/r/Catholicism is a place to present new developments in the world of Catholicism, discuss theological teachings of the Catholic Church, provide an avenue for reasonable dialogue amongst people of all beliefs, and grow in our own spirituality. Catholic Christianity offers the world the fullness of the Christian Faith.
My friends say that images of God the Father are disallowed, citing the commandment against "graven images" that we shall not "fashion for ourselves an image of anything in heaven," as well as Jewish tradition on depictions of Yahweh.
I came back with the fact that later in Exodus, the Jews erect an altar with depictions of angels, and that this proves the commandment forbids idol worship. If they were right, iconoclasm wouldn't be a heresy.
Right?
![r/Catholicism - [Free Friday] "Do not let divorce enter Spain," a pair of female protesters hold signs shortly prior to the legalization of divorce in Spain, ~1981. [720x1155]](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/8hK-ZN03e5Wz-IZ0NAgzl5jr9ZJgZjFOrfjVhKgaB3w.jpg)
![r/Catholicism - [FREE FRIDAY] A Design for a Baroque Altar that I Doodled](https://a.thumbs.redditmedia.com/2cCbE_lxTBCmYkOXpAUJz7HObUtpEuOqO9Edga39ic8.jpg)
![r/Catholicism - [Free Friday] Finally got a area for prayer](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/cPvl1r4eW7ujtZdcq3nPuB2Wr32p-_VCF1bt1oflzog.jpg)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_the_Father_in_Western_art#Gallery_of_art
Historically in the West they were frowned upon (other than metaphorically as a hand), and in the Eastern Orthodox Church they're still very rare and generally frowned upon (again, other than as a hand or something). As far as I know, the reasoning behind it was because "no one has seen the Father" and so it didn't make much sense to depict him (whereas Jesus could be depicted as a man and the Holy Spirit could be depicted as a dove). Iconoclasts did have a problem with depicting God the Father, but they had a problem with practically all religious art, and issues surrounding exactly what could and couldn't be depicted took a very long time to hammer out.
Are you or your Catholic?
My friends and I are all Catholic.
You are correct Angels were on the Arc of the covenant.
Your friends are wrong regarding artistic representations of God the Father. We Catholic use Image for many different purposes, but We do not worship them.
I am amazed the they who are Catholic are so clueless on their faith that they would even think that. That is a very Protestant way of thinking.
Comment deleted by user
You are wrong. I don’t know where you have drawn your opinion from. We are Catholics, not Muslims or Seventh Day Adventist’s. Artist representations of God the Father are allowed. Just look at the famous image of the Creation of Adam on the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo
The Creation Of Adam