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73-460: Makhanda may refer to: Makhanda (prophet) (died 25 December 1819), Xhosa prophet Makhanda, South Africa , town formerly named Grahamstown Makana Local Municipality , local authority governing the town Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Makhanda . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

146-801: A beard, a depiction largely derived from, and justified by, the near-physical, but still figurative, description of the Ancient of Days . In the Annunciation by Benvenuto di Giovanni in 1470, God the Father is portrayed in the red robe and a hat that resembles that of a Cardinal. However, even in the later part of the 15th century, the symbolic representation of the Father and the Holy Spirit as "hands and dove" continued, e.g. in Verrocchio's Baptism of Christ in 1472. In Renaissance paintings of

219-438: A different logical dynamic which from such attributes as infinite goodness since there are relative forms of the latter but not of the former. In Christian theology, the name of God has always held deeper significance than purely being a label, considered instead to have divine origin and be based upon divine revelation. The Bible usually uses the name of God in the singular (e.g., Exodus 20:7 or Psalms 8:1), generally using

292-405: A force of about 6,000 men (some sources say 10,000 men), all under the overall command of Ndlambe's son Mdushane . They were accompanied by women and children, prepared to occupy Grahamstown after the battle. The British garrison of approximately 350 troops, along with a Khoikhoi group led by Jan Boesak was able to repulse the attack. Defeated by superior British firepower and poor tactics by

365-411: A military loss which he attributed to the undue veneration of icons. The edict (which was issued without consulting the church) forbade the veneration of religious images, but did not apply to other forms of art, including the image of the emperor, or religious symbols such as the cross. Theological arguments against icons then began to appear with iconoclasts arguing that icons could not represent both

438-519: A series of intellectual attributes: knowledge-omniscience ; wisdom ; veracity and then, the moral attributes of goodness (including love, grace, mercy and patience); holiness and righteousness before dealing finally with his sovereignty . Gregory of Nyssa was one of the first theologians to argue, in opposition to Origen , that God is infinite . His main argument for the infinity of God, which can be found in Against Eunomius ,

511-578: A similar tall full-length symbol for the Father. The Rohan Book of Hours of about 1430 also included depictions of God the Father in half-length human form, which were now becoming standard, and the Hand of God becoming rarer. At the same period other works, like the large Genesis altarpiece by the Hamburg painter Meister Bertram , continued to use the old depiction of Christ as Logos in Genesis scenes. In

584-570: A whole human figure. In many images, the figure of the Son supplants the Father, so a smaller portion of the person of the Father is depicted. By the 12th century depictions of God the Father had started to appear in French illuminated manuscripts , which as a less public form could often be more adventurous in their iconography, and in stained glass church windows in England. Initially the head or bust

657-670: Is in Heaven ), others based on theological reasoning. The " Kingdom of God " is a prominent phrase in the Synoptic Gospels , and while there is near unanimous agreement among scholars that it represents a key element of the teachings of Jesus , there is little scholarly agreement on its exact interpretation. Although the New Testament does not have a formal doctrine of the Trinity as such, "it does repeatedly speak of

730-503: Is no formal distinction in the Confession, Reformed authors have interpreted in it a specifically Reformed distinction between incommunicable and communicable attributes; the former being those which have no unqualified analogy in created things (e.g., simplicity and eternity), the latter being those which have some analogy in some created things such as humans (e.g., wisdom and goodness). The relationship between these two classes

803-497: Is not of the substance of the created universe. Traditionally, some theologians such as Louis Berkhof distinguish between the incommunicable and communicable attributes of God. The former are those attributes which have no unqualified analogy in created things (e.g., simplicity and eternity), in other words, attributes that belong to God alone. The latter attributes are those which have some analogy in created things, especially humans (e.g., wisdom and goodness). Thus, following

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876-624: Is often symbolized using a man wearing a papal dress and a papal crown, supporting the dead Christ in his arms. They are depicted as floating in heaven with angels who carry the instruments of the Passion . Representations of God the Father and the Trinity were attacked both by Protestants and within Catholicism, by the Jansenist and Baianist movements as well as more orthodox theologians. As with other attacks on Catholic imagery, this had

949-493: Is regarded as one of the first Africans to attempt a cultural synthesis of African and European beliefs. Dawn , the monthly journal of the uMkhonto we Sizwe , credited his actions with having inspired the multiculturalism of the African National Congress (ANC) upon its founding. Anti-apartheid political prisoners imprisoned on Robben Island, including Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe , later petitioned for

