortal man is beginning to realize that he lives in a realm of comparative law and order as far as concerns the administrative policies and conduct of the Supreme Creators and the Supreme Controllers.
The barbarous idea of appeasing Next match an angry God, of propitiating an offended Lord, of winning the favor of Deity through sacrifices and penance and even by the shedding of blood, represents a religion wholly puerile and primitive, a philosophy unworthy of an enlightened age of science and truth. Such beliefs are utterly repulsive to the celestial beings and the divine rulers who serve and reign in the universes. It is an affront to God to believe, hold, or teach that innocent blood must be shed in order to win his favor or to divert the fictitious divine wrath.
The Hebrews believed that " without the shedding of blood there could be no remission of sin. " They had not found deliverance from the old and pagan idea that the Gods could not be Previous match appeased except by the sight of blood, though Moses did make a distinct advance when he forbade human sacrifices and substituted therefor, in the primitive minds of his childlike Bedouin followers, the ceremonial sacrifice of animals.
The bestowal of a Paradise Son on your world was inherent in the situation of closing a planetary age; it was inescapable, and it was not made necessary for the purpose of winning the favor of God. This bestowal also happened to be the final personal act of a Creator Son in the long adventure of earning the experiential sovereignty of his universe. What a travesty upon the infinite character of God! this teaching that his fatherly heart in all its austere coldness and hardness was so untouched by the misfortunes and sorrows of his creatures that his tender mercies were not forthcoming until he saw his blameless Son bleeding and dying upon the cross of Calvary!
But the inhabitants of our planet are to find deliverance from these ancient errors and pagan superstitions respecting the nature of the Universal Father. The revelation of the truth about God is appearing, and the human race is destined to know the Universal Father in all that beauty of character and loveliness of attributes so magnificently portrayed by the Creator Son who sojourned on earth as the Son of Man and the Son of God.
My dear friend, "anonymous." I am afraid we stand at opposite ends of the spectrum in many theological ways. You see, I deeply believe that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. And I believe that God sent His Son, Jesus, to shed that blood. For me. To pay for my sin because, if I were to pay it myself, it would be my eternal demise. Innocent blood was shed for the guilty me. And the guilty you. I will not do you the dishonor of removing your comment You have your right to your opinion. But please consider this. There are "civil laws." If you break the speed limit you get a ticket and have to pay a fine. There are laws of physics. If you step off the top of the Empire State building by just one single inch, the law of gravity takes over and you become an oily spot of grease and bone on the concrete below. And there are also spiritual laws. The wages of sin is death. I did not say it. God's Word says it. I just take Him at His Word. It's an ugly truth. The death of Christ was an ugly death. But it turned beautiful with the realization that He died for losers. Like me. And I am so grateful. I pray that you will realize that. I believe that your eternity depends upon it.
In the meantime, thanks for reading my blog. I will not push my beliefs or my Savior down your throat. Neither will God. But I also will not let your note, which I thank you for, go unanswered. Hope you don't mind but I'll be praying for you.
God bless ...
I don't know if you've seen this site yet. I just came across it today. It seemed like something you might enjoy.
http://www.signspotting.com
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