Why?

Are people trying to or being led to see God in the fish?

What does the symbol represent? I was under the impression that it was an ancient, quasi-secret identifier of Christians. The letters for "fish" were an acronym for the name/titles of "Jesus Christ Son of God Savior". Is the symbol an identity badge for Christians or a "picture" of Christ? I guess for me, I've never looked at a fish, or THE fish, and thought "That is a picture of Jesus, the Son of God." I suppose for someone who did, then perhaps they ought to ditch it.


It seems clear to me that there are fundamentally two different reactions to the notion that visual representations of "any persons of the Trinity," including Jesus, is simply sinful. Either one consents that it is wrong, and seeks to avoid indulgence major or minor. Or one starts looking at those with those convictions, and mocks and derides them for perceived individual "violations" of the command. How is this different from atheists who just go looking for Christian "moral" lapses? "So much for your morality--buncha hypocrites. I'll decide what's right and wrong for me."

We don't allow the unbeliever to get away with his caricatures. Saying things like, "Your so-called absolute commands--against murder, etc.--look how inconsistent you are! Death of a thousand convenient qualifications. Your 'commandments' are obviously bunk." We shouldn't adopt a similar posture when dealing with the 2nd Commandment among our own selves.

Like it or not, there is a "reformed" position, one defined by the Confessions, and held by a history with whom we are in continuum. None of us have to apologize for it, nor do we have to answer every snide mischaracterization of the position, every accusation of a lapse, especially when the association is baseless and irrelevant. If Jesus hadn't authorized the Bread and Wine, we should never have thought it up ourselves upon pain of blasphemy and "trivialization" of the Savior's death. But his own words elevated the same to the status of an ordinance.

If someone thinks differently from us on images of Christ, you can have them, all of them--we who are opposed to them don't want them. But please don't sit back on your cushion with the pea-shooter and plink away at those "straightlaced types" on the other side. If you want to take the position on, dress up and get out your heavy artillery.

__________________
Rev. Bruce G. Buchanan
ChainOLakes Presbyterian Church, CentralLake, MI


When posting friends, kindly bear those words of earthly wisdom in mind:
Oh, that God the gift would give us
To see ourselves as others see us.
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