I have touched on this topic on a couple of entries before, referring to my agreement with John Frame. This was kind of a no brainer, but since by American Fundamentalist influence, many in the Presbyterian churches, particularly the OPC, are hard against having pictures of Jesus Christ, I find it necessary to open a topic on this. The superstitious mentality of these is really not far from the Muslims' ban on pictures of Mohammed.
Frame, John M.. The Doctrine of the Christian Life (A Theology of Lordship) (p. 481). P&R Publishing. Kindle Edition.:
Based on 2nd Commandment, so Jesus may not be pictured. Frame: Scripture does not teach purely and simply that God cannot be pictured. Christ, God incarnate, was picturable: could be seen, felt, touched as well as heard. His face could be held in memory and such mental images were not sinful. To deny this is docetism. Here lies the sharp difference between Old vs. New Covenants: from emphatically no form (Deu 4:15) to emphatically form (1John 1:1ff., etc.)
Veneration of Christ's images circumscribes Jesus' divine nature or make his human and divine natures separable. Frame: Jesus in both his natures, deity was in one sense circumscribed since all its fullness dwelt in him; though in another sense, God was active beyond the body of Jesus. To picture Jesus is to picture a divine person, not one nature or other. To venerate such a picture would be wrong, but the opponents have yet to give an adequate argument against pedagogical use of such pictures.
Nobody now knows what Jesus looked like, so pictures are deceptive. Frame: A picture does not become a "lie" simply by being non-exhaustive [to insist full "representation" exhaustively in art exhibits poor imagination/creativity, a sign of foolishness, a biblicist's own trap]. We don't know how Jesus looked but we know something about His looks: male, Semitic, in midlife, wearing a robe, etc.
2nd commandment excludes deity representations. Frame: only those intended for use in worship, not elsewhere.
Whenever pictures of Jesus are used, there's risk of idolatry. Frame: True.
Bill Gates is releasing it. I've downloaded it, saved to my media drive. The linked article also briefly talks about Melinda Gates, his ex-wife's coming book on her divorce with him. Particularly for him being unfaithful and his connection to Jeffrey Epstein.
This is interesting. Though I don't see a need for this in my case, it is probably the easiest way to blur an image on the web via CSS. However, this technique may blur the image too much that other than color familiarity, there's zero recognizable figure/pattern of the blurred image.
Interesting testimony I came across on Presbycast. An OPC minister (PCA spy - his words) who was converted from prison (due to violent crime, gang, theft, etc.), who is now the Executive Director of the PCA's Metanoia Prison Ministries. Metanoia = Changing one's mind / Repentance. μετάνοια (Strong: G3341)
Thus far, the only thing I would disagree with him is on the 2nd commandment, where he, like many OPC ministers, does not approve of the use of imageries to represent Jesus, i.e. no display of Jesus' in movies, paintings, etc. John Frame has already dealt (5 points in his The Doctrine of the Christian Life) against this so I need not bring it up here and it should be for another topic.
That was just a side comment at the start of the talk.
Note of interest. He was in prison for 17 years. Heard radio called Here Comes the Light, a gospel ministry station sponsored by Christians broadcasting at 60,000+ prisons in the vicinity in Texas, and converted (main theme was Jesus is here for you). Then was welcomed by an OPC pastor into his home, met his wife in another OPC church, switched from Dallas' Redeemer Seminary to Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (SC) at the behest of "RC Sproul of Brazil", Paulo Anglada, graduating 2015.
Fun fact: He was playing blind fold chess with other inmates while in solitude confinements.
There are two avoidances, that I train myself to take, when it comes to mingling with Christians or those claiming to be Christians. This is regardless of family members or non-relatives. By default, I give the benefit of the doubt, when someone proclaims himself/herself Christian.
When most topics of interest are not of the spiritual kind, not related to God at all. These are those who talk about jobs, science and technologies, vacations, news, weather, stocks, etc. These generally have their hearts set on something else besides the Lord and His Kingdom and I should take care to avoid them. They seek self-fulfillment, not God. God is their excuse to Heaven.
When most topics of interest are of the spiritual kind, always vainly, legalistically or shallowly praising God. God is their excuse to Heaven.
