Graven Images
Jan 12
We’re visiting Mom & Dad, along with other family south of San Antonio at what has become their winter home, and the house comes complete with some toys for Jack to play with. Among the toys are some Bible action figures which I find to be rather odd. The Jesus figure is particularly disturbing. Should we be buying action figures of the Son of God? Is it a good toy simply because it’s biblical? I was curious, and looked on Amazon. Turns out there are various Jesus dolls there are to choose from, such as the Deluxe Miracle Jesus
What do you think?
(come on… leave a comment. I dare you.)
I don’t know. My brain is too fried to think about it. But if those figures are wrong, then aren’t all those pics wrong? Then there’s movies with actors playing Jesus. And how about nativity scenes with baby Jesus….
Yes, that’s true… it seems to be all the same thing. What’s the difference between a baby Jesus figurine and a Jesus action figure. I can’t put my finger on it, but it seems different to me. I don’t think it’s wrong to represent Jesus visually, and I don’t think the action figure is WRONG in the SIN sense, but it just seems like crossing a line. Especially the super action figure with the glowing hands.
Since you dared me! I don’t see a child worshiping the action figure, only playing with it. However, it does seem to be at an uncomfortable line of “trivializing” Jesus which I’d rather not do. It seems different than a drawing depicting Jesus in a child’s Bible which has a purpose of helping convey God’s word to the child.
For some interesting reading on different perspectives on this topic:
http://thirdmill.org/answers/answer.asp/file/99722.qna/category/th/page/questions/site/iiim
May have to cut and paste the link for it to work.
Here’s your double-dog-dare back at you–get your husband to comment to your blog on this one 😉
There is a very small difference in the “Jesus Action Figure” and other common forms of media about Him (and it is a small difference)…
The action figures are really just the best example I’ve heard of, of demonstrating the most common sin of trying to make God “do” what we want Him to (you know, by bending His hands this way, turning His head over there, etc.) It really exemplifies that which is taught by so many “churches” in our day; the notion that God is our “Genie in a bottle…rub Him three times, and voila!”
On the movies, pictures, and Nativity figurines, you’re right in indicting them, too… There’s a reason that John didn’t say of Christ, “In the beginning was the Video”, or “The figurine became flesh and dwelled among us…” Granted, some of these things seek to show Christ doing the works of Scripture, many (if not all) really seek to add to Scripture when it comes to portraying Christ.
Bottom line, Scripture alone is the “Power of God unto Salvation”. It does not need images, narratives, icons, or action figures to accomplish the work of telling us about Christ. I fear that any attempt by fallen men to “help” a perfect God and His Word in this regard is not a wise undertaking…It’s what the old-time folks called, “sacrilegious”.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
My kids have toys and I have a cement turtle in my garden. A frog that holds a tea light in my living room. But, I have been giving this subject some thought on and off for a year or more. My search for “graven image+toys” brought me here.
Figurines are so common place in our society and though I am not 100% certain on their bearing as idols in our lives I do indeed see that before scripture says not bow down to graven images it says not to have them. Does not bowing down to the image make it acceptable to have them?
Well it sure would cut down on the amount of clutter made by Lego’s and box cars in my home.
I have to stop and think about the fact that mere days from when a child is born someone is bringing it it’s first teddy bear, by it’s first birthday his or hers room may be themed out in Nemo wall paper to Nemo bedsheets so forth and so on. And yet we wonder why we have such a difficult time getting our children, and even ourselves considering the distractions we make for ourselves, to concentrate on the things of the Lord.
I have always admired the life of the Amish and it’s simplicity. I know their lack of ornamentation comes from their very concern to be distracted from God.
We would do well to consider the things in our homes and what they represent to us. Perhaps we don’t bow down to fifty dollar figurine in our living room but why do we have it? Could keeping up with Jones’ by having an Eddie Bauer label be our idol?
Just food for thought?
Anything or anyone who reminds me to give thanks to God for being here is all right by me.
Besides, Jesus was indeed a man of action.
Ask the money changers.
What about the wooden cross on so many walls of places of worship? Or the “rings” and other various forms of the two sticks, so called believers, and unbelievers alike wear as decoration? Even to me, The crucifix with white Jesus displayed in perpetual agony? I always thought catholicism was full of idols, of course that was being raised protestant, but I never bowed before a cross in my Life, won’t pray before one either. I don’t sport them, won’t support them and feel, personally, at odds with Paul: I do not feel that the power of the cross holds a message intended to renew our bond of the Holy Spririt and our physical bodies. To me, the cross has always been a testament to the despicable acts men commit against each other, Not rising above death, nor Eternal Life, but executing man by men. The cross, to me, represents a tool of capital punishment – a direct contradiction of God’s word to allow Him vengance, or to Love our enemy, to repay evil with kindness… I have no use for images of Jesus, my relationship is with an essence. To attempt to capture God’s essence is “to miss the mark”, i.e., to Sin. Thereby making us all equal in our need for Grace, so I rarely harp on this.
Cindy Rogers… I think “bowing” as used means to have faith in something external, whereas God is accessible internally, we are taught not to look outside for spiritual renewal, our Lord gave to each of us all that we require, inside us is a vast storehouse of Blessing and Grace.
We should refrain from becoming attached to any THING. People, places, vehicles, homes, emotions, words, ANY THING to which we become attached causes us suffering when we experience the loss of these temporary things. As we suffer we separate ourselves from God -since with God there is no suffering- and because suffering is a volitional action commited by choosing attachment, or identifying with things in our environment, then we are choosing to Live outside the Grace that exists in this Eternal moment by grasping at our idea of what “should be”.
How did God name Himself when revealed to Moses?
I AM.
God Is, there is no “should be” to God.
To answer Cindy from my perspective, I don’t think figurines are a sin. How attached are you to your figurines? As Jesus taught in his time, it is not impossible for a Camel to pass through the “eye of the needle” but to do so, one must be unburdened, not attached to the weight of the owner. If you are attached to the meanings of your “things” then you, like a camel, are burdened by outside influence. We can very easily choose to fill ourself with not-God, it is our volition. This is truth as I have learned it from my relationship with the Essence of What IS.
I never quit believing, I grew in my Belief. However, I also understand that Santa can be a great way to introduce children to the spririt of Giving without seeking something in return. I know “Santa” is “real”. I don’t believe in a North Pole Dweller, who wears a red suit. I feel I understand the Christmas spirit more thoroughly for having listened to the essence. My faith is stronger for exactly the same reason. The Essence sticks to how I was raised, it fits within my frame of reference, it must, for each of us – otherwise no soul would ever choose salvation.
Let they who have ears to hear and eyes to see, understand, in understanding we will all choose salvation.
Until that time I can be unburdened with this body and we can all be One again…
The figurines essentially cheapen the Son of God to a potential enemy of GI Joe to be thrown around a room, tossed in a toybox, or tied to a bottle rocket and launched skyward (think back, guys, as to what you did with your action figures). The “deluxe” figurine with glowing hands is essentially a mockery, if anything; Jesus did not need hands that glowed. Much of what He did, He did with a word.
This discussion leads one into the realm of Christians who only purchase “Christian” toys for their kids that, at root, differ only in whether the box has form of Christian labelling or not. To me, this makes many Christians appear to be dupes in the eyes of the world. If the kid wants to play with GI Joes, let him. If you don’t approve, don’t buy them and be ready to explain your reasons why when your kid asks.