Which Kingdom?

I came across one of John McNaughton's paintings a few years ago. I found it offensive then....I find it offensive now. Apparently, I am not the only one. If you go to his website, he addresses a laundry list of criticisms about his painting, One Nation Under God. He's gotten complaints from far left, far right and everywhere in between.

Complaints about who is in the painting and who is not. There are not enough minorities represented. Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Payne (who he recognizes as Deists) were included. There are complaints about who is standing where. There are complaints about the quality of the artwork, that he explains too much, says too much and that some of this should be left to the imagination of the viewer.

There is not a lot of ambiguity in the symbolism he uses in the painting. A white and gold robed, glowing Jesus is standing in the middle of the painting, in the forefront, and he is holding the constitution of the United States of America.

Yes, really. Jesus is an American, didn't you know? But He is getting fed up with our liberal nation that has taken prayer out of schools, removed nativity scenes from government property, passed Obamacare and now...now....gays can marry. This nation has gotten on his last nerve. And it has gotten on McNaughton's last nerve too.

I spent an hour or so on McNaughton's website this morning. Many of the paintings are interactive so when you rest your cursor over an image in the painting, a paragraph or so pops up on the right explaining the symbolism and his beliefs. McNaughton is very opinionated.

The opinion that shines through in paintings like Obamanation, One Nation Under Socialism (he's burning the Constitution), The Demise of America (Washington is burning in the background), Wake Up America (Obama is giving a speech and the audience is in chains) is that Obama is a terrible president who is doing irreparable harm to America. Some of the symbolism he employs is oblique and vague. Some of it is in your face right wing propaganda.

A more recent painting, Separation of Church and State, shows Jesus (still glowing) sadly leaving a joint session of Congress to boos and jeers. The flag is ripped from top to bottom. Yep....just like the veil that separated the Most Holy Place in the temple. Below is McNaughton's description and inspiration for the painting from his Facebook page.

Separation of Church and State, by Jon McNaughtonOnce a year, the President of the United States makes a speech to a joint session of Congress, reporting the condition of the nation and outlines the priorities of his administration. It is called, “The State of the Union Address." 

I envisioned Jesus speaking to this joint session where all the leaders of our country are gathered. He looks at them from the pulpit; He pauses, and then begins to address the assembly. 

He reminds them of the covenant which was made with the Founders of our Nation that He would protect and bless us if we would remember Him; and then Jesus opens the Holy Bible to Psalms 33: 12, and reads the verse:“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.” 

At this moment the Chamber erupts into shouts of anger and disgust, as the body of the joint session turns into a hostile mob - reminiscent of the mob that shouted out to Pilate, “Crucify him!” 

Jesus, with a countenance of gentle peace, although saddened by the rejection of his offer, looks across the assembly at the angry mob. He turns and begins to exit the pulpit. The large American flag rips from top to bottom, like the veil of the temple ripped as He hung on the cross and said, “It is finished!” 

A woman, unable to bear His glance holds her face in shame. Words of mockery, angry shouts and venomous threats fill the hall. 

Above the torn flag, engraved in the marble stone of the Congressional Chamber of Congress are the words, “In God We Trust.” Oh, the irony! A shaft of light from the Courts of Heaven shines upon the word “God” as a reminder of whom they have rejected. O, America – why have you abandoned the rock from whence you were hewn! 

As Jesus exits this unholy chamber he turns to gaze at you, the viewer of this painting, and asks the question, “What will YOU do now?” 

The painting is meant to be a symbol of our government’s abandonment of God and His Covenant; for surely, He has not abandoned us, but we have abandoned Him.

This is all kinds of messed up. Mixing and matching patriotism with the kingdom Jesus revealed is like mixing oil and water. News flash...The United States of America is a kingdom of the WORLD, a political system. Jesus' kingdom is an entirely different place/realm/reality. Mixing His spiritual kingdom with a political system bastardizes it.

“I believe a significant segment of American evangelicalism is guilty of nationalistic and political idolatry.” Greg Boyd, The Myth of a Christian Nation

Idolotry, indeed. We all have our idols that we hold near and dear. But there is hope for all of us....because buried within everyone is that "hole in every heart" that longs for the kingdom. THE kingdom. Not the kingdoms of the world....not political regimes or totalitarian governments, not democracies, theocracies, republics....but THE kingdom that Jesus came to model, proclaim and establish. The one he calls us to live in.

