Designs of Faith. Mark McGinnis

with great despondency and said the only honest preaching of the day can be a “theology of despair.” He said:

      The central problem of this generation is emptiness in the heart, the decreased sensitivity to the imponderable quality of the spirit, the collapse of communication between the realm of tradition and the inner world of the individual. The central problem is that we do not know how to think, how to pray, how to cry, or how to resist the deceptions of the silent persuaders. There is no community of those who worry about integrity. (Heschel 251)

      But even in his despair he did not give up hope:

       The spirit is still a small voice, and masters of vulgarity use loudspeakers. The voice has been stifled, and many of us have lost faith in the possibility of a new perceptiveness. …

       Yet, man is able to break the chains of despair, to stand up against those who deny him the right and the strength to believe wholeheartedly. Ultimate truth may be hidden from man, yet the power to discern between the valid and the specious has not been taken from us.

      Surely God will always receive a surprise of a handful of fools - who do not fail. There will always remain a spiritual underground where a few brave minds continue to fight. Yet our concern is not how to worship in the catacombs but rather how to remain human in the skyscrapers. (Heschel 254)

      Judaism is a religion, a way of life, a design of a relationship between God and people in this life. There is little talk of heaven, paradise, devils, and hell. The emphasis is on living a life of justice and wisdom in a covenant with God.

      The legacy of Judaism to the Western world is enormous. It has not only created a remarkable religious, philosophical, and historical heritage - no small accomplishment for a small, usually weak and many times countryless people - it is also the fertile ground on which two more of the world’s most influential religions grew, Islam and Christianity. Not all of the Jewish heritage may be looked upon by all with glowing favor, including the male-dominated patriarchal society, a contribution to Western society that Judaism shared with the ancient Greeks. To look upon Judaism and see the 3000 year transition from a small, sacrificial cult to the living, evolving religion of today, to look upon the heritage of faith, wisdom, and determination of this extended family of Israel, to gain some insight into this religion and people is an experience of awe.

       SOURCES CITED

      Gates of Repentance, The New Union Prayerbook for the Days of Awe, New York: Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1984.

      Heschel, Abraham J., Between God and Man: An Interpretation of Judaism, selected, edited and introduced by Fritz A. Rothchild, New York: The Free Press, 1959.

      Neusner (I), Jacob, A Short History of Judaism: Three Meals, Three Epochs, Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Press, 1992.

      Neusner (II), Jacob, The Mishnah: Introduction and Reader, Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1992.

      Steinsaltz, Adin, The Essential Talmud, New York: Bantam Books, 1976

      Telushkin, Rabbi Joseph, Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History, New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1991.

      Vitotsky, Burton L., translator, The Midrash on Proverbs, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992.

      all Biblical quotes not from the above sources came from:

      Sacred Writings Volume 1: Judaism: The Tanakh. The New JPS Translation (Jewish Publication Society), New York: Quality Paperback Book Club, Edited by Jaroslav Pelikan, 1992.

      16

      Christianity Quintych

      Christianity Quintych Watercolor Study

       SYMBOLISM & SOURCES

       CENTER SECTION

      The focal point of this section and of the entire quintych is the lamb, which has a long and important symbolic history in Judeo- Christian tradition. The lamb was the animal God told Moses to have the captive Jews in Egypt slaughter and smear its blood on their door lintels to allow the death He was inflicting on the first born of the Egyptians to pass over the Jewish homes; therefore, the Passover. The lamb is one of the oldest symbols in Christianity. It symbolizes Christ as God’s ultimate sacrifice for humankind. Pre-Rabbinic Judaism was a faith based on blood sacrifice at the Temple to mediate the relationship between God and humans. Christ was the sacrifice that cleansed all sin and saved all people who believed. One of the main New Testament references of lamb symbolism is John 1:29, where John the Baptist declared, upon Jesus’ arrival for baptism, “There is the Lamb of God who takes away takes away the sin of the world.”

      The lamb in the center section is holding a cross symbolic of the crucifixion, but the cross also bears the banner of the resurrection, representing the triumph of Christ over death and the promise he holds for all Christians to rise above death. Wearing a circular halo with the cross through the middle, the traditional halo worn only by Christ, the lamb stands on a hill with four rivers. The hill is symbolic of the Christian church and the four rivers of the four gospels that carry the message of Christ. The wound in the side of the lamb is analogous to the wound in the side of Christ, the blood sacrifice and the Eucharist. The blood is carried by a river of the gospels to the lower section.

      Above the lamb is a dove. The dove also has a long history in Judeo-Christian tradition; from the messenger of peace and forgiveness in the story of Noah, to the common sacrificial bird at the Jewish Temple, to the Christian symbol of the Holy Spirit as it is used in this painting. The Holy Spirit as a part of the Trinity is the manifestation of God that is bestowed on people to fill them with God and unify them with their faith. It is commonly portrayed as a white dove, but I made a conscious departure from this and depicted the Holy Spirit as a mourning dove. My reasoning for this is personal and multiple. First, every Spring I am fortunate enough to have several pairs of mourning doves nest in the shelterbelt outside my studio, bringing me a summer of enjoyment with their beauty, song, and relationships with one another. Second, and more darkly, every Fall these same gentle creatures are hunted and killed by the thousands for the enjoyment of men. This deep dichotomy of joy and pain represents to me aspects of the Christian experience.

       TOP SECTION

      Above the dove is the section of heaven with an image of God. Again, I have chosen an unconventional representation. Rather than depicting God as an elderly man I have chosen to represent him as a relatively young man. This approach arose due to what I interpret as the scriptural revelations of the image of God. The image of God has been revealed twice, once as Adam and secondly as Jesus, both representations focusing on a young man. My additional motivation for this representation is the concept of the Trinity. My painting of God is loosely based on images from the Byzantine period where Christ is represented as “Pantocrator,” the omnipotent creator of the universe, symbolizing God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit as one entity. God wears His traditional triangular halo representing the Trinity. The design of the robes of God are based on those of Christ in the 16th century Italian artist, Leonardo da Vinci’s, great painting, The Last Supper. The colors of the robes are changed to gold as the color of God and white as the symbolic color of faith and glory. The monogram I have placed on the robe consists of the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, the alpha and omega, symbolizing the immortality of God.

       BOTTOM SECTION

      Below the lamb is the section of hell. The rivers of the gospels cannot enter, but the blood of Christ enters and christens the skull of Adam in hell, washing away the original sin of man, liberating humankind. This symbolism is my variation on a theme often depicted with the crucifixion, where the blood of Christ runs down the cross and on to the skull of Adam over which the cross has