My Sunday Thought for September 27, 20015: The Image of God?

We read a lot in the news of late about the Muslim edict prohibiting pictures of Muhammad (pbuh), and the extremist murderers set to kill innocents to enforce it.  I say "Muslim" because I find nowhere in the Qur'an that says Islam prohibits it.  As a matter of fact, Islam has many images of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) which they do not display since the rule was created preventing the display of such.  I see this as intolerant and disrespectful of one's own people by a religion which espouses a love of peace, beauty, and mankind.    One can only then assume that this is another edict by a self-serving Imam and not another negative reflection on the religion of Islam as a whole.  Like Christianity and Judaism it would seem all things negative reflect poorly on leadership more than the religion itself.  I think that art, like spirituality, is a personal gift from God and not to be dictated by some hypocritically intolerant heretic.  But, maybe I just give God more credit.   

I have struggled with my own artistic ability for years.  My struggle was with my own lack of confidence to produce any work that would truly reflect my spirituality.  Every artist would like to be a Michelangelo, Picasso, Jules Verne, Frank Lloyd Wright, or Socrates.     Mine was one of those inner struggles you have for years, prior to the life changing epiphany that clarifies faulty thinking when you finally recognize the trees you've been gawking at as the forest you've been seeking for most of your life.

I have never produced art for anyone's approval except my own, and when I did, it received a failing grade from art instructors operating without a clue.  Art class was where I learned, truly, those that can do and those that can't... try to teach.  Art is in the eye of each individual.  An instructor can rate the student on the mechanics of art, but not on the art produced.  Are you producing your art, or the art of your instructor?  I think this is why I have always been my own worst critic.  Whether it was painting in oil, acrylic, watercolor, India ink, or drawing in pencil, carving wood, or photography, I was my own worst enemy.  I was never going to please myself until I could do some work that would speak to my spirituality.  And, my epiphany?

My artistic epiphany came when I looked at my hands.  I was massaging them because, well, after 60 years of abuse a person's hands tend to hurt occasionally... more than not.  I was blessed with these hands and I abused the gift for many years.  Even while I was creating with them, I was abusing them.  I'm certain this holds some deep, forgotten meaning in my old psychology circles which I'm just not interested in delving into.  But, I also realized that God gave me another blessing, a mind with which to use my hands to create.  Each time I used my gifts I was producing evidence of my spirituality; I was saying thank you to God for the grace of art.

Every painting I produced of deep space was a tribute to the ultimate power in the universe; every photograph was a picture of God's creation all around me.  Every drawing was simply my way of putting a face to God.  We are so worried about drawing the image of a prophet, yet the face of God seems to escape us and be of so much less concern, and it should be.  What we all tend to forget is everything we do is a reflection of our God.  Every work of art is our way of paying homage and thanking God for a gift we tend to misuse, and abuse.  In essence, we are our creator.  We are artistic evidence of the greatest power in the universe.  Our beauty or lack thereof, is in the eye of the beholder.

In every beat of a bee's wings there we can see God.  In the smallest of creatures we should be in awe of what we see.  The task of gathering pollen and creating a sweet honey is amazing.  The ability to morph from a caterpillar into a butterfly is no less beautiful to behold.  In all of this we, of faith, can see the works of the hand of God.  Why should we not be able to see that he gave us a mind, and abilities to admire and create beauty of our own?  And why should we not attribute each work of art to the gifts we've been blessed with, and thank God daily for the opportunity to use them?

Sing, even if you think you can't.  Paint, carve, cook, bake, and build as if you were the maestro of your art.  Write your thoughts, stories, and novels, for yourself and your children, and not because you intend to publish.  Do it for those you love, but do it because you can; do it for you, and for God.  Do not concern yourself with critics.  There will always be those that critique what they don't do, or what they don't understand.  Art is a personal definition of who you are.  Let it also be a personal "thank you" for the gift. 

If you aren't walking through life in a coma, you just might see the face of God all around you.  It can be in the least likely and silliest of places.  Evidence of God shows up where we least expect it; it is all around us.  The next time you pick something up in your hands, open your mouth to speak, or simply form a creative thought, prepare to be an artist.

As far as drawing an image of God, or a prophet, how can we really think God, Allah, would bless us with an ability to create beauty and then declare using it to be a crime?  Religious leaders who preach such nonsense do God a disservice.  They should wish to praise God in every way by creating art and beauty, not by creating more reasons to hate and kill.  Yet, we see the heretics of radical "Islam" destroying the art and history of the cradle of civilization, the birthplace of their own culture and religion. How against scripture, how immature and egotistical, is this?  It is an affront to God, Allah, and all of mankind.  Their inability to create anything of beauty is surpassed only by their lust for the destruction of anything beautiful, anything innocent.

Not long ago I had an opportunity to visit an old fort on one of Mississippi's barrier islands.  I captured this image of the sun coming in one of the canon portals.  I know what I was expecting to get when I took the shot, yet there seemed to be another hand at work.  There would be no photo to evidence an old piece of Civil War history; no image of war looking out on a coast of beauty.  There would be no moral message that I might have intended.  This image would evidence a doorway to a different land; a kingdom of light.  Then again, it might just be a canon portal taken with the wrong camera settings.

What do you think?

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."