Do Lutherans have pictures like Catholics do?

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SeanF1989

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Would a Lutheran have a picture of Jesus, Mary or a saint in their home?
 
In the home of the one Lutheran family I knew, I didn’t see any pictures of Jesus, but I did see a couple of those plaques which have some nice saying in beautiful letters surrounded by flowers. One of them said, “The foundation of this house is Jesus Christ” and it hung inside the house over the front door.
 
Lutherans don’t believe in the understanding of saints Catholics do.

They hold the Virgin Mary in high regard, but do not venerate her.

However, it is not uncommon for a Lutheran to have a picture of Jesus in their home; or, for some Lutherans, a crucifix.
 
bben15 said:
Lutherans don’t believe in the understanding of saints Catholics do.

They hold the Virgin Mary in high regard, but do not venerate her.

However, it is not uncommon for a Lutheran to have a picture of Jesus in their home; or, for some Lutherans, a crucifix.
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It wouldn’t surprise me, honestly, if some conservative Lutheran churches had them. The more high church you get, the more they become Catholic parishes that believe in the Augsburg Confession.
 
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SeanF1989 said:
Would a Lutheran have a picture of Jesus, Mary or a saint in their home?
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Yes. I have a large crucifix, a Russian icon of Mary and Jesus that’s quite beautiful. I also have a little card of The Theotokos of the Passion, that I keep in my car.

Granted I got these things when I was still a Catholic, but I don’t see any reason to part with them now that I am a Lutheran. In fact I quite like them.

My church also has some very nice stained glass windows, with images of Jesus.
 
We have a cross at the front and back doors, a crucifix in our room and a painting of Jesus in the front hallway.

I had another painting of Jesus and a Greek icon-style painting of Mary, but my Roman Catholic wife thought they were too ‘creepy’ to stay in the house (too be fair to her, both featured rather unnaturally large heads…). :o So the former now hangs on a friend’s wall as he attends a Lutheran seminary, while the latter was given to friends from church. 😃
 
Depends on the Lutheran. Some are really high church and would have art that looks very Catholic. Some, like around here, are almost Baptist in their dislike of religious art. Crosses galore, but little else.

Same thing is true about Lutheran Churches. Some look like this upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Rothenburg_BW_19.JPG or this 3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZvV5gL31WtQ/TzE6gO7uRtI/AAAAAAAAB10/SvM-wpqkFZc/s1600/st-johns-altar.jpg or this stpaulserbin.org/media/videos/SerbinChurch_9_22_2013/VTS_01_1_Thumb.jpg. Some look like this concordiasarasota.org/web_images/altar_te9m.jpg.

One interesting thing I’ve observed in the Lutheran Churches I’ve seen iis that the altars are against the wall (and the minister has his back to the congregation during the rite of communion). And they all seem to have retained the altar rail.
 
elizaveta01 said:
Depends on the Lutheran. Some are really high church and would have art that looks very Catholic. Some, like around here, are almost Baptist in their dislike of religious art. Crosses galore, but little else.

Same thing is true about Lutheran Churches. Some look like this upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Rothenburg_BW_19.JPG or this 3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZvV5gL31WtQ/TzE6gO7uRtI/AAAAAAAAB10/SvM-wpqkFZc/s1600/st-johns-altar.jpg or this stpaulserbin.org/media/videos/SerbinChurch_9_22_2013/VTS_01_1_Thumb.jpg. Some look like this concordiasarasota.org/web_images/altar_te9m.jpg.

One interesting thing I’ve observed in the Lutheran Churches I’ve seen iis that the altars are against the wall (and the minister has his back to the congregation during the rite of communion). And they all seem to have retained the altar rail.
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That’s quite true. I’ve seen a Protestant church in Geneva which, going by the amount of stained glass and religious art it contains, might as well be a Catholic cathedral. 👍
 
=elizaveta01;11810898]Depends on the Lutheran. Some are really high church and would have art that looks very Catholic. Some, like around here, are almost Baptist in their dislike of religious art. Crosses galore, but little else.
Click to expand...
Same thing is true about Lutheran Churches. Some look like this upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Rothenburg_BW_19.JPG or this 3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZvV5gL31WtQ/TzE6gO7uRtI/AAAAAAAAB10/SvM-wpqkFZc/s1600/st-johns-altar.jpg or this stpaulserbin.org/media/videos/SerbinChurch_9_22_2013/VTS_01_1_Thumb.jpg. Some look like this concordiasarasota.org/web_images/altar_te9m.jpg.
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The sad effects of pietism and regrettable influence of the Reformed on American Lutheranism.

