The Irony of Iconography

This post contains thoughts on the contrast between Christian teaching and the iconography used as symbols of the church. If the mention of Christian beliefs or the criticism there of makes you uncomfortable please do not read this post. However if you choose to read it, please do not take this as my definitive stance on the topic of religion but merely an ongoing reflection on the subject. 

     Logan sat in church as a 13 year old boy, mesmerized by the words of the pastor standing behind the pulpit. The man quotes Philippians 4 verse 8 of the New Testament "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things". 13 year old Logan thinks first of the ten commandments and the things associated with them as the things that are not “excellent or praiseworthy”. Logan thought on the commandments which enumerated sins against people, Lust, Murder, Greed, Idolatry, Theft, Lying, Dishonoring Father and Mother. Logan closed his eyes and prayed to his God for the strength and resolve to excise such thoughts from his mind. He opened his eyes and looked to the cross at the front of the church, an ancient instrument of torture and horrific execution, and smiled, thankful for the brutal lashing, beating, and breaking his savior endured before being nailed to a cross that he may pray for the ability to purge reflections on violence from his mind.

     Hello friend. Hopefully that sloppy little intro wasn’t too off putting. Let me start with where these thoughts come from.

     My wife and I recently finished an Amazon Original show called Carnival Row. In this show fae creatures (fairies, fawns, trolls, centaurs, etc.) exist and are fleeing from their war torn nation to live amongst humans. The setting for the story is entirely fictional, taking place in a city called the Burge but think of it as late 1800s or early 1900s London. The church of the day worships someone they call “The Martyr” and he is depicted as a man stripped to his underclothes hanging from a gallows. In one scene, the main character enters an orphanage and is greeted by a large carving of this hanging savior on the wall as the children run by paying it no mind. This shocked me! What a twisted society this must be to hang an icon that shows a man being hanged and the young children being so desensitized to it that they don’t even look at it as they pass. Then I thought of the crucifix.

     Nearly everyone in western society can picture a crucifix when the word is uttered. For some it is an image of comfort, for some it is a reminder of the horrible acts perpetrated by a self proclaimed benevolent religious institution, and for others it is simply ignored. Regardless of one’s personal disposition towards it I believe that the irony of the image itself and the teachings of the church cannot be ignored. For how can one truly reflect on that which is “pure and lovely” and also be made to reflect on a violent image of execution? Some within the church would say that from their point of view that singular execution was pure and lovely because it freed mankind from the burden of sin and eternal damnation. To this I would say that presupposing that to be true does not change the horror of the act. To shoot a tyrannical dictator in the head to free a people, while beneficial for those under their regime, does not change the imagery or memory of the deed that the one who pulled the trigger must live with for the rest of their life. So while the act may have a beneficial outcome the act itself is neither pure nor lovely. 

     Perhaps this is why our culture has such a fascination with death. For thousands of years now western society has been shaped by the teachings of this church whose beliefs have hinged on an act of torture, mutilation, and execution. Some veins of popular culture glorify death and darkness as beautiful concepts that spark the imagination as they look into the unknown of the beyond. I myself tend to learn towards darker things in the media I consume. I find little use for the knight in shining armor whose faith and proclamations of pure salvation are enforced with a zeal that cannot be contested. I once wanted to be that knight, pursuing religious ideology in order to be a zealot without a hint of doubt as to the validity of my cause. As seen in this simple irony however such zealous pursuits can be easily broken with a simple question. Plus, Cthulhu is my homie.

     To wrap things up, let's talk about how this can be applied to D&D. Finding irony or inconsistency (not the same thing) in religious teaching is not hard and D&D is a game with dozens of deities for player characters to follow. As a Dungeon Master the narrative potential is vast. A corrupt member of a temple that one of your players belongs to or a member of society working as I am here and pointing out the ironies in a particular religious teaching. The players could then either sympathize with that person or seek to silence him. As a player having your god worshiping character wrestle with their faith is huge and should not be seen as a small aspect of their formation. This wrestling has been the most formative aspect of my personal life and has shaped who I am today, it can do the same for your character. Also your character need not be a cleric or paladin to worship a god, be creative and think of how being influenced by a particular religion could shape who your character is. 

     I hope this wasn’t too rambly or incoherent. While I may have made no particular point I hope I helped flesh out the struggle that is musing on religious ideology from the perspective of one within that religion. Regardless of your presuppositions concerning a divine teaching or the absurdity of the very notion I leave you with this…

Care for Others.

-Logan (Draconic Coffee)