God’s Own Image (or God and the Simpsons)
February 29, 2008
GOD’S OWN IMAGE
(Presentation for “God and the Simpsons” Discussion at Marble Collegiate Church)
j. Snodgrass
24 February, 2008
There’s an episode of the Simpsons called “Homer the Heretic,” where Homer stops going to church. In this episode, he has a vision in which he meets God, and the two of them take a walk together in the clouds.
Now, in Deuteronomy 4, The Lord says…
Deuteronomy 4:15-19 You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman…any animal…or any bird…or any fish…. And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. (NIV)
The God of the Israelites refuses to be depicted in any sculpture or image, and yet many of us do have a picture in mind of what God might look like. If you would, please close your eyes a moment, and see if you have a mental image of God.
Would anyone here like to share what they saw?
In “Homer the Heretic,” God appears in the following way. He’s… Well, first of all, he’s clearly male, and probably white, because his hand is yellow. God’s face is never seen, always cut off at the top of the screen, but we do see the long white beard and flowing white robe. I don’t think the Simpsons creators showed this image to reinforce the idea of God as a white man – rather, I believe God is depicted in this way as in invitation to reconsider this icon. What does it mean about us if we imagine God in this way? What does this tell us about the concept of God having a “chosen people?” This, obviously, could be its own discussion – and if we locked ourselves in this room for seven straight days, I doubt we’d have run out of things to say.
But rather than hold everybody hostage, I’d like instead to take a look at this image of God, where it might have come from. As many of you know, the most famous portrait of God is probably in Michelangelo’s painting on the roof of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. There we see numerous portraits of God, enacting the various stages of creation from the book of Genesis. One of these is the iconic depiction of God, reclining on a heavenly couch made of cherubim, giving life to Adam by touching his finger. Can everybody close their eyes a moment and see this image?
Michelangelo was commissioned in 1508 to paint the ceiling of the church, and the project took him four years. He’d originally been a sculptor, and as references for some of the images, used sculptures rather than hired models. So it’s actually possible that, just as God made the first person from clay and then brought it to life by breathing, Michelangelo may have actually made God from clay, then brought it to life by painting on the ceiling. Michelangelo’s God is a bearded white man.
When we look at artwork based on Biblical stories, particularly from centuries past, it’s important to remember that an artist had two major avenues for actually getting paid. One was portraits of rich people. The other was Biblical scenes. But nonetheless, these artists had something inside themselves to express – messages about their own time and place, using live models and familiar scenes. Obviously, a painting of David, a blond shepherd boy in blue pants, standing in an Italian meadow has nothing to do with David the Semitic teenager in brown robes on the rocky terrain of Israel. But nonetheless, these renaissance images have entered into our cultural consciousness and become definitive. We were made in God’s own image, but we have depicted Biblical characters in our own image.
Several times throughout the run of the Simpsons, we’ve seen vignettes where Bible-stories are played out using Simpsons characters. In one for example, Bart is shown as David, taking on a giant Nelson-Goliath. Here again, we see the mark of our own culture superimposed over a Biblical story.
…And, speaking of Biblical stories, I’d like to close with a tale from Exodus 33, where the Lord’s glory is revealed to the eyes of Moses.
Exodus 33:18-23 And Moses said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. And [God] said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee [but] Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live… Thou shalt stand upon a rock: and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will…cover thee with my hand…And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen. (KJV)
The next time you’re touring Rome, or viewing the roof of the Sistine Chapel on the internet, you may be surprised to find among the many images of God, one in which the Lord’s back is turned to the viewer. And the flowing robes hang open in the area of God’s back-parts, to inspire and strengthen us, as Moses was amazed by God so long ago.