From Benedict XVI’s “Introduction to Christianity” to Theology of the People of God: A Synthesis of the Course
Final paper in the context of the Distance Learning Course 2018-2020 by Joseph Vincent Borres. This thesis aims to answer the following statement: “What are the starting points found in Benedict XVI’s ‘Introduction to Christianity’ and how did the course Theology of the People of God develop these seeds of theological insights?”
Questions that pictures pose, 6: A partnership of equals – a utopian idea?
In the Gospel Book of Henry the Lion, the illumination of the Easter event takes up a full page. The event is depicted as if in a “collage”. The illustration of the two figures Ecclesia and Synagoga in the lower corner medallions is a unique testimony to their existential togetherness.
Questions that pictures pose, 5: Law and grace
A certain picture-type, which has been formative in particular in German Protestantism is called “Lex et Gratia” – i.e. presentations of “Law and Grace”. This picture-type could also serve to devalue the Old Testament.
Questions that pictures pose, 4: The figure of the synagogue – banished underneath the staircase
The St. Kastulus minster in Moosburg an der Isar contains a detail at the neo-Gothic pulpit staircase, which reflects the relationship between Church and Synagogue.
Questions that paintings pose, 3: The unveiled Synagogue as objection
Another motif of objection against anti-Jewish attitudes can be found in medieval illuminations, e.g. in a depiction of the “tree of Jesse” in the Lambeth Bible (12th century).
Questions that paintings pose, 2: The Jewish hat as a form of objection
Bruno Alber presents three examples that rose objections against Christian anti-Judaism, one in the Cathedral of Augsburg, and two from medieval illuminated manuscripts.