Is it okay to imagine God?
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I don't know but I do find this interesting. In Romanist imagry Christ is almost always pictured hanging on the cross. In Protestant imagry the cross is nearly always empty.
I find that very illustrative. The implication for the Catholic being Christ is not done atoning for sin (ergo Confession, Pennance, Transubstantiation, etc). The Protestant doctrine reflected that Christ paid it all on the Cross and His resurrection is our surety against having to either sacrifice Him again and again (Transubstantiation) or pay for our own sins (Pennance and the Treasury of Merit).
I find that very illustrative. The implication for the Catholic being Christ is not done atoning for sin (ergo Confession, Pennance, Transubstantiation, etc). The Protestant doctrine reflected that Christ paid it all on the Cross and His resurrection is our surety against having to either sacrifice Him again and again (Transubstantiation) or pay for our own sins (Pennance and the Treasury of Merit).
aspen
“"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few
Christ is finished atoning for our sins. Catholics use crucifixes to illustrate the sacrifice Christ made for us. We use an empty cross or a cross with Christ rising off it to show a resurrected Christ.
Well here is a good one. Once when we first visited a (conservative) Anglican Church, which is supposed to be a hybrid between Rome and Lutheran, our daughter exlclaimed, "Why is Jesus wearing clothes upon the cross?". The answer was something like it is portraying Jesus as Victor, risen...accomplished through the cross.
As a protestant, I have no qualms against crucifixes, they do placard Christ and Him crucified. As a matter of fact if the good 'ol USA comes down to outlawing crosses in public, I'll just have to go out and find the largest cross/crucifix to wear.
As a protestant, I have no qualms against crucifixes, they do placard Christ and Him crucified. As a matter of fact if the good 'ol USA comes down to outlawing crosses in public, I'll just have to go out and find the largest cross/crucifix to wear.
I occasionally find my mind wandering to the Americanized image of Jesus, in prayer. It's annoying because it's almost like trying to un-brand yourself after having been branded, but I just focus more on what I'm saying and it goes away. I don't actually try to do it though.
I wouldn't think imagination is a sin, but the desire fueling it could be.
I wouldn't think imagination is a sin, but the desire fueling it could be.
God knows that we cannot see Him and he has given us vivid imaginations. Hiw very own children are not doing anything wrong when they try to envision Him. In fact, I expect that whatever I imagine is something Holy Spirit has implanted. It's all good.
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