In the 16th century, one of the greatest attacks on images was launched. The west was mostly spared from this up until now. The east of Europe had its own icon war in the 8th century. We are still in the aftermath of this great attack, still afraid of our images and how they relate to reality.
The Destruction
When visiting an older cathedral, like the Notre-Dame of Paris, it might appear quite empty and bland. This was not the case in medieval times. Churches were ornamented and colored in most extraordinary ways. When reading Suger (who helped design the Saint Denis Cathedral in France, 12th century), it becomes clear great care was attached to the symbolism and imagery. Suger describes the richness of adorning a medieval cathedral, not often seen.
Much of these beautiful decorations were destroyed during the Protestant Revolution, which raged violently in the northern parts of France. Images were floating on the river. A little bit later in the 19th century France again was attacked by violent revolutionaries. It not only attacked the Church, but also the monarchy.
The same cathedral mentioned before was also undone of many of its richness…
The Analogy of Light
Our life exists out of images, they are a necessary part. We see, and through seeing we understand. The seeing of an object does not only imply the existence of that object, but brings more information with it than we can think of. All of our knowledge is a connected network.
An example of this is light. Light, depending on the context, takes on different meanings. Light can signify day (because of the sun). Light can also signify night (candles in the darkness). Light can also signify danger (lightning in a storm).
Light is a symbol, which participates in other truths. If there was no light, we would never know of lightning. We would never know of day. If light would not exist, we would not be able to see through our eyes. Light in a sense acts as a connection to other truths. Take away the light and we become blind. It becomes more difficult to grasp certain truths.
To make it clear, light in this sense acts as a connection. As a kind of last puzzle connecting us to all kinds of other objects in our world.
Extended to images
Images are similar. Images act as connections. Whereas light points to some material truth, sacred images and statues point to immaterial truths.
It is very hard for moderns to think in immaterial terms.
All things exist in God and lead up to Him. This holds the notion of a hierarchy. A material one which lead up to a metaphysical one which ends in the Most Holy.
The attack of the protestants was one of the first which leads to the weird denials of hierarchies of the modern age. If one denies them or not, they will inevitably return and re-establish themselves, often in very violent ways. They are inevitable.
Catholics do not worship the statue for the statue’s sake. They worship it for the sake of the essence which is behind the statue (the saint), to intervene through God. Worshipping the saints is in a sense aiming too low. Catholic make use of the ladder given by God, which extends as an outstretched hand and ultimately returns again back to Him.
Metaphysical and physical principles are strongly connected. We are a body (material) with a soul (immaterial). A statue represents the saint behind it. It would be absurd to worship the statue itself. Removing the concept of statues will inevitably remove the thought of any hierarchy that leads up to Him (but it still exists). The material leads up to the immaterial.
This notion also extends to rituals which also lead up to God.
Ornaments in a certain sense are also a symbol of God. God is symbolised by light. Ornaments are often shiny, which again act as a step on the ladder. God can be seen as a blinding light, similar to Paul travelling to Damascus being stopped.
The objects act as a reminder of the existence of God. Do we really need them? In a sense, no, but they help us. If we think of a person, we often think of what he says or how he looks like. We think of the person as an essence (for example Jim). The aspects of Jim participate in the essence, the central thing that holds Jim together, but on their own they are not him. The voice helps remind, but is not the whole. It helps to grasp the fulness of Jim, it is a certain step. To stop at the voice, would be idolatry of Jim. To stop at statues would be idolatry of God.
The Structure of Reality
Not only that, but our reality is also a way of encountering God. This way of encountering a hierarchy made out of images is the way we encounter the Divine. We cannot encounter the Divine directly.
Reality is a hierarchy, leading up to God. Undoing this hierarchy will inevitably set it up again. The protestant claiming everyone in the congregation will face the inevitability of appointing a speaker (which will become the top). They will worship a singer. They will clap for a performer. Is this worshipping the person? In a certain way it is, but we only worship the singer in the way that it leads up to the encounter of the beauty of the singing.
The singer of the protestant congregation sings, and this invokes the encounter of beauty. The essence of Beauty is immaterial. It does not stop there, because beauty originates in God.
The encounter of this singing leads inevitably up to God. This is the hierarchy that sets itself up. If we recognise this, then there is little danger. The danger starts when we start to worship the beauty behind it, or only the singer. We stop too low.
It is a hierarchy of being.
Conclusion
Hierarchy is everywhere, whether we like it or not. The attack on them helped fuel the attacks on God.
Attack the material and you will attack the immaterial.