“Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure…”
Dt. 4:15-16
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Order of Contents
Articles 2
Divine Persons: Lamb, Dove, etc. 2
Burning Bush 1
Symbols 2
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Articles
1500’s
Willet, Andrew – p. 349 of ‘Whether it be Lawful to Have the Images of the Trinity, of Christ, or of the Angels’ in Synopsis Papismi (London, 1592), Controversies Concerning the Church Triumphant, 9th Controversy: concerning Saints Departed, 2nd Part, 5th Question, Part 1, Second Article
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2000’s
Barth, Paul – ‘Three Reasons Why Images of God are Idolatrous’ (2016) 10 paragraphs
The three principles are:
1. There are two parts in the second commandment: Do not make an image and do not worship it.
2. When the first part of the commandment is broken, the second is broken as well.
3. God is Spirit and cannot be imaged; it is an ontological impossibility and therefore sinful to attempt.
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Contra Making Images of the Persons of God by Means of a Lamb, Dove, etc.
Quotes
The Irish Articles (1615)
“53. All manner of expressing God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost in an outward form, is utterly unlawful; as also all other images devised or made by man to the use of religion.”
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James Durham
An Exposition of the Ten Commandments… (London, 1675), 1st Commandment, p. 56
“2. All representing of the Persons as distinct, as to set out the Father (personally considered) by the image of an old man, as if He were a creature, the Son under the image of a lamb or young man, the Holy Ghost under the image of a dove, all which wrongs the Godhead exceedingly…
Again, as to what may be objected from the Lord’s appearing sometimes in the likeness of a man, or the Spirit’s descending as a dove, or as cloven tongues of fire: It is answered:
1. There is a great difference betwixt a sign of the Spirit’s presence, and a representation of the Spirit.
2. Betwixt what represents the Spirit, as He is one of the Persons of the Blessed Trinity, and what resembles some gift of his: The similitude of a dove descending upon Christ was to show his taking up his residence in Him, and furnishing Him with gifts and graces, and particularly holy simplicity and meekness without measure, and so his appearing in cloven tongues was to show his communicating the gift of tongues to the apostles.
3. Neither is there any warrant for drawing Him in these shapes, more than to look on every living dove, as representing Him: and the like may be said of God’s appearing sometimes in human likeness, it was but that men might have some visible help to discern something of God’s presence, but not to give any representation of Him, and these bodies were but for a time assumed, as a praelude and forerunning evidence of the Son’s being to become man.”
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Article
1600’s
Davenant, John – p. 336 of Question 21, ‘The Church of Rome an Apostate Church’ in The Determinations, or Resolutions of Certain Theological Questions, Publicly Discussed in the University of Cambridge trans. Josiah Allport (1634; 1846) bound at the end of John Davenant, A Treatise on Justification, or the Disputatio de Justitia... trans. Josiah Allport (1631; London, 1846), vol. 2
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On the Image of the Burning Bush
Denlinger, Aaron – ‘The Symbol of the Burning Bush in Church History’ in ed. R.C. Sproul, The Reformation Study Bible
Before the Reformation Romanists had used the burning bush (Ex. 3:1-9) with respect to Mary. The image of the burning bush was notably commented on by Calvin in his commentary on Acts 7, verses 30 & 32. It began being used as a seal after the Reformation in 1583 by the French Reformed Church. It has rightly been held to symbolize both the Church’s perseverance under trials and God’s presence with his people.
It began to be used, notably, in the Church of Scotland as a seal only in 1690. The previous covenanters did not use it, which practice we believe is right insofar as exegetically the burning bush represents both God and his Church.
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Contra Symbols of God
Intro
While many persons who consider pictorial images of God to be wrong, yet allow symbols of God or the Trinity, such as appear on many Bibles and hymnals. Yet such a visual, representative symbol stands for God, and hence is an image which represents Him, and that contrary to his nature.
It might be objected that the word ‘God’ also represents God. Yet God chose to reveal Himself by words, or names, in Scripture. Such words and lettering, of themselves, are arbitrary, whether this word or that word is or is not used as a name for God; other words or names could so be used. The letters of the words are purely civil, having no religious significance of themselves. Even their arrangement is arbitrary in that they could equally be arranged another way and still be made to stand for God. Hence using words of alphabetical letters is truly an indifferent and purely civil way of referring to God.
Symbols of God and the Trinity, however, are not so. They visually picture God, denoting characteristics about God, and are often not used otherwise. If they are used for other indifferent things, yet when they are used of God, which is clear by the context, they visually portray certain characteristics about God. Hence the symbol itself is religious or has taken on a religious character. If a person changes the symbol, it may no longer represent God, it not maintaining the visual analogy to God. Such symbols refer to God alone, are not purely from an indifferent civil usage, and are a religious image of God forbidden by the 2nd Commandment.
Some who agree thus far will yet allow a teacher to illustrate concepts by sketching something respresenting God on the chalkboard. Not only is this unnecessary (words are sufficient, which He has given for the purpose), but the symbol, as it were, delineates and circumscribes God, whereas God is infinite and cannot be delineated or circumscribed, nor be in a limited spatial relation to other things, as He is everywhere, the first being and cause of all things, etc.
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“Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure…”
Dt. 4:15-16
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Quotes
The Irish Articles (1615)
“53. All manner of expressing God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost in an outward form, is utterly unlawful; as also all other images devised or made by man to the use of religion.”
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James Durham
An Exposition of the Ten Commandments… (London, 1675), 2nd Commandment
p. 55
“Therefore upon these grounds, 1. We simply condemn any delineating of God, or the Godhead, or Trinity, such as some have upon their buildings, or books, like a sun shining with beams and the Lord’s Name, Jehova, in it, or any other way, this is most abominable to see, and a heinous wronging of God’s Majesty.”
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pp. 67-68
“1. When by some visible sign, representation, or image, the Godhead is wronged as being thereby made like to it; this is against Dt. 4:15-17, etc. where every image made to represent the true God, is condemned as unsuitable to Him.”
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