Theological Notebook: Note on the Origin of Christian Art in the Creed
A great line in Christoph Cardinal Schönborn's God Sent His Son: A Contemporary Christology, which I'm currently reading with my students in my Jesus course:
Indeed, the development of Christian art is comprehensible only on the basis of the Nicene Creed, for if the Son were only a creature, albeit the first among creatures [and not, of his very nature, God – my clarification], then venerating the image of Christ would be idolatry, since worship is due only to God.
I know I've dealt with those ideas in the context of the later controversy over icons in the 7th century, but I don't think I've ever so neatly seen it tied to the affirmation of the divinity of Jesus made at Nicea. Nice!
