Three Treatises on the Divine Images (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press Popular Patristics Series)

Rating:
Summary: Well worth it
Review: When Christians began destroying all sorts of religious images in the 8th century, St. John of Damascus put pen to paper to defend their practice, and anyone who wishes to say that Christians who use images in worship are idolators must first deal with this book.

He makes three basic arguments. First, he points out they did not worship images, but revere them as a window or pointer towards a heavenly reality, much like how most Christians would treat the printed Word (the book itself is not sacred, the messages contained in it are).

Secondly, the use of images is not only not forbidden in the Old Testament, but is actually commanded (the Ark, for instance, or the bronze serpent). Thus, only "idols" are forbidden, not images (actually, it is the word "eidol" in the Septuagint that St. John would have used).

Third, when God became man, He effectively gave us an image, Himself. To deny that images have a valid place in worship is to deny the Incarnation of Christ, and the Trinity is the very heart of Christianity.

St. John the Damascene makes these arguments bluntly and succinctly. He believed that he was holding up the traditional view of Christianity, and he did this in Syria, then controlled by Islam which forbids the use of images. His defence made him unwelcome in the Empire and it placed him at odds with a core teaching of his rulers. Given that he thus risked his life to write these, Christians should give him a firm hearing.