Why don't we have more artwork representing the Christian God (i.e. the Father)?

[Nada]

No, image of the father, means that that is what G-d looks like. It isn't like a directional thing, ie G-d-->Jesus. It is rather, G-d==Jesus. The wording makes it appear to be saying that Jesus resembles the father, as a son would, but son and father are metaphor, not literal. That is why Jesus and G-d, are both titled 'G-d'. The entire idea of Jewish people randomly calling each other 'G-d', is fictional. It's an incorrect interpretation from other passages. It doesn't even hold up to textual analysis.
But, I think I will leave that as it is, no use arguing about this.

No arguing.Just discussion.

God does not have human physical features.He is a spirit form.Spirits are not humans.They are invisible entities.

 

[Katzpur]

It matters not what you and I think about it.What matters is what is stated in the holy scriptures.It is very clear for those who can see.

Yes it is, and yet we all seem to interpret those scriptures differently.

Ps.This forum is not set up so that we can all agree.It is a discussion forum.

True, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, in my opinion, to continue to state the same thing over and over again.

 

[Desert Snake]

No arguing.Just discussion.

God does not have human physical features.He is a spirit form.Spirits are not humans.They are invisible entities.

The Deity that I adhere to is not so uptight, as to condemn people for little differences in faith adherence. It's tomato-tomahto.
So, if we aren't going to convince each other of anything, there is no point repeating these arguments ad nauseum.

 

[Servant_of_the_One1]

It's easy to find pictures of Jesus Christ. We see pictures of Him teaching the Sermon on the Mount, pictures of Him on the Sea of Galilee, pictures of Him walking on water, pictures of Him raising Lazarus from the dead, pictures of Him blessing the little children, pictures of Him healing the sick, pictures of Him dying on the cross, pictures of Him as a resurrected being on Easter morning.

So why don't we have more pictures, more sculpture, etc. of God the Father? Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel and God the Father is depicted there. I'm aware of another few pictures of Him. But why is He so "ignored" in Christian art in general?

If someone is ignored in the trinity then it is holy spirit

 

[Bunyip]

You mean that's your art? You painted that?

Yes mate.

 

[roger1440]

 

[Katzpur]

Yes mate.

Wow! I'm impressed!

 

[Awoon]

It's easy to find pictures of Jesus Christ. We see pictures of Him teaching the Sermon on the Mount, pictures of Him on the Sea of Galilee, pictures of Him walking on water, pictures of Him raising Lazarus from the dead, pictures of Him blessing the little children, pictures of Him healing the sick, pictures of Him dying on the cross, pictures of Him as a resurrected being on Easter morning.

So why don't we have more pictures, more sculpture, etc. of God the Father? Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel and God the Father is depicted there. I'm aware of another few pictures of Him. But why is He so "ignored" in Christian art in general?

How does one draw a picture of an essence principle?

 

[Nada]

Yes it is, and yet we all seem to interpret those scriptures differently.

True, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, in my opinion, to continue to state the same thing over and over again.

Cool beans!

 

[Nada]

The Deity that I adhere to is not so uptight, as to condemn people for little differences in faith adherence. It's tomato-tomahto.
So, if we aren't going to convince each other of anything, there is no point repeating these arguments ad nauseum.

Ok.Have a nice night.I just finished barbecuing, and I am watching the basketball playoff games.I feel great!

 

[Katzpur]

How does one draw a picture of an essence principle?

It's impossible, of course. But I don't consider God to be "an essence principle." I consider Him to be my Father in Heaven, and the individual in whose image I was created.

 

[Awoon]

It's impossible, of course. But I don't consider God to be "an essence principle." I consider Him to be my Father in Heaven, and the individual in whose image I was created.

Well where is heaven? I been asking for 40 years and no one can show where it is.

 

[Katzpur]

Well where is heaven? I been asking for 40 years and no one can show where it is.

And this supposedly proves something.

