Writing against visual images of Christ is hindered without explaining some history. Many prominent Christians rejected such images for about eight centuries until the Second Council of Nicaea (AD 787) ruled in favor of images, including their “veneration.” Though Eastern and Western Christians argued against worshiping images (for obvious reasons), the fact that Eastern Christians bowed on their faces before paraded icons, and Western Christians wove images of the Father and Spirit into artwork, should give us pause: Maybe making images—even if we’re not worshiping them—hasn’t worked out too well. While the ultimate question is what Scripture says about the matter, the tendency to fall into errors like these has always been why the triune God prohibited making images of himself. Here are three key arguments against images of Christ. 1. The Second Commandment The second commandment (Ex. 20:4; Deut. 5:8–10) prohibits images of Christ. A simple syllogism illustrates the point: 1. God forbade making images of himself. 2. Christ is God. 3. Therefore, God forbade making images of Christ. Deuteronomy 4:15–24 is a commentary on the second commandment. Moses explains to Israel that even though God appeared to them, they must not make any kind of image of him (vv. 15–18) because their hearts were bent toward idolatry (v. 19) and because making such images violated his covenant with them (vv. 23–24). Unfortunately, Israel broke the command to the letter by making a golden calf representing Yahweh (Ex. 32:1–6). As the NKJV reads, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!” (v. 4), resulting in “a feast to the LORD” (v. 5) before it. Jeroboam later one-upped Aaron by making two calves to represent Yahweh (1 Kings 12:28–29), which “became a sin” (v. 30). In both cases, Israel broke covenant with God by imaging him. Since Jesus is God the Son, should we not hesitate before repeating the pattern? 2. Old Testament Theophanies Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, God often appeared to his people in human form. Again, the argument is simple: 1. God appeared to his people in human form. 2. God prohibited his people from making human images of him. 3. Therefore, God appearing in human form doesn’t permit us to make images of him. Deuteronomy 4 helps us again. Moses says Israel’s “eyes have seen” (v. 9) though they “saw no form” (vv. 12, 15). Israel “saw” God appear on Sinai, Isaiah “saw the Lord seated on his throne” (Isa. 6:1), Ezekiel “saw visions of God” (Ezek. 1:1), and Daniel “looked” on the “Ancient of Days” (Dan. 7:9). And yet Isaiah declares, “To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?” (Isa. 40:18). God’s prohibition against images of himself stood alongside repeated divine appearances in human form. While Aaron rationalized making a divine image, Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel didn’t see the inference. Christ’s incarnation was new, but God appearing in human form wasn’t. Nobody saw God as he is, and no image can capture his glory without diminishing its brightness. Nobody saw God as he is, and no image can capture his glory without diminishing its brightness. 3. The Incarnation Here’s one final syllogism: 1. Jesus is God the Son who took on a human nature. 2. The second commandment forbids making images of anyone in the category of God. 3. Therefore, we cannot make images of God the Son. Making images of Christ creates thorny dilemmas. Either we depict the person of the Son and violate the second commandment, or we depict his humanity by divorcing it from his divine person. In the first case we violate God’s law, and in the second we (unintentionally) commit heresy. Why we want images of Christ comes into play here too. Do images of Christ stir up devotion to him? If so, then we’re worshiping God by means of images. And don’t we use such images devotionally? If not, then why have them? Would we want to say we’re training ourselves to think about Jesus without worshiping him? Thus images of Christ are either idolatrous or in vain. Images of Christ are either idolatrous or in vain. Ultimately, we should reject images of Christ because we shouldn’t seek to be wiser than God. Respecting Scripture’s authority and sufficiency, we could have no warrant to make images of God the Son unless Scripture required it. We can psychologize about the fact that the disciples saw Jesus and remembered what he looked like, but we didn’t. One day we’ll see the God-man as he is, and we’ll be like him (1 John 3:1–4). In heaven, we’ll walk by sight and not by faith, but now we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Our rule is this: “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (1 Pet. 1:8). We do see “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6)—but this light shines “in our hearts.” Seeing isn’t believing, but believing is seeing. Are we pushing our eschatology forward too much by trying to “see” Christ through means other than Word and sacrament? Images have always led to idolatry—both in Old Testament history with golden calves and in church history by making images of Christ (and the Father and the Spirit). They become either focal points or funnels for our devotion. But as Agur wisely wrote, “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar” (Prov. 30:5–6). Though advocates of images of Christ may love Christ and mean well, we love him best by living according to his Word and looking to his return in glory.

