Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Iconoclasm
In the readings for Wednesday iconoclasm is discussed. Was this a new idea proposed by Luther or have we seen examples of this before (hint hint the Bible)? What do you think made people follow this idea with such fervor? It also says that Luther changed his opinion from "indifference to pictures, to positive approval of them." What do you think caused Luther's shift of opinion?
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Aniconism was present in a lot of the religions we discussed last year, I believe Confucianism or Taoism emphasized that idea. Luther switched his opinion when the destruction of church art got extreme. He realized that the soul naturally makes up pictures, especially when reading things. As long as people were worshipping the person and not the image, art was ok.
ReplyDeleteAniconism was in Islam, where no one was allowed to depict an image of Mohammed. This was so people didn't worship the image rather than the actual person. I think this is the same thing that Luther believed. I think people followed his belief system with this because he says that you "hear, not see" faith. Luther put such an influence on scripture that I think people felt compelled to agree with him, or else they weren't faithful. What eventually changed Luther's mind was that he realized that people naturally create pictures in their minds as they are reading things, since it is a way of understanding something further. I think that he also changed his mind because he thought that these art pieces might help people understand scripture more clearly.
ReplyDeleteWe've totally seen this idea in the Bible! Moses destroys the golden calf that the people worshipped, which is a strong example of iconoclasm. I agree with EB; I feel like Luther was extremely influential, and that is why people took his ideas about images to heart. Luther changed his mind because he believed images would clarify ideas in Scripture. I noticed that the word "propaganda" came up frequently in the reading. Perhaps Luther was trying to "sell" Protestantism?
ReplyDeleteThis was definitely not a new idea, as my fellow classmates have already emphasized with Islam and Moses. But I think what made people take to this belief so strongly was because it seems to be the epitome of good faith. The complete rejection of all visual association to the most influential figures of all time, in order to fully commit to the idea or message, rather than what you picture them as. But Luther later rejects even this idea, because he realizes it is in human nature to visualize a figure, in order to relate to them more.
ReplyDeleteI very much agree with Alex. The good faith and the idea that when people destroyed art and churches was good made people think they were doing good in God's eyes. And who wouldn't want to be on God's good side in these times? On Luther changing his opinion; I think he was trying not to be branded with the reputation of "those crazy Protestants". Since Calvinists are a branch of Protestant and the Calvinists were the ones destroying churches and and art, Luther wanted to look good and not get involved with the Calvinists at all.
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