Luther was also suspicious of images and saw a dichotomy between an image of Christ and Christ himself. He felt that it was “…intolerable that a Christian should set his heart on images and not on Christ.” He considered this to be superstition.177 But the “word” is essentially discussion of life – of image. It is not possible to think about the biblical narratives without thinking about some kind of image. It is possible that the protestant emphasis on Word (and arguably, words) was more a result of a combination of the invention of the printing press and a reaction against anything Roman than a truly biblical and historical doctrine.
172 Calian, 1992, p. 92.
173 Limouris, [Kretschmar]1990, p. 79.
174 Clendenin, 1994, p. 78.
175 Limouris, [Kretschmar]1990, p. 80.
176 I Cor. 11:7 – Man is the image of God. II Cor. 4:4 – Christ is the image of God
177 Limouris, [Kretschmar]1990, p. 81.
Pheidas suggests that the protestant church’s suspicion of icons was rooted in the pre-reformation western church, which “…had never been fully capable of incorporating in its tradition the theology on icons of the Eastern Church.”178 It is intriguing and ironic that, in protestant churches, “words” can be put on the wall without suspicion. Yet, these words virtually always inspire image in ones mind. In any case, the Orthodox theology of icons has been largely hidden until the 20th century. For evangelicals it is basically now a new discovery.179 Many of the concerns of Calvin, Luther and other reformers have been obscured by a contemporary intrigue with anything new. In this sense, the rediscovery of icons, and resulting intrigue, may be more related to a hunger for novelty than to any theological stance.
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