Images Not Made By Human Hand



Overview

Christians can get squeamish about images of Jesus Christ because of the First Commandment’s ban on graven images. One of the traditions that addressed this unease is that of acheiropoieta, or images not made by human hands. This manifested in two strains of thought: (1) that Jesus is the concrete visible icon of the Triune God, an icon made (begotten) by God and thus not a violation of the ban on images; and (2) that if an image appeared miraculously, then the image ban wasn’t violated. This second idea was then extended to suggest that a painting or other copy of an image that appeared miraculously was also not forbidden because it was not a depiction of God, but a depiction of the miraculous image.

For a deeper exploration of these kinds of images, try these links:

• Jesus as Image or Icon of God
• Acheiropoieta or Images Miraculously Made