Here is an interesting video from LCMS Pres. (Bishop) Matthew Harrison:
youtube.com/watch?v=lizfznY63Yk
One interesting thing I’ve observed in the Lutheran Churches I’ve seen iis that the altars are against the wall (and the minister has his back to the congregation during the rite of communion). And they all seem to have retained the altar rail.
Click to expand...
Not always. In fact, in newer sanctuaries, they are typically not against the wall. Without getting into the two schools of thought on this matter, suffice it to say Lutheran parishes started moving altars away from the wall after Catholic parishes did. Its like, when Catholics typically received on the tongue, so did Lutherans, and when the Catholics stated to receive in the hand, so did Lutherans. Go figure.
And not always an altar rail, as the larger parishes seem to be moving toward the walk-up line approach, again, similar to Catholic practice.

You guys have more influence over us than you realize. 😉

Jon
 
JonNC said:
The sad effects of pietism and regrettable influence of the Reformed on American Lutheranism.

Here is an interesting video from LCMS Pres. (Bishop) Matthew Harrison:
youtube.com/watch?v=lizfznY63Yk

Not always. In fact, in newer sanctuaries, they are typically not against the wall. Without getting into the two schools of thought on this matter, suffice it to say Lutheran parishes started moving altars away from the wall after Catholic parishes did. Its like, when Catholics typically received on the tongue, so did Lutherans, and when the Catholics stated to receive in the hand, so did Lutherans. Go figure.
And not always an altar rail, as the larger parishes seem to be moving toward the walk-up line approach, again, similar to Catholic practice.

You guys have more influence over us than you realize. 😉

Jon
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Same with some of the Anglicans, in the same sad directions.

Needless to say, my parish has rail, altar against wall, and celebration is *ad orientum.
*
GKC
 
Lutheran churches, particularly in north America, tend to be less ornate. Free-standing altars are now the norm.
 
VanSensei said:
It wouldn’t surprise me, honestly, if some conservative Lutheran churches had them. The more high church you get, the more they become Catholic parishes that believe in the Augsburg Confession.
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My kind o’ people. 😃
 
JonNC said:
The sad effects of pietism and regrettable influence of the Reformed on American Lutheranism.

Here is an interesting video from LCMS Pres. (Bishop) Matthew Harrison:
youtube.com/watch?v=lizfznY63Yk

Not always. In fact, in newer sanctuaries, they are typically not against the wall. Without getting into the two schools of thought on this matter, suffice it to say Lutheran parishes started moving altars away from the wall after Catholic parishes did. Its like, when Catholics typically received on the tongue, so did Lutherans, and when the Catholics stated to receive in the hand, so did Lutherans. Go figure.
And not always an altar rail, as the larger parishes seem to be moving toward the walk-up line approach, again, similar to Catholic practice.

You guys have more influence over us than you realize. 😉

Jon
Click to expand...
In my particular parish all of us receive kneeling and about half receive on the tongue. I appreciate such reverence for the Eucharist.

The walk up, cafeteria line, style simply doesn’t suit me.
 
House_Harkonnen said:
In my particular parish all of us receive kneeling and about half receive on the tongue. I appreciate such reverence for the Eucharist.

The walk up, cafeteria line, style simply doesn’t suit me.
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I agree. When my knees allow it, I will kneel at the rail, in Adoration of the risen Christ, His true body and blood there on the altar.

Jon
 
Some Lutheran churches have much depiction; here the focus is on the Mother of God
 
bben15 said:
Lutherans don’t believe in the understanding of saints Catholics do.

They hold the Virgin Mary in high regard, but do not venerate her.

However, it is not uncommon for a Lutheran to have a picture of Jesus in their home; or, for some Lutherans, a crucifix.
Click to expand...
I have a little statue of both Jesus and Mary on my desk, and a Lutheran friend of mine asked me why I worship Mary. I then proceeded to point to his nativity scene (statues)… 😃

The following is a pretty cool perspective. These scenarios represent two very different ways Christians view heaven:

“Imagine that you are visiting a king and as you are being shown into his royal throne room, you notice immediately the beautiful music that is playing. As you step into the chamber, you are dazzled by the beauty of the place - gorgeous tapestries hang from the walls, there is stunning works of art adorning the walls, sumptuous carpet covers the floor. You see men and women dressed in splendid apparel and their faces shine with happiness, their countenances beautiful to behold. As you progress further into the room towards the king, you realize that the grandeur of the room grows accordingly. Finally, you reach the foot of the throne, and you gaze upon the king himself. He is magnificent, far more glorious than anything or anyone in the room. You are overwhelmed by the regal beauty of his clothing, his crown, his scepter, his throne. But, the king himself is the center, the focal point of all the glory that surrounds him. You can see that this king lavishes his wealth and love for beauty on everything and everyone around him.

Now, imagine that you are entering the throne room of a different king. The first thing that you notice is the absence of sound. There is no music. There are no exquisite tapestries to catch your eye, no works of art and no jewel-studded carpet. In fact, there are no people here. There is literally nothing in the room that could distract your attention from the king, who sits in magnificent glory on his throne, at the far end of the room. This room is bare of decorations and empty of people because this king is jealous of his glory. He doesn’t want you to become distracted by anything else - he wants you to see only himself.”

Which king is more glorious?
 
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