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sbc_and_reformed said:
How are we to take "the likeness of any THING"? Why would this not exclude paintings of nature, people, etc? But we see no one arguing in favor of THAT!
Marie,

Since you have access to a plethora of books; working in a theological library, why not find a copy of Ursinus' commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism and see what he has to say about that in the section regarding "Lord's Day 35"? <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

In brief, the Second Commandment forbids the making of images or any representation of the three persons of the Godhead, and/or the using of them for worship. There is no reference nor prohibition against "art" in general, e.g., sculpting, painting, etc. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

The first two Commandments deal with two different aspects of right worship. 1) Only the true God may be worshiped, and 2) The one True God must be worshiped rightly. So again, there is nothing in either of those Commandments that has anything to do with art which isn't representative of the three persons of the Godhead.

In His Grace,

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simul iustus et peccator

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