Why the old man with a beard ain´t so bad

Hockey

“I believe in God alright, but not like an old man with a beard!” Sounds familiar? I have yet to meet someone who actually believes in the bearded deity, still quite a lot of people wants very strongly to disassociate themselves from any belief in Him (with the beard). A more popular confession these days would be: “I believe in Something Very Vague With Bright Tinkling Lights Like In Close Encounter Of The Third Kind”.

Tried chatting to a concept? Not very talkative I´m afraid... Images of God are something we love to disagree on. Some prefer to go with the abstract strategy, with a lot of big words buzzing about; other will have very concrete gods indeed, even to the degree of the girl a friend of mine helped move recently. She had her own altar with idols, which of course no one else was permitted to carry about. We wouldn´t want any gods broken or handled carelessly now, would we?


Jesus and Basketball

“Religious” movies faces similar questions in trying to visualize the spiritual realm. The devil is of course quite photogenique for the cinema, as well as on cathedral walls. The “grotesque” is a bit more fun portraying artistically it seems, in the Middle Ages as in the dream factories by Sunset Boulevard. Incidentally, the best devil portrait in my humble opinion, is Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) in Wall Street, rather than whatsoever Exorcist movie have you. I think he´s someone who, if you met him casually on a dinner party, you wouldn´t find wildly disagreeable. An eternity is naturally a different matter altogether...

So I kind of like the Old bearded man, he´s someone I can talk to, maybe with some sense of trepidation in front of such appearant wisdom. Still, I can relate to him, which is the point of the whole execise. It´s not all the truth about God, very limited actually, but as to the time hope will be turned to real “hanging” in the mighty presence of the Lord, you could do worse.


...handling the ball

You think that sounds like an instrumental view on God? I shape the idol I´m most comfortable with? That´s because it is instrumental, the image of God that is, not God per se. Images as objects of worship is forbidden, at least where I´m coming from. There´s nothing anyone could do with a cross or a bible what would shock me. I know this because performance artists love to “push the envelope” a bit with these symbols, in fact knowingly or unknowingly, very much doing the work of God. I´ve heard of prisoners who´ve used the Gideonite´s Bible as toilet paper, when nothing else was available. Good for them, and a whole lot better than catching diarrheas, cholera or typhus. The book in itself is just paper and print, not a sacred object or graven image. I can´t resist sharing a morsel of related ethymology now, just recently acquired from the excellent Swedish pastor Peter Halldorf. Symbols were tokens used by Greek cities, when they made pacts they split a clay disc between them, so whenever they sent ambassadors they would bring their half with them as credentials. If the piece fit, you´re the real McCoy. Symballo, the greek root, signifies ”bind together” or “unify”; it´s opposite is actually diaballo, from which we´ve received the name of you-know-whom.

The images of God in the Bible are always connected to encounter of some kind, it is in the meeting with humanity the form and appearance of God becomes an issue. There´s very little of speculation like: “Exclusive – God: How He Really Looks When No One´s Watching”. Quite a shapeshifter actually: wind, man (bearded or otherwise), cloud and burning bush among others. In fact the only image we´re supposed and encouraged to make in the likeness of God, or more specifically Christ, is our own selves, our very lives and souls. Jesus is very different from all these images and manifestations, He IS the Real McCoy, Man AND God, hence our friend, brother and mediator. He is the reality we can base our image on. Thereto may He help and guide us.


My personal favourite...