So what then, is true fellowship? It's the discussion of all topics that naturally grounds in the Creator. I said naturally, so it's not a ritually intended one as many fundamentalists do. The more zeal one is truly for His Kingdom, the more evangelical one will be come. So the more one loves to speak of the bible, theology, and yet there's no increase of boldness or desire to bring the Gospel to the gentiles, the more obvious this person has become avoidance #2 that I listed above.
Last but not least, think evangelical to problem #1. As they are most likely open to the Gospel, whether they claim themselves to be Christians or not. They are humbler. For #2, I have no answer other than ignoring them if possible. They are no likely to be truly humble and won't admit their pride. Perhaps lead them by example is best, and be watchful of them should they think they are/want to be part involved in your examples/projects.
Painting of the day: An Arrest, Painted by Christian Ludwig Bokelmann (1844-1894), Painted in 1881, Oil on canvas, Christie’s / Wikimedia Commons
Patrick van der Vorst alluded this painting to Jesus' arrest (attempted) in John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30. Contrasting the public humiliation of just cause in the painting with that which was intended to judge the Judge.
4/3/2025 Thanks to Ryan from Reformed Forum, finally got this cleared out. I kept hearing "Doctor Piper" on Presbyterian podcasts and it was apparent that they weren't talking about the Baptist Dr. John Piper. I may have had it cleared out before but googling "presbyterian piper" and such just won't work when (if) I forgot about it. This is what Ryan answered me: Dr. Joseph Pipa, President Emeritus of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He is one of the founding ministers of the PCA and currently serving as one of the pastors of Antioch Presbyterian Church in South Carolina. I would never have been able to figure this out on my on given Google's current artificial intelligence.
4/3/2025 Jared Madsen explores the Chinese poem Bamboo Grove Villa (竹里館) by Buddhist 王維 aka 詩佛. Using excerpts from the movie: 长安三万里 (2023), shown below this video. Interesting vocabulary learned: 篁 huang2 = bamboo forest. 独坐幽篁里， 弹琴复长啸。 深林人不知， 明月来相照。
4/3/2025Painting of the day: The Death of Moses, Painting by Alexandre Cabanel (1823-1889), Painted in 1850, Oil on canvas, Musée Fabre, Montpellier, France
This is a huge painting, Fr. Patrick van der Vorst related this to John 5:31-47, where Jesus rebuked the Jews - "There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope." God depicted on the left as Moses is dying before God, gazing at the promised land. The style of flowing drapery and muscular form imitates that of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel paintings.
4/2/2025 Painting of the day: The Concert, Painted by Gerrit Van Honthorst (1592-1656),Painted in 1623, Oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
Fr. Patrick van der Vorst related this painting to John 5:17-30: I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me to illustrate the beauty in harmony. What's worthy of note is Gerrit van Honthorst, one of the greatest painters of the Dutch Golden Age, after training in Utrecht, Gerrit travelled to Italy, where he absorbed tenebrism (strong contrasts of light and dark) characteristic of Caravaggio’s work. Upon returning to the Netherlands, he became famous for his candlelit night scenes, earning him the nickname “Gherardo delle Notti” (Gerard of the Nights). His compositions are often filled with warmth, life, and fun storytelling, whether depicting biblical narratives, historical subjects, or lively genre scenes of musicians. His reputation led him to prestigious commissions from European courts, including working as a painter for King Charles I of England and Prince Frederick Henry of Orange. ~ van der Vorst.
4/1/2025Painting of the day: Christ Healing the Lame at the Pool of Bethesda, Drawing by Perino del Vaga (1501-1547), Drawn in 1538-1539, Pen and brown ink, over red chalk, on paper; Morgan Library, New York
This Morgan Library is near where I work and I haven't even visited.
Excerpt from Fr. Patrick van der Vorst, using John 5:1-3, 5-16: At the top of the drawing, an angel hovers, said to be the one who stirred the healing waters of the pool...Born in Florence, Perino del Vaga later moved to Rome, where he joined Raphael’s workshop...Jesus’ question... ‘Do you want to be well again?’ I agree with Vorst that it seems that this lame was not too grateful and rather complained than answering Jesus directly what he wanted. The blind in the soul couldn't see true blessings. And it reminds us to truly wish to be healed by our Lord, of addictions, impatience, grumpiness, etc. Or do we just wish to blame someone/something else for any shortcomings in us. It is also interesting that in verse 14, Jesus did warn the healed sinner: "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." And the next verse just state that he went to tell the Jews it was Jesus who healed him. This is probably the most gracious act of our Lord amongst those seemingly unappreciative accounts.
