Yesterday, I went to see the exhibit, Vatican Splendors. If it comes to a city near you, I highly recommend it. I have a lot to write about the things I saw, but it was amazing to see the growth and change of the early Christian church...the influx of pagan culture...the efforts to remove it and get back to the church's true work. I have to credit my little Southern Baptist elementary and middle school for teaching us about the history of the Catholic church (along with other denominations and other religions)...it's given me a different take on the institution than a lot of Protestants I've run into. I once dated a guy in college who considered it to be a satanic cult and had no idea that the Protestant church, though quite different now, was born as an effort to strip off the excesses and misdirections that the Catholic church of the time had gotten caught up in
The art though, was amazing. I almost cried when I rounded a corner and saw a reproduction of The Pietà . The use of images in churches does run the risk of promoting idolatry, but many of the works themselves, I found them helpful in remembering those Christians who had gone before and what had gone on in their lives...especially those of the apostles. I mean, there are twelve of them and no matter how hard or long you study them, it can be easy to get them confused.
I've always found myself drawn to two in particular: Paul and Andrew. Paul I've always known why...he was the thinker of the group. Andrew though...I realized that I knew nothing. I did some quick digging and found out he was the silent, even tempered apostle. Again...makes sense. I just find it funny that the attraction was subconscious. Now I want to see the MBTI for Christians who like specific apostles. Unfortunately, very little of his work survived the passing of time. I'm hoping I can learn more from this book that I just loaded into my Kindle.
The art though, was amazing. I almost cried when I rounded a corner and saw a reproduction of The Pietà . The use of images in churches does run the risk of promoting idolatry, but many of the works themselves, I found them helpful in remembering those Christians who had gone before and what had gone on in their lives...especially those of the apostles. I mean, there are twelve of them and no matter how hard or long you study them, it can be easy to get them confused.
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| St. Andrew by Francois Duquesnoy |
I've always found myself drawn to two in particular: Paul and Andrew. Paul I've always known why...he was the thinker of the group. Andrew though...I realized that I knew nothing. I did some quick digging and found out he was the silent, even tempered apostle. Again...makes sense. I just find it funny that the attraction was subconscious. Now I want to see the MBTI for Christians who like specific apostles. Unfortunately, very little of his work survived the passing of time. I'm hoping I can learn more from this book that I just loaded into my Kindle.
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