The Message of Faith, Hope and Love
The second Revelation that the Poor Man's Bible seeks to share with the viewer is the revelation of God's plan for humanity's Salvation through sending his son, Jesus, to be born as a human baby, to live among people and to die a cruel death to absolve the sins committed by humanity. Jesus, as depicted on the walls, domes and windows of churches, is the Revelation of God's love, his grace, his mercy and his glory. This, broadly speaking, is the theme of every Poor Man's Bible.
The underlying theme of humankind's sinfulness may be illustrated in a number of ways. Although terrifying scenes of Christ the Judge were common in medieval art, they became less common in the art of the Renaissance. On the other hand, there were numerous depictions of the Genesis story of Adam and Eve eating the fruit that they had been forbidden by God to touch. There were also depictions of the so-called Seven Deadly Sins and the parable of the Wise and the Foolish Bridesmaids. All this sought to confirm humankind's need to turn to Jesus to receive God's saving grace.
The Revelation of God's grace through Jesus might be shown in several ways. The focus might be on his birth, on his sacrificial death, on his subsequent resurrection from the dead, or upon his coming in glory.
In other churches there is a focus upon an incident or incidents which particularly involve the saint to whom the church is dedicated. For example, a church dedicated to St Thomas might have above the high altar an oil painting in which Thomas sees the resurrected Jesus and proclaims him as Lord. A church dedicated to St Francis of Assisi might focus on the miraculous moment at which the saint, while praying before a large panel crucifix, heard the voice of God and received on his hands the signs of the wounds of Christ's crucifixion, the stigmata. (This crucifix before which St Francis prayed in the 12th Century still exists.)
Read more about this topic: Poor Man's Bible, Theology, Revelations
Famous quotes containing the words message, hope and/or love:
“The message you give your children when you discipline with love is “I care too much about you to let you misbehave. I care enough about you that I’m willing to spend time and effort to help you learn what is appropriate.” All children need the security and stability of food, shelter, love, and protection, but unless they also receive effective and appropriate discipline, they won’t feel secure.”
—Stephanie Marston (20th century)
“If our entertainment culture seems debased and unsatisfying, the hope is that our children will create something of greater worth. But it is as if we expect them to create out of nothing, like God, for the encouragement of creativity is in the popular mind, opposed to instruction. There is little sense that creativity must grow out of tradition, even when it is critical of that tradition, and children are scarcely being given the materials on which their creativity could work”
—C. John Sommerville (20th century)
“We love each other like poppy and recollection.”
—Paul Celan [Paul Antschel] (1920–1970)