Institutes Book 1, Chapter 11 (II):

It Is Unlawful to Attribute a Visible Form to God, and Generally Whoever Sets Up Idols Revolts Against the True God.

Section 8: The Origin of Images: Man's Desire for a Tangible Deity.

Here Calvin discusses why we have images and idols at all. He sums it up in one short sentence after going through the biblical history of such things: "From this we may gather that man's nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols." Our flesh is so weak that it wants something like itself (material, physical) which to see so that it may worship and trust.

Section 9: Any Use of Images Leads to Idolatry.

No matter how one uses images in worship, Calvin argues, it will always lead to idolatry--human nature can do nothing else. It may happen in slow degrees, but it will happen nonetheless. Those who venerate images will argue that these images are not regarded as gods, but history shows that they will become so regarded soon enough, and people will attach God to these images in their minds.

Section 10: Image Worship in the Church.

To prove his point, Calvin looks to the images used in the church for worship. He asks why people, then, go on lengthy pilgrimages to see images the likes of which they have at home? Images used in worship cannot be defended by saying that we do not call them 'gods,' but the truth is that "they carnally venerate God in wood and stone."

Section 11: Foolish Evasions of the Papists.

Calvin now turns attention to one of the arguments used by the Roman Catholic Church of his day, saying that the church serves the images with dulia, the Greek word for service or slavehood, while not wronging God by worshipping them. "As if, indeed, it were not something slighter to worship than to serve!" But this argument does not stand, since they are in effect saying 'we worship the images but without worship.' They try to make one thing into two things and so convince people that they are not doing wrong. "For just as an adulterer or a homicide cannot escape guilt by dubbing his crime with some other name, so it is absurd for them to be absolved by the subtle device of a name if they differ in no respect from idolater whom they themselves are compelled to condemn."

Section 12: The Functions and Limits of Art.

Speaking of images, Calvin feels it necessary to turn to art in general. Art (he speaks of sculpture and painting) is a gift of God, then it has a legitimate purpose. If God cannot be represented, then "it remains that only those things are to be sculptured or painted which the eyes are capable of seeing: let not God's majesty, which is far above the perception of the eyes, be debased through unseemly representations." However, even if these paintings and sculptures are done in this way, depicting nothing evil, they still have no value, Calvin says, for teaching. I am assuming here that he means for religious instruction, teaching about God and not teaching in general.

Section 13: As Long As Doctrine Was Pure and Strong, the Church Rejected Images.

In the first few centuries of the Christian church, Calvin says, the churches were empty of images. It was only when the purity of the ministry had deteriorated that images came into the churches and were tolerated there. The Apostles and early Church Fathers had spoken out against images, "for men's folly cannot restrain itself from falling headlong into superstitious rites." And how could these images be better than the 'images' which God gives us in Baptism and the Lord's Supper?

Section 14: Childish Arguments for Images at the Council of Nicaea (787).

Calvin now turns to that council at which this discussion was first formally enjoined, the third (I think) council of Nicaea, called together by the Empress Irene. Here at this council it was decreed that images belong in churches, and that they are to be worshipped. Those who defend images in Calvin's day turned to this council for support. But Calvin argues that this was by no means the general opinion--other writings from the same time argue against images.

Those who defend images use scripture in a twisted and absurd way. Calvin supplies here a list of some of the texts that are used to support images. One of them is Song of Solomon 2:14, "Show my thy face, for it is beautiful." There are others, but this will suffice to show the nature of their 'proofs.'

Section 15: Ridiculous Misuse of Scripture Texts.

The title of this section says it all. Here is another set of texts which were commonly used to support the worship of images. "If anyone in mockery wished to attribute a ridiculous character to the patrons of images, could he enumerate greater and grosser follies?"

Section 16: Blasphemous and Shocking Claims for Images.

Here Calvin deals with those leaders and theologians in the church who pronounce anathemas on those who do not worship images, calling them worse than Samaritans, cursed by God, and worse than any heretic in the church. "Indeed, John, the legate of the Easterns, moved by even greater heat, warned that it would be better to admit all brothels into the city than to deny the worship of images."

What more can be said?

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Reflection: While Calvin, in the heat of iconoclasm and the debates that surrounded it, deals with images and idols, I think that for us today--while still admitting that images and idols are still a problem--have slightly less tangible images and idols that we need to be aware of. Last night at Men's Society the discussion turned to the fact that in many cases Christians think that they have the doctrine of Scripture all neatly tied up. We have it right, and anyone who disagrees is therefore wrong.

This is a very real danger, and an outworking of pride. To think that we understand God and what he teaches perfectly shows that we have an image of God in our minds that does not fit with the truth of God. God is far too vast for us to comprehend--only his Spirit searches his depths. We must be content with what we have in his revelation, and constantly submit our ideas and thoughts to the rule of Scripture.

This, of course, is not to say that there is therefore no real truth that we can point to, or that therefore anything goes in theology. No, we have the revealed word of God, we have what he has told us of his truth, but to think that from here we can plumb the depths of God is intellectual idolatry such that the philosophers were guilty of.

We can only continue to read and meditate on Scripture, and submit all of our thoughts to its correcting guidance, and so worship God truly and rightly. For what we see in these sections, especially when Calvin shows the 'proofs' supplied, is that the human heart and mind, when begun down the path of error, does all it can to remain there. Even the most ridiculous arguments are seen as valid and strong, the most unrelated texts are used to prove the point. I can only pray to be spared from such error, and constantly search God's truth and submit to it.