{"id":723,"date":"2013-09-12T12:47:45","date_gmt":"2013-09-12T12:47:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beta.dminlgp.com\/?p=723"},"modified":"2014-10-28T17:33:23","modified_gmt":"2014-10-28T17:33:23","slug":"the-sacred-gaze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/the-sacred-gaze\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sacred Gaze"},"content":{"rendered":"

In The Sacred Gaze,<\/em> David Morgan expounds upon how images can impact our view and understanding of reality. He writes, \u201cSacred gaze is a term that designates the particular configuration of ideas, attitudes, and customs that informs a religious act of seeing as it occurs within a given cultural and historical setting. A sacred gaze is a way of seeing which invests an image, a viewer or an act of viewing with spiritual significance\u201d (pg3).<\/p>\n

Morgan relates this spiritual gaze from everything from Mount Rushmore to Christian indigenous art around the world. These gazes fundamentally impact how we view and interact in the world, for good or for bad. When these spiritual gazes begin to cross cultures and nationalities, misunderstanding can some times ensue. I would venture to say that everyone has spiritual gazes. Though, we might not be able to see our own gaze because we\u2019re so close we\u2019re blind or ignorant to it.\u00a0 Or, we might not see it because our theology tells us that gazing isn\u2019t allowed, that gazing is a form of idolatry. Much like Aaron and the golden calf in the book of Exodus.\u00a0 But, again, I think we all gaze, which begs the question \u2013 what are the religious images we\u2019re gazing at?<\/p>\n

Here are a few images that I think are influencing the faith of many.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pope Francis \u2013 While I don\u2019t have one particular image that sticks out in my mind, there are many that I think influence. Since Pope Francis has been installed he has washed and kissed the feet of the convict, paid for his own hotel room and often gives up posh transportation for more simple means.\u00a0 He is becoming the image of Christian humility and challenging many to follow in his steps. \u00a0How does this picture strike you?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Westboro Baptist \u00a0– Unfortunately not all \u2018gazing\u2019 is good. As much as Pope Francis has become the image of humility, Westboro Baptist has become the opposite. The image of hatred, protesting and bigotry.\u00a0 They protest the funerals of service men and women. They claim the hand of God in such acts as the Boston bombing and 9\/11. They have become an image of Christianity that many can use as an easy excuse of why they aren\u2019t Christians. How does this image strike you?\"\"<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Flag in the church \u2013 The US flag has become intertwined with the Christian faith (as Morgan rightly notes). \u00a0Many have it in their place of Worship.\u00a0 As a result of that connection, not giving reverence to the flag is often the same thing as rejecting Christ. Unfortunately, the two have become one. How does this imagine strike you?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A picture is worth a 1,000 words. In some ways it is more powerful than the spoken word.\u00a0 What can be absorbed in 2 minutes of gazing upon an image is much more than can be heard verbally. Images shape our view of reality. Often regardless of our conscious desires, we give them spiritual weight, meaning, authority, though many certainly wouldn\u2019t always admit that. Perhaps this is the reason the Protestant Reformation rejected images? Is it because they knew that that images sink deep into the soul, into the psyche of a person so quickly and so secretly?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In The Sacred Gaze, David Morgan expounds upon how images can impact our view and understanding of reality. He writes, \u201cSacred gaze is a term that designates the particular configuration of ideas, attitudes, and customs that informs a religious act of seeing as it occurs within a given cultural and historical setting. A sacred gaze […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2,284],"class_list":["post-723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dminlgp","tag-morgan","cohort-lgp3"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=723"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2917,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723\/revisions\/2917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}