RELIGIOUS ARTWORK
The Wari’s, Lords of the Ancient Andes, must have been very religious, I reflected as I wandered through the art exhibit at the
Kimbell’s museum in Fort Worth. Most of the ceramics, and textiles on display
had a staff deity in some form positioned prominently and elaborately on their
surfaces. There were cups, urns and assorted pottery with creative and colorful
depictions of various forms of the staff deity and his companions. The deity
was woven into tunics and gloves. Art work on ear ornaments also displayed the
deity’s image. There were mirrors with the deity’s likeness on the backside
filled in with shells, and precious stones. Very pretty, and I’m sure they were
sold, custom made, at the local Niemen
Marcus , not massed produced for the
local Wal-Marts. There were even little table top representations also
painstakingly made of wood, stone and precious shells and gems. Pocket sized jade figurines were also present
to carry with them. Yes, the Wari were reminded of one or another of their deities
at every turn. They must have really honored and revered him/them.
I wondered, as I moseyed through the museum, how the
generations a thousand years from now would view our religious beliefs when
they stumbled on a treasure of our art work they unearthed in some cave or
unexpectantly abandoned city destroyed by nuclear warfare, tsunami , earthquake,
comet or some other unknown catastrophe.
When they excavate our pottery, dinnerware, cloths, purses and
jewelry would they get a grasp of our deep faith? Would they get the correct
impression of us? When I go the mall, department store, Family dollar, on line
shopping or craft shows I see many objects with evidence of our convictions.
Blankets, purses, necklaces, baseball caps, statues ect. with crosses
emblazoned on them. Not just crosses, the blessed mother of Jesus is an iron on
applique on baseball caps, purses have gem stone crosses fastened to their
sides, tall candles have glued on glittery haloed Jesus’. At cemeteries how many corpses would they
disentomb to discover smothered with otherworldly tattoos and say to themselves,
“Wow they really loved their God.”
I’m sure they would imagine we were a very devout society
based on their archeological finds. But
I live in the here and now and when I see these religious icons I don’t feel
our connection with God. I feel like the massed produced art work is just that
and nothing more. I don’t think the
Blessed Mother is honored having her image on a baseball cap of all
things. I see crosses hanging from
review mirrors right next to big square fuzzy dice balls. I see cross jewelry
on drug dealers, drug addicts, thieves, prostitutes who still live the life
style, unrepentantly. Heck my favorite critical opinions are of Madonna and her
crosses. It’s not my job to be anyone’s judge, I can’t read the hearts of these
people and I can’t always control my own, but I am entitled to discernment. We’re supposed to draw some conclusions to be
able to avoid being corrupted by bad influences, to eschew wolves in sheep’s
clothing.
I think we’ve taken
the sacred and downsized it to common everyday artwork. Our minds have
become desensitized to the consecrated message of the cross, that it was the
execution device of our Lord and Savior, our sacrificial lamb, that it was the
plus sign that adds believers to Jesus’s family. It’s now just something to
adorn with diamonds and sapphires. Familiarity breeds contempt. Wearing a cross
doesn’t make us sanctified any more than wearing a fur coat makes us a mink.
Based on the reality of our
artwork is it possible that maybe we’re wrong about the Wari, Lords of the Andes
and their dedication to the staff deity? Maybe to the ancient artisans of that time it
was just something to fill their coffers with as it is today for some and also was in the Apostle Paul’s
time, who lived just a thousand years earlier than the Wari on another
continent. In the city of Ephesus Paul
and his coworkers were nearly killed when Demetrius, a silver smith who made
shrines for the Goddess Diana, admitted that the worship of Diana hadn’t hurt
his retirement account any and was threatened by Paul and his traveling
companions as they preached Jesus and turned some of the populace away from
Diana and hence the Ephesian economy.
Don’t get me wrong, I do believe in the cross and own a few,
a very few, myself, but we must be careful to not take the cross and its
message for granted for the message of the cross is foolishness to
those who are perishing but to us who are saved it is the power of God.
I hope that when my home is quarried by archaeologists generations from now I
leave the correct impression of my religious believes.
Math. 10:16
Acts 19:23-27
Hebrews 5:14
1 corinthians 5:5-12
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
