Here is my second Protestant icon - this one a kind of ascension portrait -"The Apotheosis of John Wesley " from the Methodist collection of the John Rylands Library at the University of Manchester. "Blessed in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."
I have a similar artwork in an American history text entitled "The Apotheosis of George Washington." Apparently the dictionary meaning of apotheosis is "to become a god." The artist must have thought highly of the man.
ReplyDeleteI'm currently on vacation (holiday) in New York City where there are numerous Protestant icons, many to the "Captains of Industry": Rockefeller, Carnegie, Pulitzer, etc. They are pictured in iconic manner right along side Moses. In fact, there are many pluralistic, even universalistic depictions on public buildings such as libraries and museums but also in churches. Remember, Riverside Church is here, the hotbed of Protestant Liberal Theology. See my Historical Theology blog(http://keahisttheology.blogspot.com) for pictures of these Protestant icons.
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