Another one of McNaughton's paintings caught my eye. It is called Peace is Coming. It was inspired by Isaiah 2:4 that reads, "They shall turn their swords into plowshares…neither shall they learn of war anymore." 

Again there is a white and gold robed, glowing Jesus standing front and center on cobblestones. The background is dark....like a lot of McNaughton's paintings. Jesus is surrounded on both sides by kneeling soldiers and warriors. They are from every era and country. There is a Roman Centurion, a WWII Pilot, a Union soldier, an Egyptian soldier, a Knight, a Conquistador, a Viking, a Spartan, a Samari, a Palestinian.....

And they are all bowing, relief and awe on their faces, hands over hearts, overwhelmed with emotions.. every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Check out McNaughton's website...HERE.

Bucket List? Phucket List?

I came upon a post this morning…long after I should have been in (and back out of) the shower…on The Naked Pastor. It was buried within the feeds from the (way too) many blogs that live in my google reader account. 

The blog is called…The Naked Pastor..and is owned and operated by David Hayward.  The post was called The Phucket List.  Yep…a play on words…a sort of round about phonetic spelling…enabling him to say a word without really saying it…although we know exactly the word he is sort of saying.  Very clever.

The post was inspired by the movie, Bucket List.  We all have a Bucket List….things we want to do before we die…and I suspect we all have a Phucket List too…or we should.  In the bucket…stuff that, upon first glance, seems totally pertinent and important but upon further pondering and evaluation actually isn’t…and so it should go live in the Phucket Bucket. 

Check out the post.  Check out the blog.  He’s also an artist/cartoonist and his cartoons are sure to bring a wry smile to your face.  And give some thought today to what’s in your phucket bucket….what it should be filled with….and what it shouldn’t. 

Freedom From the Fear of Death….

Cruising here and there….this Mother’s Day….virtually speaking that is.  In “real time” I haven’t left the house all weekend…’cept a quick trip to McD’s this morning with Keith. My kids came to me for Mother’s Day lunch…bearing Chinese food from Wing Wah.  It was nice having them all under my roof….sitting at my table…just like old times.  Just like the meals of yesteryear….

With one notable exception, though.  NOBODY WAS FIGHTING.  The older they get, the more they seem to like each other. 

So today when I was surfing, I came upon a sermon about Good Friday (Yes, I know that was for Easter...which…yes, I know was a couple of weeks ago…but it’s that day late/dollar short thing again) The following snippet of a painting was used for an illustration in the sermon.  It obviously depicts the hand of Christ after the crucifixion.  The discoloration is what captured my attention.

I’ve seen many depictions of Jesus after the crucifixion.  His hands always have rather neat, sanitary looking wounds….like something that might have been caused by a ten penny nail or a big tack…and they are usually lily white. Yet, it was something more akin to a railroad tie that crushed his hands. There would have been bruising before death. There would have been discoloration after death. The picture is mesmerizing. 

Below is a small thumbnail of the whole painting.  Landscape view.  Like peering into a coffin.  Like looking at a corpse.  Because Jesus was a corpse.  Dead as the proverbial doornail.  This picture…for me anyway…drives that point home. 

This picture haunted the famous Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky after he saw it in a museum.  He put his thoughts about it in the mouth of one of the characters in his novel “The Idiot”.

“A man could even lose his faith from that painting.”

and

When you look at the corpse of this tortured man, a particular and curious question arises: if all his disciples, his chief future apostles, if the women who followed him and stood by the cross, if all those who believed in him and worshipped him had seen a corpse like that…how could they believe, looking at such a corpse, that this sufferer would resurrect?

But that is exactly the point. They didn’t think he would resurrect. He was dead.  He was a corpse.  We’ve all peered into a coffin and looked a corpse in the face wondering where they were.  IF they were.  As in…is there life after death or is this all there is?  Even the most devout Christians wonder sometimes. That was part of the reason Jesus came and lived….and died as one of us. As the Son of Man.  He showed us that death is not the end.  Hebrews 2

14Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God.

Death where is your victory?  Where is your sting?

