Jenna Landry
John of Damascus was a major spokesperson for the iconophile, or defender of icons. The official repression of icons began in 726 and became know was “iconoclasm”. Later in life when John became monk, he spent his life as an ascetic where he studied, wrote and preached to the followers of Christianity. In his writing on defending iconoclasm, John began with a very modest introduction where he stated his faith in God and his belief in the “Word made flesh” (78). To continue his statement of faith he says, “… I venture to draw an image of the invisible God, not as invisible, but as having become visible for our sakes through flesh and blood” (78). This is the beginning of his defense of holy images and uses this as the basis of his belief in icons. John continues his reasoning for the use of holy images as the principle of God becoming man and when God became man he was clothed and put into human form to be pictured. He then describes the different types of worship beginning with the patriarchs of the Hebrew Bible and using New Testament scripture as a foundation of putting intangible understandings into clothes worn by the flesh of man. According to John, images are different ways to remember or wonder about the divine. He concludes with saying, “… when God is seen clothes in flesh and conversing with men, I make an image of the God whom I see. I do not worship matter, I worship the God of matter…” (80), which makes the distinction of correct worship of the image.
In his defense of the use of icons, John makes sure to distinguish between devotional worship to God from that of icons by making sure people understand to worship God and not the actual creation, like in the quote above on page 80. He distinguishes between different types of worship and saying that the image of God is made into a tangible form. John defends iconoclasts by using the scriptures saying, “… now we preserve in writing the images and the good deeds of the past… take away images altogether and be out of harmony with God… or receive them with language and in the manner which befits them” (80). I understood this as saying, that Christians preserve the writings of scripture and through writing comes images because God became man. The scriptures are creating a way to make the intangible tangible. Understanding this divine creation is a way Christians put words into images. John says, “For the invisible things of God since the creation of the world are made visible through mages” (79). To John, seeing the world everyday is a reminder of the world’s creation by God, so images are good because it offers a way to see God in everyday life. John wanted to bridge the gap between divine words and to divine images as tool of worship, not as the only way to worship.
John of Damascus was a major spokesperson for the iconophile, or defender of icons. The official repression of icons began in 726 and became know was “iconoclasm”. Later in life when John became monk, he spent his life as an ascetic where he studied, wrote and preached to the followers of Christianity. In his writing on defending iconoclasm, John began with a very modest introduction where he stated his faith in God and his belief in the “Word made flesh” (78). To continue his statement of faith he says, “… I venture to draw an image of the invisible God, not as invisible, but as having become visible for our sakes through flesh and blood” (78). This is the beginning of his defense of holy images and uses this as the basis of his belief in icons. John continues his reasoning for the use of holy images as the principle of God becoming man and when God became man he was clothed and put into human form to be pictured. He then describes the different types of worship beginning with the patriarchs of the Hebrew Bible and using New Testament scripture as a foundation of putting intangible understandings into clothes worn by the flesh of man. According to John, images are different ways to remember or wonder about the divine. He concludes with saying, “… when God is seen clothes in flesh and conversing with men, I make an image of the God whom I see. I do not worship matter, I worship the God of matter…” (80), which makes the distinction of correct worship of the image.
In his defense of the use of icons, John makes sure to distinguish between devotional worship to God from that of icons by making sure people understand to worship God and not the actual creation, like in the quote above on page 80. He distinguishes between different types of worship and saying that the image of God is made into a tangible form. John defends iconoclasts by using the scriptures saying, “… now we preserve in writing the images and the good deeds of the past… take away images altogether and be out of harmony with God… or receive them with language and in the manner which befits them” (80). I understood this as saying, that Christians preserve the writings of scripture and through writing comes images because God became man. The scriptures are creating a way to make the intangible tangible. Understanding this divine creation is a way Christians put words into images. John says, “For the invisible things of God since the creation of the world are made visible through mages” (79). To John, seeing the world everyday is a reminder of the world’s creation by God, so images are good because it offers a way to see God in everyday life. John wanted to bridge the gap between divine words and to divine images as tool of worship, not as the only way to worship.