An examination of Christian attitudes towards idolatry during the Middle Ages.
Written in 2006; 2,835 words; 6 sources; APA; $ 84.95
Paper Summary:
This paper examines how Christians used the label "idolatry" quite liberally during the Middle Ages to describe the vastly different practices of religious and ethnic groups that they wished to condemn and how the Christians, being the labelers, were immune to this classification, and instead used the plasticity of the term to sanction almost any Christian practice, no matter how similar it may have seemed to their own ideas of idolatry. The paper points out that Christians were able to condemn other religions for their use of images, while glorifying their own with similar practices. The paper thus concludes that Christian condemnation of other religions as idolatrous reflects the ambiguous nature of images, and the ease with which they are misused.
From the Paper:
"But at times it seemed that Christians did worship the images, offering votives, praying, and attributing miracles to effigies. Large-scale images of saints containing relics were objects of cults from the ninth to twelfth century (Dahl 175). These sculptures were often adorned by precious metals, and were derided by some as blatant idols. However, Christians defended their practices by claiming that they worshipped the memory of the saint, not the object itself. Respect shown to the statue denoted respect to the saint, and the saint jealously guarded her image from heaven (Dahl 178). Bernard, a Christian scholar, regretted dismissing a venerated sculpture of a saint as idolatrous, after realizing that "the statue is honored in memory of the holy martyr in order to glorify the highest God...Her image is not an impure idol but a holy memento that invites pious devotion...it is nothing but a casket that holds the venerable relics of the virgin" (Belting 536). "
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