The Harrowing of Hell

I haven’t forgotten that I have a “part 2” to write in the post birthed from reading the article “What Jesus Did Do” but….running late this a.m. and I have the following post all set to go…living in the queue at blogger. 

I found a post “stub” (as wikipedia refers to incomplete articles on their site) that has been gathering dust for quite a while in my Evernote files. I found it today while poking around in my “database.” With all the talk about Rob Bell recently and the “is he or isn’t he?” debate…I thought it might be a good time to dust the cobwebs off of this and actually post it. 

During the time consuming and tedious process of "migrating" my blogs out of the new Bloglines, (“new” meaning not nearly as good as the old bloglines and now, a really crappy RSS reader) and saving them all in Google Reader… I came across many blogs I’ve earmarked over the past few years. One of these was

λογοι  Words on existence 

Not sure of the pronunciation of the title…but an interesting blog. And an interesting quote from an interesting post about universalism from that blog….

I’m not a universalist, but I hope God is.

This is a sentiment I have heard and been tantalized by since I was old enough to understand what grace is.

I had a youth leader growing up who once described his hope for Christian Universalism by saying, “Maybe when we get to heaven, God looks to hell, looks back at everyone around him, and says with a huge smile on his face, ‘Let’s go get ‘em!’”

Sort of what scripture declares Jesus already did when he descended into hell to preach the Gospel to the souls in prison?  (1Peter 3:19–20 and 1Peter 4:6) He does hold the keys after all…the keys to death and hell. 

 

 

According to Wikipedia, Jesus’ descent into hell is often referred to as the “harrowing of hell.”  Different faith traditions view it differently. (Surprise!!) It is included in two creeds…The Athanasian Creed and the Apostles Creed.  Some denominations omit or alter the “descended into hell” clause.  The Methodists for instances, render it:

was crucified, dead, and buried. 

Catholics -

was crucified, died, and was buried.  He descended to the dead

But the Orthodox celebrate it.  For them it dwarfs the significance of the empty tomb.  Easter is celebrated by the icons that depict Jesus’ descent into hell. From Wiki:

The icon shows Jesus, vested in white and gold to symbolize his divine majesty, standing on the brazen gates of Hades (also called the "Doors of Death"), which are broken and have fallen in the form of a cross, illustrating the belief that by his death on the cross, Jesus trampled down death. He is holding Adam and Eve and pulling them up out of Hades. Traditionally, he is not shown holding them by the hands, but by their wrists, to illustrate the theological teaching that mankind could not pull himself out of his ancestral sin, but that it could come about only by the work (energia) of God. Jesus is surrounded by various righteous figures from the Old Testament (Abraham, David, etc.); the bottom of the icon depicts Hades as a chasm of darkness, often with various pieces of broken locks and chains strewn about. Quite frequently, one or two figures are shown in the darkness, bound in chains, who are generally identified as personifications of Death and/or the Devil.

 

The Orthodox view is intriguing, reflecting the Christus Victor view of the atonement…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

              The gates of hell will not prevail (Matthew 16:18)

More From Jack E. Dawson

I mentioned that I was going to post a bit more about Jack E. Dawson’s artwork…but even though we are on vacation, time seems to be slipping away very quickly. I am posting two pictures I liked a lot…check out his website if you like paintings like this….

           Decision by Jack Dawson

 

             Wise Men Still Seek Him

Jesus and the American Flag….

We spent the day yesterday…and last night in Pigeon Forge.  For some reason, the Parkway reminded me a bit of the strip in Las Vegas.  So many motels/hotels (many with dirt cheap rates) restaurants, shops, and shows. It was my first visit to Pigeon Forge….Keith’s second.  He was there years ago.  We had a great time.  We saw a magic show in the afternoon….and then went to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat last night.  Both were very professional and entertaining.  Lunch at O’Charlies, a late….very late….dinner at IHOP…a walk down the strip in between shows…high point of which was a quick stop at Starbuck’s where it was our lucky day!  It was free breakfast pastry day….which included cookies! (My kids always tried to tell me cookies were a suitable choice for breakfast :)  A chocolate chunk cookie was exactly what I had in mind when we stopped there.

We also happened into an art studio that featured Thomas Kincade’s artwork…and a few other similar (copy cat?) artists whose paintings also appeared to be “illuminated.” I love Thomas Kincade’s work..and have a print of the Sweetheart Cottage hanging above the couch in our living room. 

