‘Smashing’ unholy icons to our inhumanity
By Antony McMullen
Social Justice Officer
Justice and International Mission Unit
Synod of Victoria and Tasmania
Christian history has at different times featured a debate about ‘icons’. Can Christ and honoured deceased Christians be depicted? In the first millennium this debate erupted in the Christian East. Byzantine Emperors pushed the iconoclastic cause – claiming these images should not be produced. St. John of Damascus championed the cause of popular piety and the ‘iconodules’ (those who were pro-icons), stating that it is not matter that is being worshipped but the Creator of matter. The incarnation makes the icon possible, ‘the Word was made flesh’. Matter can be venerated as a means to aid worship of God.
In the second millennium the more militant Christian reformers (think Calvin) ignited this debate. Icons and statues were sometime violently removed form church buildings. The Old Testament prohibitions of idolatry were used to justify this activity. However this position was not unanimous, with Luther taking a more moderate path – in his opinion these images should be optional.
Today, much of this debate seems pretty dead (save perhaps for discussion about saints and veneration). Christian devotional items are seen as optional, or valuable, depending on the particular bent of the Christian. There is a wide variety of these devotional items out there, ranging from the traditional jewellery cross to plastic tops with ‘Jesus is Tops’ written on them! There exists quite a trade in Australia for these kinds of items and, as you can imagine, the sales are very high in the USA (US$4.1 billion). This brings us to some research undertaken in the States about the production of these items …
In late November 2007 the US National Labor Committee (NLC) issued a report, Today Workers Bear the Cross, exposing the Association for Christian Retail (ACR) for selling crosses manufactured in a Chinese sweatshop. Many would be aware of issues relating to freedom of religion in China. Similar problems exist in the areas of respect for basic human rights and freedom of association. The NLC report found that crucifixes are being made at the Junxingye Factory in Dongguan, China, under appalling conditions with workers undertaking 16 hour shifts seven days a week, trying to live on wages below that prescribed under Chinese Labour Law and living in sub-standard accommodation.
More information about this report
Many Christians are involved in assisting vulnerable Australian workers, in such industries as cleaning and clothing, to be afforded their basic legal entitlements. Christians also celebrated the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the British slave trade last year. The Salvation Army is conducting a campaign to end exploitation of labour in the production of chocolate. Now, Christian communities have just begun ‘to look at their own backyard’.
There a need for a figurative ‘smashing’ of the unholy icons (exemplified by the plight of the workers at the Junxingye Factory). The Justice & International Mission Unit of the Uniting Church and the Justice Unit of the Melbourne Catholic Archdiocese are working together to get to the bottom of these issues in Victoria, with a view to stamping out trade in ‘unholy hardware’. If you would like to be part of this activity go here
This comment was first published in JustUpdate – the once a week social justice email … you can subscribe by emailing: jim@victas.uca.org.au- Antony, JIM staffer
LINKS:
Check out the Uniting Church Icon Network
Links on Labour Justice (focus on clothing industry)
For a more detailed discussion of the Icon debate read The Orthodox Church (New Edition) by Bishop Kallistos (Timothy) Ware (pgs 30-35 inform this piece)