3/31/2025Painting of the day: Death and Life, Painting by Gustav Klimt (1862-1918), Painted in 1910, Oil on Canvas, Leopold Museum, Vienna. Contrasting death and life (vibrant colors, all ages, mother, father, etc.)
3/30/2025Painting of the day: The Prodigal Son, Painting by Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), Painted in 1618, Oil on canvas, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp
Observe the son's face (right), the owner's daughter couldn't help him. The animals have better colors than he.
Paraphrasing Lane Tipton: If you truly get the relationship of your gracious election and righteousness, you would probably see non-Christians better than you. I added this on FB: Why most Christians who claimed to be reformed, don't really get what reformed by often criticizing/looking down on non-Christians on certain ways:
3/29/2025 Painting of the day: The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Engraved by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794-1872), Published Leipzig, by Georg Wigands, 1852-1860, This plate conceived in 1854, Die Bibel in Bildern, Plate 200, Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud
Schnorr is quite unique an artist of his time. A Lutheran belonging to the Nazerene Movement: a group of early 19th-century German and Austrian artists who sought to revive the purity, spirituality, and craftsmanship of early Renaissance and late medieval art, particularly inspired by figures like Fra Angelico and Raphael
Fr. Patrick van der Vorst: Mary Cassatt was an American painter, born in Pennsylvania, who spent much of her adult life in France, where she became close friends with Edgar Degas. As one of the few prominent female Impressionists, she exhibited alongside the movement’s leading figures. Her work primarily depicted the social and private lives of women, often highlighting the deep, intimate bonds between mothers and their children.
Vorst reflects this maternal love on God's love for us as we practice loving God in return, based on Mark 12:28b-34 ...You must love the Lord your God with all your heart.
3/27/2025Painting of the day: Room in Brooklyn, Painted by Edward Hopper (1882-1967), Painted in 1932, Oil on canvas Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Van der Vorst's interpretation: Edward Hopper, influenced by French Impressionism, was a master at capturing solitude and introspection in his art. His paintings often depict lone figures immersed in quiet contemplation, bathed in the soft light of a window or lost in thought amid an empty room. While his works are sometimes associated with isolation and loneliness, they also evoke a sense of profound stillness, one that invites the viewer to reflect. In many ways, his art resonates with our Lenten journey. I recently read an article that remarked, in light of Covid, “we are all Edward Hopper paintings now.” However, there is a distinction between the loneliness often ascribed to Hopper’s work and the sacred solitude we seek in faith. As Christians, we intentionally carve out moments of quietness: not to be alone in despair, but to step away from the noise of life, to find God.
Phil asked me to play this in church before. I didn't and still don't think it's apt for church worship services. But it's a nice piece to learn and play, perhaps I shall duet myself and record this on youtube, starting from Timothy Chooi's interpretation, besides the other masters on Massenet's Thais:
Art of the day: The Winged Victory of Samothrace, Executed circa 200–190 BC, Sculpted Parian marble, Louvre Museum, Paris
I have certainly seen this piece at my time in the Louvre. Though it was too crowded for me to fully learn and appreciate it until now, with this art of the day email newsletter. It was originally meant to be placed in a fountain but became a symbol of naval victory on a ship's prow. Discovered in 1863 on Samothrace island. Head and limbs are missing, but its flowing garments still shows its gallant billowing through the wind.
Interesting that Fr. Patrick van der Vorst, the host of Christian.art, also noted the importance of timeless pieces especially of the classics rather than the temporal fad of many modern arts.
