Are Images of Jesus Idolatry? The 2nd Commandment Debate
Summary
The /r/christians community is currently engaged in a thoughtful discussion regarding the 2nd Commandment and the use of religious imagery. This thread explores whether depictions of the triune God constitute idolatry or serve as helpful reminders of faith. By examining the historical context of the law versus living by the Spirit, members are debating how modern believers can exercise wisdom and discernment in an image-saturated world.
Reading a book that outlines images of the triune God as a violation of the 2nd commandment. What are everyone’s thoughts? I provided an article that talks about it a bit.
https://cameronshaffer.com/2020/04/26/packer-on-images-in-knowing-god/
Nowadays believers are wise enough to discern what makes an image a picture that helps reminds us about Christ.
And what makes an image that is meant to replace Christ.
Back then an image of Christ or of God meant that someone would worship that in place of God as like an idol of other religion.
The Ten Commandments then were written in such a way that it specifically serves Israel in understanding God’s law in reference to the society around. The 2nd commandment bears significance in helping the Jewish nation to know that foreign gentiles are doing something that is considered a sin. The golden calf serves as a clear indicator of what that means to God’s people as a clear representation of what the second commandment is about.
Images are a bad representation of who God is. And God being a great image creator has already created us in his image. So God’s ways are simple… he has created his images and he wants us to love him by loving the ones around us.
So to honor and worship God is to also love the images of him he has created. Not to worship the images of God but to love in the manner God wants us to
Images that seems to look like the divine nowadays serves as a representation of a picture that helps us to remember the things of God and does not necessarily means sin by itself.
There’s a reason why the commandments are called letters of the law and since we do not live by the letter but by the Spirit we know that these things serve its purpose and intention to help us grow in the knowledge of God and does not lead us to sin. Humanity under grace grows in wisdom and discernment especially in a more educated world we no longer live by the letter but rather we know that By God’s wisdom we use even these images to serve God and make him known
We are wise enough to discern, but our brains are not always strong enough to do so. I had people in church comment that when they pray, Jonathan Roumie couldnt be helped but come to their head due to watching the Chosen so much. Or other examples where a crucifix necklace turns more into a “good luck charm” then anything else. Though we can discern its difficult if not impossible to remove these things from out subconscious
And though that is the initiation of the 2nd commandment it of course does not die, or have no bearing on todays world. Every commandment is still to be observed
The Ten Commandments is rudimentary, if we were to keep the Ten Commandments to the depth of its detail every Christian must rest strictly on a Jewish sabbath
Because the sabbath speaks of a Jewish sabbath under the law of Moses and not the lord’s day — a Sunday
We are no longer operating on the level of the Ten Commandments but rather The Spirit of the law is higher than that. We are “observing” the Ten Commandments by operating in The Spirit
Yes but to keep them is good. One wouldnt say that that we just observe not murdering. We actually are bound to do so. Same thing with the worship of others deities