The paintings of an artist by the name of Jack E Dawson were also on display.  Keith pointed out one particular painting entitled

       “If My People” 

                  by Jack E. Dawson

 

 

As you can see, the painting is a close up depicting someone mending a torn and tattered, bullet ridden American flag.  At first I thought it might be Betsy Ross but the clothing, while it looks like something from the Revolutionary War era, is obviously men’s clothing.  Scratch Betsy.  One of the hands in the painting is holding a needle with crimson thread.  The other hand? Can you see the hint of a wound….partially hidden by the sleeve on the other hand?  A nail print? Yes, it is indeed a nail print. This painting depicts Jesus mending the American flag.

There is detailed information about the symbols and images (twin towers, fetus, man in prayer, demon) hidden in the painting at Dawson’s Bitter Sweet Gallery website.  

I mentioned offhandedly that I didn’t think spirituality should be intertwined with patriotism.  Keith remarked that he didn’t know how you can separate the two.  We discussed it a bit more as we hoofed it up and down the strip.  Can you separate the two?  Should you separate the two?  Was this nation really founded on Christian principles?

Then….before leaving Pigeon Forge, we hit a discount book store.  And I picked up several books that deal with these very questions…

Shane Clairborne’s “Jesus For President” and “Irresistible Revolution”

Brian McLaren’s “Everything Must Change.”

And I had Greg Boyd’s “The Myth of a Christian Nation” in my pile….but ended up putting it back.  I (really) like what Boyd has to say but my stack was getting higher and higher (also bought McLaren’s “A Search For What Makes Sense” and the “Furious Pursuit Workbook” which was only 99 cents)

So…..with this painting fresh in my mind, several discussions with Keith…..and my stack of left wing reading material….. a series (at least theoretically) is born.  Musing about this melding, intertwining of politics and spirituality….specifically US politics and Christianity.  I’ve written about this topic on my blog before……HERE.  So another idea rattling around in the churner….

But in my next post, I am going to write a bit about Jack E. Dawson’s other artwork….which I really like.  It is ripe with symbolism and exemplifies how a picture can be worth a thousand words…..

On ALL People....

Dena posted an article this morning on EU. Adam, Eve, Original Sin and Mythology. It is written by Dennis Diehl and focuses on how a literal interpretation of the Creation Story(s) in Genesis promote a patriarchal society/ religion/ mind set. Thus there are laws and rules and total unpleasantries (especially for women) that are required to keep that system in place and running smoothly.

I have never really given a lot of thought to misogyny...the disdain for women....or its sister, gynophobia...the fear of women. I know this is very real and that in many parts of the world women are abused, mistreated, tortured and killed at the hands of men. Honor killings etc. I am not making light of any of this, however it is not the focus of this post.

When I am reading something, quotes jump out at me, and get the creaky wheels in the noggin' moving in a direction not necessarily related to the gist of what I am reading. Several phrases caught my attention this morning as I read this but for the purpose of this post, I am going to focus on one of them....

This is what literalist Christianity does to people. Literalist, Patriarchal Christianity thrives on division. If it has no enemy, it has no purpose or motivation. There can be no "we only" without a "not them". There can be no "chosen" without the "unchosen" . There can be no "converted" without "the unconverted". And certainly no "true church" without the "false church".

Wow...talk about the classic trick of the egoic mind. It is strengthened by finding an "other." Its concept of "me" is bolstered when it forms the concept of "you." And it works so much better when the "me" can find a reason to make the "you" an enemy. Christianity...as in evangelical, right wing Christianity (the kind we hear in the rhetoric of Pat Robertson, Ann Coulter, James Dobson) is exclusionary and always, always has an "other." It needs an enemy to rail against...someone/something to hate...to damn to hell. Muslims, left wing Democrats, homosexuals.

Evangelical, right wing Christians are the guys holding the rocks...while Jesus, their namesake, their "reason for the season"...the one whom their religion is supposedly all about...well, he's the one squatting down, writing in the sand saying those who have no sin should be the ones to make that first pitch.

Jacques Ellul said people try to take possession of God. Christians especially try to take possession of God. But he refuses to be confined in the box they keep trying to stuff him into. God loves all of his children.

