Page - 74 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 03/02

74 | Isabella Bruckner www.jrfm.eu 2017, 3/2, 71–77 biblical texts like the Psalms bear witness to “visions” of God as pluriform aes- thetical experiences, other passages, as at Exodus 33:18–23, reflect the tem- poral dynamic of the presence and absence of God (and God’s abiding hidden- ness), which hartenstein and Moxter´s thesis holds also to be the intention of the image ban. in place of dead idols, narrations and metaphors lead the reader of the Bible to the limits of what can be said and thus function as symbolic icons that may help verbalize religious experience as well as opening up language for the vivid and dynamic God (and therefore also for new symbolic icons). In a final step, hartenstein links the image ban to the doctrine of humankind as imago dei and shows that in the exilic and post-exilic periods of scriptural development, humankind takes the place of divine representation in the world, contrasting with the hand-made icons of Babylon. the combination of the religio-historical approach with exact historical-crit- ical exegesis, enhanced by the perceptions of contemporary hermeneutics of images, offers illuminating insight. It is especially interesting to see how Harten- stein traces theological development and its argumentation through accurate historical-critical exegesis. Topics touched on only briefly – for example, idol critique by the Presocratics (72–73) or even the crucial issue of humankind as imago dei (found primarily on the last few pages of the section, 174–182) – are taken up again in the second part; perhaps even their brief mention here was therefore unnecessary. in part 2, across ten chapters Michael Moxter examines the image ban from a systematic-theological point of view. rather than exploring the genesis and meaning of the ban in its original context, he presents and discusses its varied reception and emphasizes that a theological reading must be complemented by anthropological analysis. the diverse approaches are grouped thematically under broader headings such as “images of Power” (Bilder der Macht), “image and Corporeality” (Bild und Leiblichkeit) or “image Ban, Monotheism and Nega- tive theology” (Bilderverbot, Monotheismus und negative Theologie). thus, Moxter first considers icons and their eminent role in the context of political power. in ancient societies, statues really represented (royal) rulers and their dignity in their domain, and they were venerated accordingly. When Jews and Christians refused to bow down before such statues, the image ban functioned as an “iconoclastic critique of power” (197). Moxter’s second chapter addresses images and their immanent corporeal dimension, concluding that everything that/only what is corporeal can be rep- resented as an image. if the corporeality of God and the heavenly beings is de- nied, the image ban is intended to preserve God in his spiritual transcendence in order that God is not identified with limited, ephemeral materiality. However, are images as such evil? is it only the power of imagination that leads back to chaos and disorder? asking these questions, Moxter explores the argumenta-