Hey Steve this is Nicole 😆 loved the last part of this essay especially, about how we reverence some icons and trash others. (Makes me think of how we/I do the same with certain ppl, who are also icons of Christ.)
I’ve heard you beat the “icons in the trash” drum before 😅, but I think the “icons on t-shirts” is a very interesting angle that gets overlooked.
Trashing icons is a seemingly more obvious issue but over the last decade, we’ve become exposed to a huge temptation to clutter our lives with Orthodox “merch.” Instead of Christian asceticism we can end up practicing Christian *aestheticism* where we value (and collect!) Orthodox “looking” items. In some cases, we literally appropriate the aesthetics of Christian asceticism (“schemamonk hoodies” anyone? 😫). And that in turn gives us this false sense of sanctity about our consumer habits. But consumerism is no less a vice just because we’re buying Orthodox knickknacks!
I was thinking about this because I was picking out an icon to bring to church today and I realized I have too many icons in my room. They’re stacked on shelves, leaning on bookcases and my copy of the Taylor, PA Kardiotissa was in my nightstand! I’ve been careless about actually hanging them, and I kept buying them anyways!
Thank you Steve, for this very thought provoking essay. You are so clear and I love your “back and forth” conversational style of writing. I appreciate your hard work and insights on being a true Christian in our crazy mixed up world we are living in today. May God continue to bless you with His wisdom and His thoughts as you write. Jeanie/Lydia McGee
Hey Steve! I’ve been reading your past posts on here and you’ve hit the bullseye, it really resonated with me except the comment regarding Jordan Peterson.
Though this topic can develop to a meta discussion regarding in and off itself.
I want to mention....
Amidst his imperfections (one of which is orating in a way that presents as “beating around the bush”) a quality of Jordan I’ve admired and consistently attracts young adults like me is the pursuit of truth, at any cost.
And that is at all levels of perception. Not just materialistic (as far as I can tell)
Wherever that seeking of truth may lead, he follows the thread. (Kind of like how you are articulating unpopular opinions on this platform.)
an aspect not popular in Orthodox hierarchy today. as you mentioned last post on Judgement Sunday, unwilling to question notions contrived from our own worldview (Which May be due to handful of viable reasons on the clergy’s part)
All in all, thank you for your insight.
May God guide you and continue to keep your service.
As a person who is involved in making Orthodox books, I have the interesting experience of being able to see in real time which aesthetic avenues engage an Orthodox audience. We consciously do not use icons for many of the reasons you have mentioned, but it is also 150% true that an image of an icon will overwhelmingly draw more attention, sales, and “likes,” even than the Cross. I have wondered if icons have become, in secular parlance, a semiotic flag—a symbol of “Orthodoxness” that is unique, a shorthand of belonging, since even Protestants still use the Cross.
Thinking of this essay and your last, I daresay the priests will have to lead the people toward re-enchantment. When I (a fairly recent Protestant convert to Orthodoxy) saw in our church's latest newsletter that traditionally we are called to give up secular entertainments during Lent, I thought this is right--challenging but obviously right.
Thank you for this wonderful post, Steven. Peterson has twelve rules for life but you only need three. Too often people want long complicated explanations, I think they like Peterson because he sounds like their idea of a smart person. But most of the time the solutions are simple but difficult to follow.
Hey Steve this is Nicole 😆 loved the last part of this essay especially, about how we reverence some icons and trash others. (Makes me think of how we/I do the same with certain ppl, who are also icons of Christ.)
I’ve heard you beat the “icons in the trash” drum before 😅, but I think the “icons on t-shirts” is a very interesting angle that gets overlooked.
Trashing icons is a seemingly more obvious issue but over the last decade, we’ve become exposed to a huge temptation to clutter our lives with Orthodox “merch.” Instead of Christian asceticism we can end up practicing Christian *aestheticism* where we value (and collect!) Orthodox “looking” items. In some cases, we literally appropriate the aesthetics of Christian asceticism (“schemamonk hoodies” anyone? 😫). And that in turn gives us this false sense of sanctity about our consumer habits. But consumerism is no less a vice just because we’re buying Orthodox knickknacks!
I was thinking about this because I was picking out an icon to bring to church today and I realized I have too many icons in my room. They’re stacked on shelves, leaning on bookcases and my copy of the Taylor, PA Kardiotissa was in my nightstand! I’ve been careless about actually hanging them, and I kept buying them anyways!
Thank you Steve, for this very thought provoking essay. You are so clear and I love your “back and forth” conversational style of writing. I appreciate your hard work and insights on being a true Christian in our crazy mixed up world we are living in today. May God continue to bless you with His wisdom and His thoughts as you write. Jeanie/Lydia McGee
Hey Steve! I’ve been reading your past posts on here and you’ve hit the bullseye, it really resonated with me except the comment regarding Jordan Peterson.
Though this topic can develop to a meta discussion regarding in and off itself.
I want to mention....
Amidst his imperfections (one of which is orating in a way that presents as “beating around the bush”) a quality of Jordan I’ve admired and consistently attracts young adults like me is the pursuit of truth, at any cost.
And that is at all levels of perception. Not just materialistic (as far as I can tell)
Wherever that seeking of truth may lead, he follows the thread. (Kind of like how you are articulating unpopular opinions on this platform.)
an aspect not popular in Orthodox hierarchy today. as you mentioned last post on Judgement Sunday, unwilling to question notions contrived from our own worldview (Which May be due to handful of viable reasons on the clergy’s part)
All in all, thank you for your insight.
May God guide you and continue to keep your service.
As a person who is involved in making Orthodox books, I have the interesting experience of being able to see in real time which aesthetic avenues engage an Orthodox audience. We consciously do not use icons for many of the reasons you have mentioned, but it is also 150% true that an image of an icon will overwhelmingly draw more attention, sales, and “likes,” even than the Cross. I have wondered if icons have become, in secular parlance, a semiotic flag—a symbol of “Orthodoxness” that is unique, a shorthand of belonging, since even Protestants still use the Cross.
Hey Steve, I think the work that Johnathan Pageau is doing compliments a lot of what you're saying here. What do you think?
Thinking of this essay and your last, I daresay the priests will have to lead the people toward re-enchantment. When I (a fairly recent Protestant convert to Orthodoxy) saw in our church's latest newsletter that traditionally we are called to give up secular entertainments during Lent, I thought this is right--challenging but obviously right.
Thank you for this wonderful post, Steven. Peterson has twelve rules for life but you only need three. Too often people want long complicated explanations, I think they like Peterson because he sounds like their idea of a smart person. But most of the time the solutions are simple but difficult to follow.