187 Ugolnik, 1989, p. 57.
188 An example of this would be the gold crosses adorning music award show guests or WWJD araphernalia that is common among younger people.
189 Ugolnik, 1989, p. 58.
190 Clendenin, 1994, p. 83.
At first glance, however, it seems this argument is irrelevant for the Evangelical church of today. Most would suggest that veneration does not occur in any context in contemporary evangelicalism. But there are appearances of veneration, even though they would not be considered veneration and certainly admission would be unlikely. Some possible examples of veneration would include the Bible itself. The Evangelical emphasis on the inerrancy of the Bible that permeated the 20th century often appeared like bibliolatry. Specific acts of veneration were not formally required or observed, but the treatment of certain bibles or even versions of bibles was definitely similar to veneration. L’Engle suggests that the Bible is one of our greatest icons and potentially, one of our greatest idols. “The greater an icon is, the more dangerously easy it is for us to turn it into an idol.” “When the Bible becomes a thing in itself, rather than the word of God, it becomes an idol.”191 In any case, the appearance of veneration has often been present. Morgan suggests that Protestants interact with pictures of Christ much in the same way that Catholics do.192 It is debatable whether this exemplifies veneration or merely sentimentalism, but it is definitely interaction beyond the merely cerebral. Morgan refers to a study done by Emile Durkheim who argued, “…social thought can make us see things in the light that suits it”. We see Christ in the picture because we want to.193
191 L’Engle, 1996, p. 160.
192 David Morgan. Visual Piety: A History and Theory of Popular Religious Images. (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1998), p. 55. This book is based on responses people give regarding the popular artwork of Warner Sallman, and especially, his common picture of Jesus – “Head Of Christ”. Many consider this religious kitsch.
193 Ibid, p. 45.
In light of this phenomenon, it is possible for people to see Christ in the clouds, for example. Morgan says they see what they want to see. People can almost always recognize a Sallman picture as one of Jesus. Is this because they have been conditioned to or because they want to?194 In any case, “…Lutherans, and Protestants generally, find a very important place for images in their religious lives, particularly in their homes.”195 If this is not specifically veneration, it is very similar. It is certainly a religious use of images. Another potential example of veneration for the evangelical context might be the act of preaching. In fact, there are obvious similarities in ideology and terminology between the Orthodox understanding of icon and the Evangelical understanding of preaching. Often, preaching is referred to as opening the word.
This terminology treats preaching like a window, which is exactly the Orthodox picture of the icon. Ironically, preaching is mostly explaining of the word rather than the reading of the word itself. Evangelicals would not call this explanation “the word” yet treat it in a similar way. Again, honor accorded to preaching is strikingly similar to the honor given to icons. Another significant example of possible veneration in the Evangelical context is prayer itself. When Evangelicals pray, they often assume some unique position. This could be simply closing eyes but could also include kneeling, folding of hands and bowing. These are all acts consistent with veneration. In fact, it is impossible to pray without some kind of image, even if it is only imagined – how can one pray with no image? There is always a sense of an image in prayer, whether it is an image of God or something else.