Do you really think, as some have argued, that God will be saying: "You know, that guy, the Dalai Lama, is not bad. What a pity he's not a Christian"? I don't think that is the case — because, you see, God is not a Christian. —Desmond Tutu

The following photo from Loci Lena's photo stream on Flickr fits well with the musings in this post. It is part of an extensive collection of stained glass photos that you really should take a few minutes to check out.

God said he would pour out his spirit upon all people. And he is doing just that....whether we like it or not.

Questions and Answers....

A while back I came across  an e-book  produced  by  a very popular blogger by the name of Seth Godin.   He has several blogs and web pages (including lenses on Squiddo) and has also authored quite a few books...including the e-book that contains the article...that contains the idea...for this post (and for at least one other post yet to come) The book is called What Matters Now.  Kind of an eclectic grouping of quotes, short (very short) articles and blog posts about a range of topics from a variety of authors.  Be sure to check it out. 

The article that caught my eye and birthed this post was about how web communication has changed...well...changed communication.  But not just communication. It has also changed the way we search for answers...for truth...for knowledge.  It has given us answers...but sometimes conflicting answers. It has given us questions without definitive answers...and plenty of questions, too. We may end up with more questions than when we started looking for answers. That can be a good thing.    

The article mentions how, in times past, we mainly looked for our answers in books.  And we found answers in books.  But many of our questions don't have just one definitive answer. Oh sure.... algebraic equations or scientific formulas may have just one answer but there are an unlimited number of questions that do not. Like questions pertaining to theology and philosophy, baking, abortion, politics...morality...art. 

Yep, for sure, art. A trip to the Carnegie Art Museum a few summers ago confirmed that art, like beauty, is definitely in the eye of the beholder. There is no carved in stone criteria for what is and what isn't art. 

So books provide answers but answers that are filtered through the viewpoint of the author.  Answers that are many times one sided and single dimensional. 

But alas...the Internet...with its message boards....blogs....google (especially google)...has changed the way we search for information.  As the article points out,

A hyperlinked world...the Web....is made for this way of networked knowing.  A hyperlinked world includes all the differences and disagreements, and connects them to one another.  We are all smarter for having these differences only a click away. 

The challenge now is to learn how to evaluate, incorporate, respect, and learn from them.  If we only listen to those who are like us, we will squander the great opportunity before us: To live together peacefully in a world of unresolved differences. 

Yes, that is the challenge.  THE challenge.  One needs only to join a yahoo e-list to realize that we aren't there yet. THE challenge looms in front of us.

My quest for answers on the Internet changed my life. It continues to change my life. It has inspired my spiritual growth to travel along at warp speed.  While searching for answers, I just so happened to find my husband on Tentmaker, a UR message board.  I have found friends online who have embedded themselves in my heart as deeply (if not deeper) than the people I interact with every day..in real life.  (hi annie!!)  And I have found people with opinions I vehemently disagree with.  Sometimes I'm not all that crazy about the people who hold those opinions, yet I try to interact and disagree agreeably. 

Perhaps some of the answers we find online have little to do with the questions we start out with or the topic at hand.  Perhaps the answers we find have more to do with tolerance and respect and reigning in those emotional responses and learning  "to live together peacefully in a world of unresolved differences." 

Christ of the Abyss...

This morning, via a message board for bloggers called Authority Blogger, I happened upon a blog....Adam Snider - Writer For Hire.  The author is based in Edmonton, posts on Authority Blogger and has written a Christmas post entitled, Taking Christ Out of Christmas, from the perspective of someone who is not Christian...yet not at all militant about it.  Check it out.

The picture he used to illustrate his post is rather...ahhh....eery?  At first glance, I thought it was a mountain like structure somewhere. A religious Mount Rushmore of sorts.....picture taken from afar...and that the bits of green were actually patches of wild brush.  When I investigated the photo, it turns out that it is actually a submerged statue of Jesus called Christ of the Abyss.  As I look at it a bit more closely I can see that it is obviously not a mountain sculpture. Duh.  The thought that this is submerged is really kind of eery...or is it?  Any thoughts? 

And giving credit where credit is due, this photo was taken by vgm8383 and resides on Flickr.

There are three well known casts of this statue in various underwater places plus other casts in lesser known locations above and below the waterline.  There is  more info on the statue\...where else...Wikipedia.   

