The idol of Tactic

I think I've finally put my finger on one of the subtly off-putting aspects of The Shack’s depiction of God. It lies not so much in how He is depicted, but that He is depicted at all. Jesus I have no problem with, nor the Holy Spirit (though a dove would suit me better), but the Father has never appeared as Himself in bodily form and to show Him as such, even imaginatively, seems a little…..transgressive.

Young has been criticized by some for setting up an image of God and thus breaking the second commandment. Technically that is not true because a verbal description of God as in the book is not a “graven image” of Him by any stretch. In spirit I think it’s probably also okay because Young is not seriously putting forward an image of what God actually looks like but only describing how He chooses to present himself in the context of the story (this is fiction, after all). So I’m prepared to cut him some slack as an artist. After all, it’s hard to write a dialogue with God where the protagonist is talking to an empty space.

However, it’s worth thinking a little about the ancient prohibition against images. Is it still relevant today?

I've done business for years with an order of nuns and recognize their faith as a genuine belief in Christ as their Saviour. In their residences they have crucifixes and artistic representations of Jesus and Mary. Though I don’t make use of such images myself, I know they don't worship them and I personally have no issue with that. However a statue that is just a statue to me might be a stumbling block to someone else

As an example of that, I remember a Catholic church I visited in Tactic, Guatemala which in its sanctuary has a large, somewhat gruesome crucifix. The people venerate it and call it "el Señor de Xi-Ixim" (the Lord of Xi-Ixim, Xi-Ixim being the name of the place) and pray to it for miracles. A little room off the sanctuary is filled with testimonial plaques from people who have been healed or had their prayers answered.

Most of the plaques are addressed to el Señor de Xi-Ixim, but one of them gives the game away. It thanks "Señor Xi-Ixim" (Lord Xi-Ixim), which also happens to be the name of the local Mayan pre-Columbian deity. To clinch the identification, outside the church, directly in front of the main entrance, stands an altar covered with the remains of burnt offerings to Xi-Ixim.

Are the crucifixes of the gentle sisters idols? Not at all. Is this crucifix in Tactic one? I would say yes. It is a full-on idol in the old school Canaanite sense - its worship not just the mental error of uneducated peasants, it is an instrument of deception through which dark powers work to enslave the worshippers.

I don't blame the church entirely for this. I don't think it intentionally set out to create an idol in the crucifix. But its use of the crucifix as visual imagery has put a stumbling block in the way of the people which allows them to perpetuate their idolatry under the guise of a worship of Christ.

The upshot of all this is that though the old commandment given to Israel applies as a law only to them in the context of the Mosaic covenant, it does contain an important spiritual principle which God means for us to apply to our lives today. As Paul wrote:

Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. (I Cor. 10:11)