Ugly mural

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Constantin

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A church I frequent has an ugly mural on the right side behind the altar. It depicts the enemy, a grinning black man-like creature with horns, holding a chain. Captured within the chain, there are desperate people. On the left side, there is another group of people outside the chain, accompanied by angels. Obviously, this is a reference to judgment day.
The problem is: The painting is really ugly, especially the enemy who is rather big and has black skin. It is about 50 years old. I don’t want to post a picture here.
Do you think it is a good idea to depict the Lord of the lies in such a dominant position (behind the altar)? I always feel uncomfortable when glancing there. Or is it a good thing, reminding us of the very real danger of eternal damnation?
 
Constantin said:
A church I frequent has an ugly mural on the right side behind the altar. It depicts the enemy, a grinning black man-like creature with horns, holding a chain. Captured within the chain, there are desperate people. On the left side, there is another group of people outside the chain, accompanied by angels. Obviously, this is a reference to judgment day.
The problem is: The painting is really ugly, especially the enemy who is rather big and has black skin. It is about 50 years old. I don’t want to post a picture here.
Do you think it is a good idea to depict the Lord of the lies in such a dominant position (behind the altar)? I always feel uncomfortable when glancing there. Or is it a good thing, reminding us of the very real danger of eternal damnation?
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Hi!

Wow… when you thought you heard it all… you find out that there’s a “Catholic” parish keeping a relief where Satan is adorning the Church’s Altar…

I would attempt to get people behind me to have the painting removed from such prominent place.

…the idea may have come as a method of reminding Believers of the realities of hell… but why right at the Altar?

…then there’s that racial issue–does Scriptures state that Satan has black skin?.. I could almost see a dark red as both the “flesh” and “fire” converge in the wages of sin… but black?

Maran atha!

Angel
 
I don’t like ugly stuff in Church. Yes, Satan is real, but that doesn’t mean we need photos of him in the house of God! A parish I frequented as a kid was built in a design that I could only describe and intentionally hideous. The stations were these hideous twisted iron figures that you could really only identify as the stations by virtue of their number and the fact that they were scattered around the back of the church. I always hated those ugly stations. I know crucifixion and torture aren’t pretty but, come on! Last time I was in there, they had been replaced. They haunted the place for my entire childhood.
 
Find out the backstory. There always is one.
THEN approach the Parish Council.
 
pianistclare said:
Find out the backstory. There always is one.
THEN approach the Parish Council.
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Yes…It may not be what u think.There is a prominent statue in the Peter in Chains church in Rome—the Michaelangelo Moses statue. It looks like satans as the sculpture put horns on Moses.

It’s very scary looking until you hear what it represents.
 
Michelangelo’s “Last Judgement” is on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, but from what you described I am assuming the artist of this mural was no Michelangelo.
 
I have talked to some parishioners already about this. We all pretty much agreed that is horrible, nobody likes it. However, they only shrugged when asked what to do about it.
After all, it has been there for 50 years.
I am not that frequently there or that involved in the parish that I would be in a position to suggest to remove the painting.
Older parishioners say it was a very beautiful church, until an iconoclast (sorry, but that is what it was) priest in the 60s decided to “get rid” of the old stuff, threw most of it out and had the walls repainted.
 
Allegra said:
I don’t like ugly stuff in Church. Yes, Satan is real, but that doesn’t mean we need photos of him in the house of God! A parish I frequented as a kid was built in a design that I could only describe and intentionally hideous. The stations were these hideous twisted iron figures that you could really only identify as the stations by virtue of their number and the fact that they were scattered around the back of the church. I always hated those ugly stations. I know crucifixion and torture aren’t pretty but, come on! Last time I was in there, they had been replaced. They haunted the place for my entire childhood.
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Hi, Allegra!

I feel that the need of the Church (local Bishops, Pastors and Priests, included) of “belonging” (extending herself to the world) causes rips in the “commonsense” arena as all sorts of “expressions” are merged to the Body of Christ; yet, as with your childhood haunting and the OP’s dreaded “ploy to scare-straight” the parishioners, not all “art” is/should be accepted; ditto with, at least in my area, the inclusion of all music genres for Worship.

Maran atha!

Angel
 
jcrichton said:
Hi!

Wow… when you thought you heard it all… you find out that there’s a “Catholic” parish keeping a relief where Satan is adorning the Church’s Altar…

I would attempt to get people behind me to have the painting removed from such prominent place.

…the idea may have come as a method of reminding Believers of the realities of hell… but why right at the Altar?

…then there’s that racial issue–does Scriptures state that Satan has black skin?.. I could almost see a dark red as both the “flesh” and “fire” converge in the wages of sin… but black?

Maran atha!

Angel
Click to expand...
There’s no racial issue. Darkness is associated with evil and that is why Satan would be depicted as being black. The Bible as well as numerous other pieces of literature and cinema, religious and non religious, use darkness to symbolize evil.
 
Constantin said:
I have talked to some parishioners already about this. We all pretty much agreed that is horrible, nobody likes it. However, they only shrugged when asked what to do about it.
After all, it has been there for 50 years.
I am not that frequently there or that involved in the parish that I would be in a position to suggest to remove the painting.
Older parishioners say it was a very beautiful church, until an iconoclast (sorry, but that is what it was) priest in the 60s decided to “get rid” of the old stuff, threw most of it out and had the walls repainted.
Click to expand...
I have no idea what this work of art may be actually depicting and without seeing it, have no reasonable way to evaluate it.

You are correct, though, that if you are not even a member of this parish, you are not in any position to do anything…other than letting the parish priest know that it is not of your tastes.
 
DeoVindice1863 said:
There’s no racial issue. Darkness is associated with evil and that is why Satan would be depicted as being black. The Bible as well as numerous other pieces of literature and cinema, religious and non religious, use darkness to symbolize evil.
Click to expand...
Hi!

…actually, I can’t recall a single Biblical passage where Satan is depicted as black; he is the ancient serpent, the red dragon, the beast…

…if anything ‘a huge red dragon’ would certainly give credence to the red devil… while I do concur that it has been a literary device to depict evil/death as dark/black.

Maran atha!
 
well it is 50 yrs old so chances are it isn’t going any where. Plenty of Churches have horrible art work that just dominates the entire Church and is very distracting.

I am more against things are too distracting in Church than anything. If it takes away from the mass, and you are spending more time pondering the painting than you are focusing on the mass, then perhaps it is worth mentioning to the bishop or priest of said parish. But again you have to figure in it is 50 yrs old and who would pay to remove it and refurbish the wall afterwards.

Find some rich donors who agree with you that it is an eye sore and distracting and present an option to the Bishop to have it removed and put some where else for free, and maybe you stand a chance of having it gone.
 
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