1022-485: Is such that the incommunicable attributes qualify all the communicable attributes, thus, God is infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth, following the classic definition of God in the Westminster Shorter Catechism . Thus, Article 1 is said to begin by enumerating the incommunicable attributes, but from 'almighty' to 'good' enumerates

1095-694: Is that God's goodness is limitless, and as God's goodness is essential , God is also limitless. Many early Christians believed that a number of verses within the Bible, were meant to apply not only to God, but to all attempts aiming to depict God. However, early Christian art, such as that of the Dura Europos church , displays the Hand of God , a theological symbol representing the right hand of God, and Christ himself, along with many saints, are depicted. The Dura Europos synagogue nearby has numerous instances of

1168-509: Is that insofar as God the Father or the Spirit did not become man, visible and tangible images and portrait icons would be inaccurate, and that what was true for the whole Trinity before Christ remains true for the Father and the Spirit, but not for the Word. John of Damascus wrote: If we attempt to make an image of the invisible God, this would be sinful indeed. It is impossible to portray one who

1241-544: Is the "one and only God" and the "maker of heaven and earth". These preceded the formal presentation of the concept of Trinity by Tertullian early in the 3rd century. The period from the late 2nd century to the beginning of the 4th century (approximately 180–313) is generally called the "epoch of the Great Church " and also the Ante-Nicene Period , and witnessed significant theological development, and

1314-600: Is without body: invisible, uncircumscribed and without form. Around 790, Charlemagne ordered a set of four books that became known as the Libri Carolini ("Charles' books") to refute what his court understood to be the iconodule decrees of the Byzantine Second Council of Nicaea regarding sacred images. Although not well known during the Middle Ages, these books describe the key elements of

1387-849: The Hebrew Bible aloud, Jews replace the Tetragrammaton with the title Adonai , translated as Kyrios in the Septuagint and the Greek New Testament. Jah (or Yah ) is an abbreviation of Jahweh/Yahweh/Jehovah. It is often used by Christians in the interjection " Hallelujah ", meaning "Praise Jah", which is used to give God glory. In the New Testament, Theos and Pater ( πατήρ , "father" in Greek ) are additional words used to reference God. Respect for

1460-514: The Jewish-Christian Ebionites , protested against the deification of Jesus, the concept of Jesus being one with God was accepted by the majority of Gentile Christians . This formed one aspect of the split of early Christianity and Judaism , as Gentile Christian views of God began to diverge from the traditional Jewish teachings of the time. The theology of the attributes and nature of God has been discussed since

1533-535: The Old Testament . In the traditional interpretations of Christianity, God is always referred to with masculine grammatical articles only. Early Christian views of God (before the gospels were written) are reflected in the Apostle Paul 's statement in 1 Corinthians 8:5–6, written c.  AD 53–54 , about twenty years after the crucifixion of Jesus , and 12–21 years before the earliest of

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1606-575: The Uitenhage area. His father was a Xhosa named Gwala of the Cwerha clan and his mother was a Khoikhoi of the Gqunukhwebe clan. After Makhanda's father died when he was a young boy, he was brought up by his mother strongly influenced by her village's Khoi traditions. His mother was a spiritual diviner and medicine woman. Makhanda was later recognised as an ‘'inyanga,'’ which seemed rooted in

1679-507: The Xhosa to unite to try to drive British forces out of the land once and for all. Makhanda advised Ndlambe that the gods would be on their side if they chose to attack the British garrison in the settlement of Grahamstown, and promised that the British "bullets would turn to water". Ndlambe took Makana’s advice, and on 22 April 1819 Makana led a raid on Grahamstown in broad daylight with

1752-471: The biblical patriarch Abraham to whom God revealed himself. It is believed that Abraham was the first to affirm monotheism (the belief in one God) and had an ideal relationship with God. The Abrahamic religions believe that God continuously interacted with the descendants of Abraham over millennia; both Christians and Jews believe that this covenant is recorded in the Hebrew Bible , which most Christian denominations consider to be (and refer to as)

1825-516: The 13th century, Thomas Aquinas focused on a shorter list of just eight attributes, namely simplicity , perfection , goodness , incomprehensibility , omnipresence , immutability , eternity and oneness . Other formulations include the 1251 list of the Fourth Lateran Council , which was then adopted at Vatican I in 1870 and the Westminster Shorter Catechism in the 17th century. Two attributes of God that place him above

1898-756: The 14th century the Naples Bible carried a depiction of God the Father in the Burning bush . By the early 15th century, the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry has a considerable number of symbols, including an elderly but tall and elegant full-length figure walking in the Garden of Eden , which show a considerable diversity of apparent ages and dress. The "Gates of Paradise" of the Florence Baptistry by Lorenzo Ghiberti , begun in 1425 use

