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Does the Second commandment prohibit Films/paintings of Jesus?

Y

Yeshua1

Well-Known Member
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As some christians that I have dialoged with regarding this do hold that Jesus should NEVER be seen in movies/films, that we should treat Him like muslims do Muhhammed, just see his back, hands, shadow etc, and also thathe should not be painted, like Rembrant and others have done?

is that taking to an extreme that Commandment or not?
 
S

saturneptune

New Member
Yeshua1 said:
As some christians that I have dialoged with regarding this do hold that Jesus should NEVER be seen in movies/films, that we should treat Him like muslims do Muhhammed, just see his back, hands, shadow etc, and also thathe should not be painted, like Rembrant and others have done?

is that taking to an extreme that Commandment or not?
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Just my opinion, but the image itself is not breaking the commandment. It has more to do with how the image is perceived. If one worships the image in the movie, of course it is a sin. Another way to make it a sin is to make the image of Jesus or anything sacred to be treated in a sacrilegious or disrespectful way.

For example I do not consider the movie "The Passion" as breaking that commandment. I do consider "Jesus Christ Superstar" as breaking that and other commandments.

As far as Muhammad images, it is a moot point, as the whole religion and their gods are false.
 
Y

Yeshua1

Well-Known Member
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saturneptune said:
Just my opinion, but the image itself is not breaking the commandment. It has more to do with how the image is perceived. If one worships the image in the movie, of course it is a sin. Another way to make it a sin is to make the image of Jesus or anything sacred to be treated in a sacrilegious or disrespectful way.

For example I do not consider the movie "The Passion" as breaking that commandment. I do consider "Jesus Christ Superstar" as breaking that and other commandments.

As far as Muhammad images, it is a moot point, as the whole religion and their gods are false.
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I agree with you, my mention of the false prophet was that some have seen the lord wanting us to have jesus portrayed as Muhhamed has been, heard but not seen!
 
K

ktn4eg

New Member
As I recall, the movie Ben Hur (which is one of the all-time best movies [1959]) never portrayed Jesus Christ except with His hands and feet.
 
I

Iconoclast

Well-Known Member
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Yeshua1 said:
As some christians that I have dialoged with regarding this do hold that Jesus should NEVER be seen in movies/films, that we should treat Him like muslims do Muhhammed, just see his back, hands, shadow etc, and also thathe should not be painted, like Rembrant and others have done?

is that taking to an extreme that Commandment or not?
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What does scripture say?
 
salzer mtn

salzer mtn

Well-Known Member
Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. That includes all the jesus pictures that are hanging on the wall. If I want to know what God looks like, I go to scripture, he is known by his attributes.
 
I

Iconoclast

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Yeshua1 said:
i cannot find any scripture that states Jesus cannot be shown in either a paimting, or in a movie though!
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Did you look or had you already made up your mind?
I do not think they had movies at the time of Moses.....

12 And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.

13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

14 And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.

15 Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:

16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,



4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

Thou shalt not make........Thou shalt not bow down to,nor serve..

It addresses.... the making,........and the worship.....
So where do you see ...IN Scripture....that it is in any way Okay to violate this command?

Not interested in what you see...unless you SEE it in scripture.
 
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Y

Yeshua1

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
salzer mtn said:
Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. That includes all the jesus pictures that are hanging on the wall. If I want to know what God looks like, I go to scripture, he is known by his attributes.
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that is the verse in question!

Contxt to me on that passage wouldbe that God wanted the isrealites to not have the false gods of the heathen nations around them, so none would be allowed to fashion any of those false gods, nor make any physical image of the true god,as he is Spirit, and cannot be imagined by man!

Don't think God was saying that the Greatest story ever told, passion of the Christ could not be made in the Future!

Would also say that God would prohibit having movies that showed jeus in ANY fashio different than in the Bible , and that Icons of Him would fall under worship images, but not just a painting by say Rembrant per say!
 
I

Iconoclast

Well-Known Member
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Yeshua1 said:
that is the verse in question!

Contxt to me on that passage wouldbe that God wanted the isrealites to not have the false gods of the heathen nations around them, so none would be allowed to fashion any of those false gods, nor make any physical image of the true god,as he is Spirit, and cannot be imagined by man!

Don't think God was saying that the Greatest story ever told, passion of the Christ could not be made in the Future!

Would also say that God would prohibit having movies that showed jeus in ANY fashio different than in the Bible , and that Icons of Him would fall under worship images, but not just a painting by say Rembrant per say!
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Again....you say;
Don't think God was saying......Don't think God was saying...
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What if anything in scripture changes the commands that are said?
 
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Iconoclast

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C4K said:
So the contention is not 'can we show Jesus' but can we show an actor or model supposedly representing Jesus?'

Hardly semantics since none of them are actual images of Christ or are things in heaven.
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C4K,

If you framed a picture of Shania Twain and put it up on the wall of your bedroom,and when your wife asked you what that was all about...and you told her that it was JUST A REPRESENTATION OF HER....how do you think that would fly:laugh:
 
Y

Yeshua1

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Iconoclast said:
What if anything in scripture changes the commands that are said?
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Question here though is does having an actor/or a painting of jesus make that automatically a Graven image that we are bowing down to, and worshipping as the 'real Jesus?"
 
NaasPreacher (C4K)

NaasPreacher (C4K)

Well-Known Member
Iconoclast said:
C4K,

If you framed a picture of Shania Twain and put it up on the wall of your bedroom,and when your wife asked you what that was all about...and you told her that it was JUST A REPRESENTATION OF HER....how do you think that would fly:laugh:
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Not exactly sure who she is. Don't think I could pick yet out of a line up. But that would actually be a depiction of the real her. We don't have a real depiction of Jesus.
 
K

ktn4eg

New Member
About the nearest God's Word comes to describing what Jesus may have looked like while here on earth (at least what I've found) can be noted in Isaiah 52:14 & 53:2.

Neither of these descriptions come anywhere near what one typically sees as visual portrayals of the Son of God, viz., an extremely handsome, buff, western European male (quite often with a halo).

Seems to me that if the Lord REALLY wanted us to have a totally accurate pictorial image of Jesus while He was about His day-to-day activities during His earthly ministry, don't you think that He would have given us one somewhere in at least one of the four Gospel accounts?
 
I

Iconoclast

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
C4K said:
Not exactly sure who she is. Don't think I could pick yet out of a line up. But that would actually be a depiction of the real her. We don't have a real depiction of Jesus.
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Well then..pick out any beauty queen...and just try and explain to your wife that although it does not look like her....you like to use it to think of her...
How long before the proverbial frying pan would be swinging in your direction?
 
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