Question:
Is it wrong to draw pictures of Christ or Biblical characters as long as you do not worship them? Please show Scriptures either way.
Answer:
This is indeed an interesting question. In fact, it
is one that seems trivial at first but deeply important on second
thought.
The passage that immediately comes to mind is the second commandment
found in Exodus 20:4 saying, “You shall not make for yourself a
carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that
is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you
shall not bow down to them nor serve them.” In fact, the principles
of this Old Testament command are generally repeated in other New
Testament passages (1 John 5:21; 1 Corinthians 5:10,11; Acts 15:20,21).
Consider a few reasons why God forbids such activity.
First, it is impossible to accurately represent in artistic
fashion what you have not seen. John 1:18 says, “No one has seen God
at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father,
He has declared Him.” Part of the reason we have not seen God is
because “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in
spirit and truth” (John 4:24).
Second, our physical creations can become a form of worship whether
we intended it or not. In Romans 1:25 we read of how God’s wrath
will be revealed to those who “worshiped and served the creature
rather than the Creator...” This problem was directly related to the
graven images that men made in their religious fervor.
Finally, an inaccurate artistic representation of Scriptural
truths can be a form of false teaching. As we draw, paint, sculpt or
film we are teaching others. With teaching, comes a stricter judgment
(James 3:1). In addition, a false teaching can mislead others into the
same error (Matthew 15:14). For a more intense and advanced study on how
art and philosophy have affected rational thinking consider Francis A.
Schaeffer’s book Escape from Reason as he writes about many false
teachings that have entered the church through the mediums of
literature, art and music, theatre and cinema, television and popular
culture.