Of Idols or Images of God, Christ, and the Saints (Second Helvetic Confession, 4b)
This article examines the Second Helvetic Confession's biblical and Reformed opposition to the use of images in worship, arguing that God cannot be represented by carved or painted images and that the church should teach through the preaching of God's Word rather than through pictures. Cammenga contrasts the Reformed rejection of images with the institution of the sacraments as Christ's visible word, grounding the discussion in Scripture and the confessional standards of the Reformed tradition.
Previous article in this series: March 1, 2017, p. 250. The Scriptures of the Laity Furthermore, wherever we turn our eyes, we see the living and true creatures of God which, if they be observed, as is proper, make a much more vivid impression on the beholders than all the images or vain, motionless, feeble and dead pictures made by men, of which the prophet truly said: "They have eyes, but do not see" (Ps. 115:5). Chapter 4 of the Second Helvetic Confession (SHC) develops the biblical and...
Full article available on sb.rfpa.org