miracles and images - lecture

Question 1

key issues - orthodox view

Answer 1

• The idea of a dualism between physical matter and spirit is common in religion
• The Orthodox view is derived from early Christian doctrinal disputes with movements that
  o were strongly dualistic – Gnostic ideas, lived out strongly in the Manichaean religion, for
  o instance (the religion that Augustine converted from)
• The Orthodox view is that the material world is morally neutral, and can participate in the
  o plan of salvation, and indeed the material world must be lifted up through redemption in
  o some way

Question 2

iconoclasm

Answer 2

• iconoclasm, that was present for a time in Orthodoxy, possibly because of the influence of strongly iconoclastic Islam, but also became a feature of western Protestant religion, developed vis-à-vis Roman Catholic ideas of relics as mediators of grace

Question 3

orthodox view of idolatry

Answer 3

• idolatry or paganism, which sees God as present in material objects, either images produced in certain ways, or in the physical realm, in trees or other natural objects
• For the Orthodox, the abandonment of the use of images is considered wrong, even if images are used in what might be thought of as inappropriate ways
• Also considered wrong is the offering of prayers to images in a pagan manner to physical objects directly, objects that are not part of the hidden spiritual world
• The Orthodox perspective produces a useful lens through which to analyse the religious perspective on the material world.

Question 4

how views on the material world link to religious belief

Answer 4

• Views on the material world are often a key part of religious belief, and an aspect that needs to be considered as part of a comprehensive study of any particular religion;
• Among Christian traditions, views of the material world change – we have seen a level of
  o difference between early views between Rome and the East; the Orthodox Church went through a major rethink during the iconoclast controversies; the Reformation strongly rejected the idea of the material world that underlies icons’ use in worship; modern Christian expressions, such as Pentecostalism, may assert themselves as iconoclastic, but actually they begin to use images in certain ways (i.e. the map); other expressions of Charismatic Christianity have developed a view that, it could be argued, is closer to the Orthodox view, with the use of oil for anointing, the idea of holy places, etc.

Question 5

images and the material world general

Answer 5

• Image = hard to define
• Easier to think more broadly about material world
• Mosques = famously iconoclastic
  o Decorated with calligraphy/graphic images etc.
• When it comes to religious practice, we can identify a spectrum of understandings of the material world

Question 6

different understandings of the material world

Answer 6

o The material world has no importance
♣ E.g. a book
• Not an image, but a material thing
• West Xianity has high regard for words of book, but not necessarily for the physical book itself
• Muslims will treat Koran with respect – place it on a clean floor/prayer mat
• Orthodox Xians wrap Bible in cloths and decorate it with gold/stones, placed on stand
• Orthodox Jews may kiss a sacred Torah score if it fell on the floor to show respect
♣ Therefore, we have different views of ‘things’ being sacred
o The material world is a mystical connection to the spiritual realm
♣ Orthodox icons – ‘sacred images’
• E.g. St Ana and her daughter, St Mary
o The material world is itself the spiritual realm e.g. tree worshipping
♣ E.g. Indian festival, Ganges river
♣ E.g. celebration of epiphany in Ethiopia (epiphany refers to baptism of JC for Ethiopia). They spray crowd with blessed water

Question 7

miracles

Answer 7

• August 2002 telephone survey of British adults
  o 62% of British adults believe in the possibility of miracles
  o 75% of 18-24 year olds
  o 43% have prayed for miracle
• UK seems divided, higher proportions in US
• There is a sense that scientists are less inclined to believe in miracles
  o Miracles = ‘outside laws of physics’
  o Miracles = not subject to rigorous scientific investigation

Question 8

quick note on east/west

Answer 8

• Eastern Xianity in the study = Orthodox, refers to Xians historically connected with Byzantium
• Most Eastern Xians in EU have passed through vicissitudes of the ottoman Empire and in Europe through Communism

Question 9

influences on our impression of eastern christianity

Answer 9

o Weber – modernity and economic development link with Protestant Xianity
♣ Eastern Orthodoxy = viewed as stagnant
♣ H, W’s study is focused on specific group of people in Germany, cannot use this too generally
o Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of Roman Empire
♣ Painted Byzantium as monumental bureaucracy
♣ Some have suggested that Byzantium necessary led to totalitarianism
o Great Schism between Rome and Constantinople in 1054
♣ Cemented binary of East vs. West in Xian religion
o Beware of assumptions….

Question 10

historical background re. conflict over material world

Answer 10

• Conflict over the material world and the miraculous dates back to the earliest centuries of Christianity
  o Gnosticism/Docetism = negative views of material world
  o Xian Incarnation added to complex – how does God interact with material world?
  o Early heresies e.g. Arianism (didn’t think Incarnation was possible, JC rather approaches divinity through obedience. Material and spiritual cannot be connected) and controversy with Council of Nicea 325, which affirmed the physical entering of God into the world
  o Iconoclast controversies of 8th century over images – due to threat from Islam, which was v iconoclastic. Some Xians thought Byzantium was being punished for idolatry regarding images
  o Some Western Xianity = iconoclastic e.g. Baptist Churches