 

And below another pic from the State Library and Archives of Florida

 

Focusing Our Hearts and Minds

annie posted the following quote...written by Henri Nouwen on EU a while back...
Focusing Our Minds and Hearts
How can we stay in solitude when we feel that deep urge to be distracted by people and events? The most simple way is to focus our minds and hearts on a word or picture that reminds us of God. By repeating quietly: "The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want," or by gazing lovingly at an icon of Jesus, we can bring our restless minds to some rest and experience a gentle divine presence. This doesn't happen overnight. It asks a faithful practice. But when we spend a few moments every day just being with God, our endless distractions will gradually disappear.

What I took note of was the mention of "gazing lovingly at an icon of Jesus." This is so similar to the excerpts I posted from Frank Laubach's,"The Game of Minutes" ...where he makes similar suggestions. Frank talks about using icons of Jesus....pictures...imagining him walking beside us...."including him" in our conversations. 

I wrote quite a bit about Frank Laubach a month or so ago.  Although "The Game" seems to be a frivolous title, this man very much walked the path of the mystics....but was never so metaphysical that he was (as annie says) of no earthly use.  He was a Christian missionary to the Philippines and founded (through adversity) a reading system called "Each One Teach One" and worked for worldwide literacy his entire life.  He has several books and one (available on line) is called "Letters By a Modern Day Mystic" which chronicles his year in the Philippines.  He was alone because his wife and one remaining son, Robert, were in the States while Robert regained his health.  He and his wife lost three of their children to malaria.

During this time, he tried to devote his every waking moment to communion with God....while continuing to work his butt off doing his missionary duties.  The results amazed even him.  It seemed almost hokey when I first read it...almost the antithesis of the "spiritual path".....more akin to something you might hear on the 700 Club....yet here is Henri Nouwen saying the same thing!!

This also reminds me of an artist I came across a few years ago.  I don't think I've posted anything about him here on this blog but I was immediately drawn to his work. His name is Nathan Greene. His art depicts every day scenes with everyday people in every day situations....with one exception....Jesus is visible in the pictures.  Sort of a visual of Laubach's suggestion of imagining Jesus walking beside us...imagining him sitting in on our conversations with others, etc. etc. Check out his website....which has many, many inspirational pictures under headings such as

Family

Scripture

Professional

Kingdom

This post is intended as an (re)introduction to a series of posts on every day mysticism. I wrote quite a bit about mystics but then got distracted and wrote about other assorted, varied and diverse topics. I have a few posts planned...actually written down on an outline of sorts.  That is something new since I usually fly by the seat of my pants as far as what I write about.  I doubt if the "but I digress" posts will stop popping up here and there...but I think God just might plant those out of nowhere ideas for impromptu posts in my head for my edification and my education.  Perhaps I pass a bit of that along as I write. I learn so much in my internet "research."

Well, today is a busy day..and as much as I would like to sit here on the couch, laptop perched on my lap...surfing endlessly...writing and reading and pondering...real life calls me.  Have a great Saturday!!!

Jesus?

It doesn't seem like it was 2002 when "Jesus" appeared on the cover of Popular Mechanics.  I vaguely remember seeing this picture on TV...based on the work of a forensic anthropologist named Richard Neave.  I came across it again while looking for pictures of the Last Supper for my last post.

I've looked at this picture of Jesus for a long time...thinking about him at the Tomb of Lazarus, with the demoniac, and the cripple at the pool at Bethesda, writing in the sand, sitting by the well.  I kind of like this Jesus. 

Of course, it is not an actual depiction of him...but rather...similar to what he probably looked like, based on the appearance of other men in that same time period, a typical Galilean Semite....who was probably about 5'1" tall and weighted about 110 pounds. Perhaps Jesus was a little guy?  I'm not sure how I feel about a Jesus that is smaller than me.  Which is the title of an article I came across on Dad's Day Off - Non Orthodox Biblical Christian Truth. (Interesting site)

Are You Prepared To Bow Down
Before This 5' 1" Man
As Your Lord?

