Glocal Christianity

Last Supper meets Pan's Labyrinth?

"The Best Supper" by Hillary White. This has got to be one of the most eclectic cultural mashups I've ever come across. Thanks Cara (I think!)

The Last Supper of Doctor Who

"Doctor Who Last Supper" by teutelquessir.

I'm thinking its missing a sonic screw driver and the angels from "Blink". Thinkers may also want to check out the Last Supper of the Scientists and the Doctor Who Penultimate Supper featuring David Tennant.

Resurrection Mural by Ron DiCianni.

Check out this mural by Ron DiCianni. In my view the resurrection doesn't feature in Christian art nearly often enough.

Jesus, Buddha & Krishna

The comes from a fridge magnet, believe it or not. See here for more.

Mohammed, Lao Tzu, Jesus, Buddha, Confucius

Cao Dai temple, Da Nang, near Hoi An, Vietnam. See here for the source.

How Special are Martyrs?

Painting of Chinese Martyrs of 1307, Chapel of the Martyrs of Nepi in Katowice Panewniki.

It's sobering to reflect that martyr means witness, that is, in terms of authentic discipleship, nothing special.

Jesus asked, “Who do people say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

Jesus said the Son of Man must suffer many things.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

Jesus rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” 

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.

What are our concerns? 

Witnessing without the Word

This image, from the book "China's Millions" (1892), shows open air preaching in China using "The Wordless Book".

The Wordless Book consists of several blocks of pure color that, in sequence, represent a nonverbal introduction to basic Christian teachings about sin (black), Christ's death (red), justification by faith (white) and heaven (gold). 

Now, ignoring for one moment that this summary completely bypasses the resurrection, and by implication, the really good news, its worth considering if we can learn anything from this as we engage our own post-literate, multi-media culture. If Spurgeon, with his impecabble Evangelical credentials, saw the limitations of text-based evangelism, why can't contemporary Evangelicalism?

Hererodoxy in Colour

What do you notice that's unusual about this image? How about the midwives!

Prior to Christmas I made reference to Ninian Smart's seven dimensions of religion, noting that the narrative dimension typically trumps the material dimension in Christianity. 

This may be contrasted with, say, Tarot based spirituality, where the symbols are considered more fundamental than any stories that become attached to them. 

It is worth noting these differences between religions when it comes to critiquing religious art, art being a popular expression of the material dimension of religion. 

This image hails from the Gallery of medieval art in Austria, Vienna, Austria. It includes some seemingly innocuous changes to the story. I say "seemingly" because the presence of the two extra women suggests a possible allusion to the Infancy Gospel of James, a pseudoepigraphical Gnostic text that introduces the idea that Jesus was born of light, not flesh, and that Salome and a midwife "checked" Mary after the birth to ensure she was ever virgin. Given the primacy of story in Christianity, changes to the stories illustrated by art have far greater significance for Christian art than the art of many alternative religions.

Adoration of the Magi

Adoration of the Magi. Panel from a Roman sarcophagus, 4th century CE. From the cemetary of St. Agnes in Rome.

A few interesting features I noted, reflecting on this early depiction of the story. Firstly, the Magi aren't in philosophers garb and in fact have short tunics, which suggests lower class. Secondly, there are three, which suggests this aspect of iconography had settled early. Thirdly, nevertheless, Jesus is depicted as a child rather than a newborn, which suggests that part of the iconography was still more open. Thirdly, the star is five pointed, with a circle around it, which is sure to excite a few Wiccans!

Can you help with this Chinese Crucifixion Scroll?

Yesterday I received an email from a Dutch reader seeking some background on a "Japanese or Chinese scroll" featuring the crucifixion of Christ. To me it seems Chinese, rather than Japanese, and it obviously post-dates European contact, but beyond that I can't place it. Can anybody help out? You can view a few of the close ups here.