 

[fantome profane]

If a spirit can't be seen, how do you explain the fact that when Jesus first appeared to His apostles after His resurrection, they were afraid "because they thought they'd seen a spirit"? Apparently His spirit looked enough like Him that they couldn't tell the difference.

There is a theory that the the apostles themselves were not too bright.

 

[jonathan180iq]

Yes mate.

Cool, man. Nice work.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

It's easy to find pictures of Jesus Christ. We see pictures of Him teaching the Sermon on the Mount, pictures of Him on the Sea of Galilee, pictures of Him walking on water, pictures of Him raising Lazarus from the dead, pictures of Him blessing the little children, pictures of Him healing the sick, pictures of Him dying on the cross, pictures of Him as a resurrected being on Easter morning.

So why don't we have more pictures, more sculpture, etc. of God the Father? Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel and God the Father is depicted there. I'm aware of another few pictures of Him. But why is He so "ignored" in Christian art in general?

I don't think it's that surprising in Protestant traditions, since many of them have a long history of iconoclasm generally.

IIRC, I've seen a fair number of Orthodox depictions of God the father. For Catholics, though, I agree it's strange. They have some depictions (e.g. the Sistene Chapel, as you pointed out) but not that many.

A few possibilities I can see - not all would apply to any particular Christian tradition:

- Some quick Googling suggests that some Christians read a lot into when Jesus says in the Gospels "he who has seen me has seen the Father"... maybe some people figure that artwork of Christ does double duty.

- Many denominations put a strong emphasis on Christ's role as mediator between God and humanity... as "The Way, the Truth, and the Light". I think focusing on the Father directly could be seen as de-emphasizing Jesus' role as mediator.

- IIRC, some Christians consider depictions of Heaven to be more likely to be fodder for idolatry than depictions of Earth. This attitude allows for depictions of Jesus doing things on Earth, but not the Father doing things in Heaven.

 

[Bunyip]

Wow! I'm impressed!

Thanks.

Religious imagery is something that artists have been madly in love with forever.
May I ask you how you conceive of God? What do you see when you imagine him?

 

[Katzpur]

Thanks.

Religious imagery is something that artists have been madly in love with forever.
May I ask you how you conceive of God? What do you see when you imagine him?

Well, it's hard to be very specific, but I believe He has a human form, and looks very much like His Son, Jesus Christ.

 

[Bunyip]

Well, it's hard to be very specific, but I believe He has a human form, and looks very much like His Son, Jesus Christ.

Thanks.

 

[Fish and Bread]

This picture is what an average man would have looked like back then, so Jesus would have looked closer to this picture than any other that has tried to portrayed him, its funny how many don't like this picture, they prefer their wonderfully looking white Jesus, this is what I meant by making an idol out of what we want him to look like.

I wonder if more common use of this sort of image of Jesus in statues, on crucifixes, in iconography, and so on and so forth would help East-West relations in the world in general. That Jesus looks very Semitic, in the sense of both Arabs and Jews at that time in history. Perhaps western Christians would be less likely to view Arabs as other, and Arab Muslims would feel like they were more respected by the western world.

An often overlooked element of creating peace is subtle nudging in the culture in the form of artwork, music, and many other things. You need to create a mindset without appearing to create a mindset. Just give people a little push and nudge without them realizing it. You know, "Hey, this is how people back then in that area actually looked, so it's more historically accurate.", "Oh, okay, cool".

I wonder how much if any damage has been done by depictions of Jesus the White Westerner in terms of dialogue between cultures. Not that people directly take offense, but just in terms of the subtle biases it creates. Christians who see a face of a modern person who they know consciously or subconsciously resembles their God may have more trouble hating hating those people or treating them as wholly other. I wonder how much of the mistreatment of Jews historically would have been avoided with more accuracy in art.

Not that I am against Westernized white or black Jesuses per say, but maybe churches should get together and really think about what the best way to portray Jesus should be to advance Jesus' goal as the Prince of Peace of expanding the kingdom of heaven and peace.