TOPIC ESSAY QUESTION IV

Essay 7a

Faith and Belief

Found Here Christ enthroned between angels and Saints, apse mosaic, San Vitale

Question: Is Art in any way, an intrinsic part of, or a primary factor in religion or religious expression and if so, how did it specifically play a part in the development of Christianity?

Part 1:

Summary: While answering this question, I was able to explore more in depth how art plays a role in religion.

Reason: The reason this question was asked was so that we can explore how art and religion are connected to each other.

Purpose: The purpose this question was asked was so that we can gain a better understanding about the role art played in Christianity.

Direction: Being a Christian, it was a bit hard for me to answer this question in a non-religious way. I had to look at the artwork purely as pieces of art and not in the viewpoint of a Christian, which, I was surprised to notice, really helped.

Impressions: This was a very interesting question to explore and I was surprised by the different opinions people have about the connection between art and religion. I was honestly surprised to see how many people think that art and religion have nothing to do with each other.

Part 2:

Art is an intrinsic part of religion and religious expression. They are two sides of a coin. One cannot exist without the other. While religion is the belief a person has, art is the expression of that belief. Beyond that, art facilitates religion because of the strong feelings it can evoke in the viewer.

Christianity, despite sporadic persecutions, persisted and spread throughout the Roman Empire until it was formally recognized in 313CE (Art History, M. Stokstad/M. W. Cothren, p. 222). The earliest Christians developed churches and baptisteries as their rites became more ritualized and complicated, and also began to use art to visualize their most important stories and ideas (Art History, M. Stokstad/M. W. Cothren, p.222). Christian art had two important factors – “the narrative urge to tell a good story, whose moral or theological implications often have instructional or theological value, and the desire to create iconic images that symbolize the core concepts and values of the developing religious tradition” (Art History, M. Stokstad/M. W. Cothren, p. 224).

“Christianity, like Judaism and Islam, has always been uneasy with the power of religious images” (Art History, M. Stokstad/M. W. Cothren, p.244). However, icons played an important role in prayer and worship because they acted as “intermediaries between worshippers and the holy personages they depicted” (Art History, M. Stokstad/M. W. Cothren, p.244). The icon itself was not the recipient of adoration, but it served as a focus. “Honor showed to the image was believed to transfer directly to its spiritual prototype” (Art History, M. Stokstad/M. W. Cothren, p.245).

“Seeing is believing.” It is in human nature to see in order to believe. “Consequently, seeing is salvific…Humans need to perceive God in order to know God” (Article - Early Christian Art and Divine Epiphany, R. M. Jensen, p.135). According to R. M. Jensen, “an artistic representation preserves the appearance [of Jesus] just as the Scriptures preserve the words of Christ” (Article – Early Christian Art and Divine Epiphany, R. M. Jensen, p.136). Furthermore, through the illustrations in Christian art, the viewers “may have been prompted to imagine themselves as eyewitnesses, along with the disciples…What they could not have perceived in life, they could through the medium of art” (Article – Early Christian Art and Divine Epiphany, R. M. Jensen, p.136).

It is very different to see than it is to hear or read. Art was a very important and essential part of Christianity. It presented the divine image to viewers in an accessible form, as icons. It also allowed the viewer to see different biblical scenes, allowing them to form a connection with and learn about Jesus. Christian art helped make Christianity more accessible.