1971-498: The 15th century there was a brief fashion for depicting all three persons of the Trinity as similar or identical figures with the usual appearance of Christ . In an early Venetian school Coronation of the Virgin by Giovanni d'Alemagna and Antonio Vivarini , (c. 1443) The Father is depicted using the symbol consistently used by other artists later, namely a patriarch, with benign, yet powerful countenance and with long white hair and

2044-650: The Catholic theological position on sacred images. To the Western Church , images were just objects made by craftsmen, to be utilized for stimulating the senses of the faithful, and to be respected for the sake of the subject represented, not in themselves. The Council of Constantinople (869) (considered ecumenical by the Western Church, but not the Eastern Church ) reaffirmed the decisions of

2117-549: The Christ" or that he had even "vouchsafed to adopt [the believer] as his son by grace". Eastern creeds (those known to have come from a later date) began with an affirmation of faith in "one God" and almost always expanded this by adding "the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible" or words to that effect. Augustine of Hippo , Thomas Aquinas , and other Christian theologians have described God with

2190-454: The Father could be symbolized. Prior to the 10th century, no attempt was made to use a human figure to symbolize God the Father in Western art . Yet, Western art eventually required some way to illustrate the presence of the Father, so through successive representations a set of artistic styles for symbolizing the Father using a man gradually emerged around the 10th century. A rationale for

2263-625: The Father is in Heaven, while other attributes are derived from theological reasoning. In the 8th century, John of Damascus listed eighteen attributes for God in his An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith (Book 1, chapter 8). These eighteen attributes were divided into four groups based on time (such as being everlasting), space (such as being boundless), matter or quality and the list continues to be influential to date, partially appearing in some form in various modern formulations. In

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2336-512: The Father may hold a globe or book (to symbolize God's knowledge and as a reference to how knowledge is deemed divine). He is behind and above Christ on the Cross in the Throne of Mercy iconography. A dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit may hover above. Various people from different classes of society, e.g. kings, popes or martyrs may be present in the picture. In a Trinitarian pietà , God the Father

2409-576: The Father will send in my name". By the end of the 1st century, Clement of Rome had repeatedly referred to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and linked the Father to creation in 1 Clement 19.2, stating: "let us look steadfastly to the Father and creator of the universe". By the middle of the 2nd century, in Against Heresies , Irenaeus had emphasized (in Book 4, chapter 5) that the Creator

2482-524: The Father, it suggested that icons of Christ were preferred over Old Testament shadows and figures. The beginning of the 8th century witnessed the suppression and destruction of religious icons as the Byzantine iconoclasm (literally, "image struggle" or "war on icons") began. Emperor Leo III (717–741) suppressed the use of icons by imperial edict of the Byzantine Empire, presumably due to

2555-579: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit... in such a way as to compel a Trinitarian understanding of God". Around 200 AD, Tertullian formulated a version of the doctrine of the Trinity which clearly affirmed the divinity of Jesus. This concept was later expanded upon at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, and a later definitive form was produced by the Ecumenical Council of 381 . The Trinitarian doctrine holds that God

2628-539: The Father. Even supporters of the use of icons in the 8th century, such as John of Damascus , drew a distinction between images of God the Father and those of Christ. In his treatise On the Divine Images , John of Damascus wrote: "In former times, God who is without form or body, could never be depicted. But now when God is seen in the flesh conversing with men, I make an image of the God whom I see". The implication

2701-516: The Hand of God symbol throughout its extensive decorative scheme, and is the only ancient synagogue with an extant decorative scheme. Dating to the mid-3rd century, the symbol was likely adopted into Early Christian art from Jewish art . The Hand of God was common in Late Antique art in both the East and West, and remained the main way of symbolizing the actions or approval of God the Father in

2774-611: The Jewish background of the time by referring to Jesus and the Father almost in the same breath, and by conferring on Jesus the title of divine honor "Lord", as well as calling him Christ. In the Book of Acts (Acts 17:24–27), during the Areopagus sermon given by Paul, he further characterizes the early Christian understanding: The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth Paul also reflects on

2847-535: The Latin term ipsum esse , a phrase that translates roughly to "being itself". God's aseity makes the Christian God not "a being" but rather "being itself", and can be explained by phrases such as "that which is with no reliance on anything external for its being" or "the necessary condition for anything to exist at all". As time passed, theologians and philosophers developed more precise understandings of

2920-471: The Second Council of Nicaea and helped stamp out any remaining coals of iconoclasm. Specifically, its third canon required the image of Christ to have veneration equal with that of a Gospel book: We decree that the sacred image of our Lord Jesus Christ, the liberator and Savior of all people, must be venerated with the same honor as is given the book of the holy Gospels. For as through the language of

