Body Quote by James Fisher
“May we not have a picture of Christ, who has a true body? By no means; because, though he has a true body and a reasonable soul, John 1:14, yet his human nature subsists in his divine person, which no picture can represent, Psalm 45:2. Why ought all pictures of Christ to be abominated by Christians? Because they are downright lies, representing no more than the picture of a mere man: whereas, the true Christ is God-man”
About This Quote
Source Treatise: The Iconoclasm Debate, 1995
The quote argues that any visual depiction of Christ inevitably fails to capture his divine nature, thus such images are misleading and should be rejected by believers.
In simple terms: Pictures cannot fully represent Christ’s divine-human nature.
Key Takeaway
Avoid using images that misrepresent theological truths.
Themes
theology
iconoclasm
art
Christology
Mood
reflective
serious
Type
theological
didactic
When to use this quote
- church teaching
- personal devotion
- educational material
- religious art criticism
Key Concepts
divine nature
human nature
representation
idolatry
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you distinguish between symbolic and literal religious art?
- Can visual media ever convey divine truths?
A Different Perspective
Faith traditions may accept symbolic art that does not claim literal representation.
![“[O]nly if the form of Christ can be lived out in the community of the church is the confession of the church true; only if Christ can be practiced is Jesus Lord. No matter how often the subsequent history of the church belied this confession, it is this presence within time of an eschatological…” quote by David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/dc4/david-bentley-hart-4691_body-of-christ_o-nly-if-the-form-of-christ-can-be-lived_1548160.jpg)
![“I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests with ZERO-G [a charter-flight service in Arlington, Va., that uses modified Boeing 727s to simulate weightlessness], which went great.” quote by Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/aa1/richard-branson-256_adventure_i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-repl_903.jpg)