3/25/2025 Interesting secret for landing the software developer engineering job with the right resume building. I've loaded to the Amazon Photos cloud as well as my media drive in case this is censored online. Interesting notes:
What matters: Prestigious schools, i.e. MIT (I guess I can just take a couple of courses from MIT-online), Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, etc. GPA 4-10 years experience in the field. Expertise in JS, LLMs, etc. Longevity in previous roles. 2 years+ Startups matter Diversity matters (i.e. female, black, etc.) Citizen, Green Card Founder experience is bonus
What are red flags: Sub-contracted candidates Visa seekers Boot camps graduates IT consulting backgrounds, instead of actual product companies Big companies experience only (i.e. Intel, Google, Uber, HP, Dell, Cisco, etc.) Fake profiles
Painting of the day: The Annunciation with St Emidius, Painted by Carlo Crivelli (1430-1495), Painted in 1486, Oil on canvas, National Gallery, London
At first glance, I would not have cared too much for this medieval art, but with Patrick van der Vorst's guide, there's much to appreciate about this Italian (Carlo Crivelli)'s work. I was in London and I certainly have missed this piece of artwork. The annunciation is the proclamation of the incarnation to Mary and the Catholics love arts surrounding this theme. This piece involved St. Emidius holding a model of the town (Ascoli Piceno) he was "patron saint" of, seemingly kneeling next to the Angel Gabriel. Mary has a ray of light descending from the Holy Spirit in the painting. In the foreground, apple signifies the forbidden fruit of Eden, a reminder of sin; the cucumber, to the left of the apple, represents resurrection and redemption, a medieval theme of the vegetable as cucumbers regenerate year after year and the fruit last freshly for a long time. The peacock above Mary's ceiling is an association with immortality, as the ancient believes that its flesh never decay. The background bridge shows two man, one reading a message handed to him by another, the message was delivered by carrier pigeon with its cage to the right, the imagery is a metaphor for the Annunciation itself. Everyone else is minding their own business, oblivious to the kairos, except for a small young girl, curiously peering from the left corner of what is really going on.
3/24/2025AI that color matches pictures from other pictures to share the same color theme.
Above first piece, No. III, The Return: Modernize biblical parable set to harbor scene by Realist painter Tissot, who love maritime arts. Observe the pigs in the background as well as the woman watching in awe/shock on the right.
The same artist has another piece in the Brooklyn Museum, set to the biblical time, The Return of the Prodigal Son (Le retour de l'enfant prodigue):
3/23/2025 The Romans Doxology is the doxology version we use at church sometimes, alternating between the classical version from the hymn book. At first finding, I found this youtube version to be more rich in chords for the moment, perhaps I'll also arrange one:
On Pride vs. Selfishness, I finally am able to lay this out more comprehensively on FB:
Not gonna play their Catholic game. I pick Self-centeredness / Selfishness. You can be selfish but not prideful, but you can NEVER be unselfish if you are proud. I'll just define pride here simply as: Thinking you are ALWAYS superior than others in certain areas. Greed is closer than pride to selfishness, depends how you define greed, but I'll still stick to self-centeredness to avoid confusion. Many think if they are humble they have prevented all 7 sins, but the root problem isn't pride, instead, by not tackling their selfishness, they've become more prideful (in a different way totally not to their expectation), more selfish, perhaps even more jealous. Leading to fake humility, individualism, idolizing family/children/spouse, offering the golden calf of philanthropy, unable to accept that a loser could overtake them, etc. all in the verbal mask of "thanks be to God".
The love of silver is really not about those who love collecting bitcoins, nothing wrong with collecting mountains of gold, it's the about bad motive behind it.
Once you return your SELF to God (viz. God-centered), then all is good.
I have called this type "low IQ" or lack of creativity, abandoning an important gift God instilled in man. They would even think that the Bible does not promote fiction, that Jesus' parables do not include use real names, in fact, some would even go as far as considering Jesus' parables as real history, real events that actually happened somewhere in time. To them, fiction = lie/false testimony and thus breaking biblical law. I don't know if they are honest with this belief or not. It may not have started honestly in the beginning but because they felt jealous for unable to keep up with the metaphors, they committed themselves into such shallowness to save their ego. My theory anyway.
I asked ChatGPT and this is the interesting answer I get:
There isn’t a widely recognized psychological term specifically for people who refuse to engage with fiction because it’s not real, but there are a few concepts that might explain their mindset:
Literalism – Some people have a very literal way of thinking and struggle to see the value in things that aren't factual or real.
Pragmatism Extremism – Some highly pragmatic people see fiction as a "waste of time" because it doesn't directly contribute to real-world knowledge or success.
Reality Bias (or Hyperrealism) – A cognitive bias where people overly prioritize real-world experiences and dismiss anything that isn’t grounded in reality.
Fictional Apathy – Not an official term, but could describe people who just don’t see the point of fiction because it doesn’t reflect real life.
Neophilia Deficiency – A lack of interest in imaginative or novel ideas, preferring only tangible, real-world things.
Some might even argue it's a form of "fictional nihilism"—a belief that if something isn’t real, it has no value.