2993-495: The Son, God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit are all different hypostases (Persons) of one substance, and is not traditionally held to be one of tritheism . Trinitarianism was subsequently adopted as the official theological doctrine through Nicene Christianity thereafter, and forms a cornerstone of modern Christian understandings of God—however, some Christian denominations hold nontrinitarian views about God . Christians, in common with Jews and Muslims , identify with

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3066-656: The West until the end of the Romanesque period . In art depicting specific Biblical scenes, such as the Baptism of Jesus , where a specific representation of God the Father was indicated, the Hand of God was used increasingly from the Carolingian period until the end of the Romanesque . The use of religious images in general continued to increase up to the end of the 7th century, to the point that in 695, upon assuming

3139-638: The adoration of the Trinity, God may be depicted in two ways, either with emphasis on The Father, or the three elements of the Trinity. The most usual depiction of the Trinity in Renaissance art depicts God the Father using an old man, usually with a long beard and patriarchal in appearance, sometimes with a triangular halo (as a reference to the Trinity), or with a papal crown , specially in Northern Renaissance painting. In these depictions,

3212-530: The amaNdlambe leadership, Makana surrendered. The British colonial government imprisoned him on Robben Island , but treated him with great respect, giving him private accommodation, food and furniture. On 25 December 1820, Makana attempted to escape with thirty other prisoners, but would capsize and drown. Only four of the escapees survived the crossing. Since he had promised his people he would never abandon them, they continued to hope for his return for another 50 years before funeral rites were observed. Makhanda

3285-539: The amaXhosa were opposed to the encroachment of European settlers in the region, which had begun when Afrikaner trekboers from the Cape Colony started migrating into their lands, and culminated in the expulsion of 20,000 Xhosa from the Zuurveld in 1812. Makhanda viewed the emerging conflict between European and African world views as a contest between Thixo , the god of the whites, and Mdalidiphu (creator of

3358-426: The canonical gospels was written: ...for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. Apart from asserting that there is one God, Paul's statement (which is likely based on pre-Pauline confessions) includes a number of other significant elements: he distinguishes Christian belief from

3431-649: The chaplain at Grahamstown, and with missionary John Read, about theology and cosmology. During this period, Makhanda slowly increased his following and influence among the Xhosa. Up to 1816, he viewed missionaries as coworkers in the same cause. Missionary Read described Makhanda as “a stout and handsome man, who commands respect.” In 1816, Makhanda's attitude towards missionaries changed. Having grown up in areas with Afrikaner farmers, he had firsthand knowledge of their mistreatment of khoikhoi people. To Makhanda, Christianity represented European culture. Makhanda and all of

3504-558: The classic definition of God in the Presbyterian Westminster Shorter Catechism , God is infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. That is, God possesses the communicable attributes to in an incommunicable manner. For example, he is wise, but infinite in his wisdom. Some such as Donald Macleod hold that all the suggested classifications are artificial and without basis. Although there

3577-483: The communicable attributes. There is a general agreement among theologians that it would be a mistake to conceive of the essence of God existing by itself and independently of the attributes or of the attributes being an additional characteristic of the Divine Being. They are essential qualities which exist permanently in his very Being and are co-existent with it. Any alteration in them would imply an alteration in

3650-401: The consolidation and formalization of a number of Christian teachings. From the 2nd century onward, western creeds started with an affirmation of belief in "God the Father (Almighty)" and the primary reference of this phrase was to "God in his capacity as Father and creator of the universe". This did not exclude either the fact the "eternal father of the universe was also the Father of Jesus

3723-517: The created universe (rejection of pantheism ) but accept that God the Son assumed hypostatically united human nature, thus becoming man in a unique event known as "the Incarnation ". Early Christian views of God were expressed in the Pauline epistles and the early Christian creeds , which proclaimed one God and the divinity of Jesus . Although some early sects of Christianity, such as

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3796-689: The deep), the god of the Xhosas. He began to preach a fusion of these religions to reconcile them, leaning toward Xhosa beliefs. In 1818 at the Battle of Amalinde , Makhanda fought alongside a combined force of the Xhosa against Chief Ngqika , who was considered to be selling out his people in return for personal gain as an ally of the British Cape Colony . When a British -led force commanded by Colonel Thomas Brereton seized 23,000 head of stolen cattle from Ndlambe’s people, Makhanda urged all