 

If Jesus did look a lot like this (and I think he did) it does go to show that God does not need a glamorous vessel in which to house the fullness of his spirit.  It says in Hebrews that Jesus was like us in every way.  Nothing spectacular on the outside...nothing to differentiate him from all the other disciples (isn't that why Judas had to point him out to the Roman soldiers?  Because his appearance was strikingly similar to the rest of the disciples?) When I think about Jesus, I'm going to conjure up this image in my mind.  He looks real to me.  Familiar....just like one of us. 

 

Artwork of the Last Supper (and other basically unrelated web travels and life tales....)

"But I digress" would be a good title for this post.  First of all, in the original post, the introduction strayed from the main topic, meandereing here and there before getting to the point.  In other words, making "a short story long."  

And now I am going to further digress by mentioning that we are in downtown San Antonio..at a Red Roof Inn.  We spent the day here yesterday (first time for me) checking out the Alamo, the Riverwalk (wow...that is so nice) and taking the trolleys here and there to get an overview of the city.  Besides that...everyone was so friendly.  Several times, when we were looking a bit disoriented, the "guides" who wander around downtown offered their help without us even asking.  Several times, passersby overheard our conversations and extended their knowledge of the city.  So friendly!! I was impressed!! 

Today we are hoping to meet up with several people we know from our online life.  And so....since Keith wants to get on with the day, I am going to post something I have in the queue...having nothing to do with the Christmind etc. which is what I have been pondering and musing about lately....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It started out by reading a post from one of the lists about babies in hell…and the utter delight of the saints (the ones who make it to “heaven”) at the plight (and sight) of those who did not make it being tormented in hell. This includes relatives…mother, father, children. After all they deserve it….

I specifically remembered a quote by John Calvin that went something like…there will be babies a span long in hell….and another about the bliss of the saints as they watch the torture of the damned. So I googled it…and the first link took me to a well known, oft visited site called Religious Tolerance. (Great site) and I started clicking around a bit…ending up at the list of reader’s essays. One caught my eye….an essay written about a site dedicated to artwork and writings depicting a gay Jesus. I include the link…but be forwarned..there are some graphic images and links to sites with even more graphic images....some depicting Jesus in ways that kind of make me uncomfortable. 

Some of the links led to sites similar to the gay Jesus theme…some focused more on lesbians….one site had artwork of a black Jesus…and holy family and other related paintings which broadened my horizons concerning how Jesus might have looked. Very interesting site…worth a visit. But there were two sites that stood out.

The first site, which I intend to write about in my next post, was a medical anthropologist's scientific re-creation of the face of Christ. I vaguely remember this being in the news a while back, but I didn’t pay much attention to it. More about that…and my thoughts about it…in a yet to come (hopefully tomorrow) post.

The second site that captured my attention (in a good way…not in a squeamish kind of “that borders on blasphemy” way) had a picture of the Last Supper…painted from an historical perspective. How it would have really been at the last supper…with women and children there. Does is say anywhere is scripture that there were not women and children there? Scripture focuses on the disciples, of course, but perhaps the women and children were simply not mentioned? I don’t know…but something to ponder. The painting is by Bohdan Piasecki

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I came across some other really interesting artist depictions of the Last Supper….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By El Greco

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Anthony Falbo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the Rolin Kocsis studio

 

 

I don't have the artist's name for this one.  Anybody know?

These pictures enlarge my thoughts about the Last Supper...

Forgiven by Thomas Blackshear

Sue said: I love the print of 'Forgiveness' you have on your site. Every time I come here and look at it, it drips into my soul :)

Mwah to you.

Mwah to you too, Sue. What does that mean by the way? :)

The first time I came upon this painting by Thomas Blackshear, I was in a Christian book store in Nashville. I had not been a Christian very long at all...but the picture spoke volumes to me. I was so ignorant of scripture and theology but one does not need a thorough understanding of either to be impacted by this print. My kids, with the suggestion (and financial support) from their dad got me this picture for Mother's Day that year. A few years later, Keith, before he actually moved here and knew what artwork I had hanging on my wall, also got me the same picture for Christmas. So I have two of them...one in my bedroom and the other in my dining room.

Thomas Blackshear Online has a lot of his work...which is not just limited to Christian art.
Check out his biography too. And also the Forgiven Video Card at DaySpring.

Truly a painting inspired from the heart of the Father and as the Amplified declares "It was God [personally present] in Christ reconcilling the world unto himself.....not imputing their trespasses against them.