President Biden’s executive action on the border was reported with great fanfare across the dial. With the order now in effect, only NBC has dared to report that the executive action has been largely ineffective in stopping the inflow of illegal migrants across our southern border. Watch as correspondent Julia Ainsley lays out the ways in which the border executive order has been largely ineffective: JULIA AINSLEY: Tonight, new evidence migrants who cross the border illegally are still being released into the U.S. by border agents, one week after President Biden signed an executive action suspending their entry. JOE BIDEN: If they choose to come without permission and against the law, they'll be restricted from receiving asylum and staying in the United States. AINSLEY: But NBC News has learned Border Patrol is still releasing many migrants into the U.S. who crossed illegally, to pursue asylum claims. A senior DHS official tells NBC News those releases have dropped by more than half but are still happening because agents don't have enough space to detain the large numbers of arriving migrants. An internal memo to Border Patrol agents in San Diego directs agents there to release migrants into the United States, unless they are from these eight countries. Interestingly, the report was framed with news that the ACLU is suing the Biden Administration over the executive order- which could have been its own brief, or added at the end of the report on the still-leaky border. But NBC didn’t want to lead with news of the apparent failure of Biden’s executive action. There are many instances of failure reported here, from the amount of encounters post-order to the lack of detention space, to what is likely the most damning portion of the report- the order to release migrants coming from all countries except those closest to the United States. Shocking, given recent news of the bust of the potential ISIS-K sleeper cell. Credit to NBC for documenting these failures, and doing something we used to call journalism- a word that means something increasingly different these days. Click "expand" to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on the NBC Nightly News on Wednesday, June 12th, 2024: NBC NIGHTLY NEWS 6/12/24 6:41:12 LESTER HOLT: Just in, the ACLU filing the first major legal challenge to President Biden's recent executive order -- executive action on the border and new reports that migrants crossing illegally are still being released into the U.S. Here's Julia Ainsley. JULIA AINSLEY: Tonight, new evidence migrants who cross the border illegally are still being released into the U.S. by border agents, one week after President Biden signed an executive action suspending their entry. JOE BIDEN: If they choose to come without permission and against the law, they'll be restricted from receiving asylum and staying in the United States. AINSLEY: But NBC News has learned Border Patrol is still releasing many migrants into the U.S. who crossed illegally, to pursue asylum claims. A senior DHS official tells NBC News those releases have dropped by more than half but are still happening because agents don't have enough space to detain the large numbers of arriving migrants. An internal memo to Border Patrol agents in San Diego directs agents there to release migrants into the United States, unless they are from these eight countries. Overall, illegal border crossings under the new policy are still high, but have dropped from 4,000 to 3,000 per day, DHS sources tell us. President Biden signed the executive action after fierce criticism of his handling of the border, with a record nearly 10 million migrants entering the U.S. since he took office. But the Border Patrol Union says the president's new action is not tough enough.  HECTOR GARZA: It's status quo. Things have not changed. This executive order has not made any significant impact as it relates to illegal border crossings. AINSLEY: "We suffer a lot just to get here" says this Guatemalan woman waiting in Mexico to cross. And late today, immigration advocates suing, saying the asylum restrictions go too far. LEE GELERNT: This ban is patently illegal. The Trump administration enacted a nearly identical asylum ban, we sued over that. We won, we hope to win again. AINSLEYr: A senior DHS official tells us it's too soon to judge the new policy's effectiveness. They say they need more help from Congress to increase immigrant detention, and do more deportation flights. Lester. HOLT: All right, Julia. Thank you.  

A rare intact lead doll from the 16th or 17th century has been discovered by a mudlarking metal detectorist in Long Whatton, in Leicestershire. Sarah Brackstone found the small piece in a brook near her home this February. She reported her discovery to finds liaison officer for Leicestershire and Rutland where the modest little toy caused something of a sensation because it is the only complete 16th century doll to be recorded in the database of the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS).   It is a lead sheet alloy child’s toy two inches long in the shape of a woman wearing a gown with a triangular narrow bodice and a full skirt. A semi-circular headdress or hairstyle outlines her round face. The moulded features — circular eyes, triangular nose, mouth upturned — are raised from the flat surface of the face. The back of the head is decorated with raised pellets and the initials “T T” which experts believe may be a makers mark. Two circular loops project out from the shoulders; in the center of both is a flattened loop. Experts think the loops may indicate the doll was used as a puppet on strings to entertain children. The gown is intricately decorated front and back. In the front, the bodice has transverse lines that look like lacing. The skirt has a central triangular panel made of moulded lines. On either side of the triangle panel are three pairs of raised round pellets of different sizes. Two rectangular panels with intersecting lines that create six triangular sections go from the lower part of the triangle panel to the edge of the skirt. The hem is decorated with a zig-zag pattern. The back of the dress has two swagged rows of pellets on the shoulders and moulded lines forming a downward-pointing triangle to the waist. The gown has a curved row of pellets over a rectangle with vertical lines. The bottom features a zig-zag pattern with a pellet in each triangle. Figures like these are rare because lead is so malleable that it is easy to manipulate and reshape. That also makes it easy to break. The shape of the doll, a slender waist and an even more slender neck, makes it susceptible to breakage. There are several disembodied torsos in the PAS database, and one example that is in three pieces — broken at neck and waist — and missing an arm. It is also heavily corroded, unlike Ms. Brackstone’s find. Because the doll is made out of a base metal and does not qualify as official treasure, it has been returned to the finder. Apparently she has been fielding offers from collectors in the US, but for now at least, Sarah Brackstone plans to loan her little lead treasure to the British Museum.

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