3869-443: The divine and the human natures of Jesus at the same time. In this atmosphere, no public depictions of God the Father were even attempted and such depictions only began to appear two centuries later. The Second Council of Nicaea in 787 effectively ended the first period of Byzantine iconoclasm and restored the honouring of icons and holy images in general. However, this did not immediately translate into large scale depictions of God

3942-511: The earliest days of Christianity, with Irenaeus writing in the 2nd century: "His greatness lacks nothing, but contains all things". In the 8th century, John of Damascus listed eighteen attributes which remain widely accepted. As time passed, Christian theologians developed systematic lists of these attributes, some based on statements in the Bible (e.g., the Lord's Prayer , stating that the Father

4015-487: The early guidance of his mother and her traditions. The Xhosa also particularly held the Khoikhoi and San spiritual guides in high esteem. His mother took him and his siblings to the Great Fish River Valley, where they lived with his foster father Balala. It is unclear when Makhanda encountered Christianity . Missionary Dr James van der Kemp had established a mission station in Bethelsdorp in 1799, and Makhanda may have met him. Makhanda advocated peace and denounced

4088-434: The effect both of reducing church support for the less central depictions, and strengthening it for the core ones. In the Catholic Church , the pressure to restrain religious imagery resulted in the highly influential decrees of the final session of the Council of Trent in 1563. The Council of Trent decrees confirmed the traditional Catholic doctrine that images only represented the person depicted, and that veneration to them

4161-429: The entire system of "divine truth" revealed to the faithful "that believe in his name" or "walk in the name of the Lord our God" In Revelation 3:12, those who bear the name of God are "destined for Heaven". John 17:6 presents the teachings of Jesus as the manifestation of the name of God to his disciples. John 12:27 presents the sacrifice of Jesus the Lamb of God , and the ensuing salvation delivered through it as

4234-612: The essential being of God. Hick suggests that when listing the attributes of God, the starting point should be his self-existence ("aseity") which implies his eternal and unconditioned nature. Hick goes on to consider the following additional attributes: Creator being the source of all that composes his creation ( "creatio ex nihilo" ) and the sustainer of what he has brought into being; personal ; loving, good ; and holy . Berkhof also starts with self-existence but moves on to immutability ; infinity , which implies perfection eternity and omnipresence ; unity . He then analyses

4307-410: The glorification of the name of God, with the voice from Heaven confirming Jesus' petition ("Father, glorify thy name") by saying: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again", referring to the Baptism and crucifixion of Jesus . The theological underpinnings of the attributes and nature of God have been discussed since the earliest days of Christianity. In the 2nd century, Irenaeus addressed

4380-410: The issue and expounded on some attributes; for example, Book IV, chapter 19 of Against Heresies states: "His greatness lacks nothing, but contains all things". Irenaeus based his attributes on three sources: Scripture, prevailing mysticism and popular piety. Today, some of the attributes associated with God continue to be based on statements in the Bible, such as the Lord's Prayer , which states that

4453-416: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Makhanda&oldid=1111591026 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Makhanda (prophet) Makhanda was born near the coast around 1780 in

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4526-406: The material universe) and immanent (involved in the material universe). Christians believe in a singular God that exists in a Trinity , which consists of three Persons: God the Father , God the Son , and God the Holy Spirit . Christian teachings on the transcendence, immanence, and involvement of God in the world and his love for humanity exclude the belief that God is of the same substance as

4599-418: The name of God is one of the Ten Commandments , which is viewed not only as an avoidance of the improper use of the name of God, but also a commandment to exalt it, through both pious deeds and praise. This is reflected in the first petition in the Lord's Prayer addressed to God the Father : "Hallowed be thy Name". In the theology of the Early Church Fathers , the name of God was seen as representative of

4672-399: The nature of God and began to produce systematic lists of his attributes. These varied in detail, but traditionally the attributes fell into two groups: those based on negation (that God is impassible) and those positively based on eminence (that God is infinitely good). Ian Ramsey suggested that there are three groups, and that some attributes, such as simplicity and perfection , have

4745-475: The relationship between God and Christians: ...that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us for in him we live. The Pauline epistles also include a number of references to the Holy Spirit, with the theme which appears in 1 Thessalonians 4:8 – "...God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit" – appearing throughout his epistles. In John 14:26, Jesus also refers to "the Holy Spirit, whom

4818-446: The renaming of the island after Makana. Irwin Pat Year (2019) The Battle of Graham's Town, 22 April 1819 [SA] Military History Journal 18(3)112-117 December SA ISSN 0026-4016 God in Christianity In Christianity , God is the eternal , supreme being who created and preserves all things. Christians believe in a monotheistic conception of God , which is both transcendent (wholly independent of, and removed from,

4891-419: The terms in a very general sense rather than referring to any special designation of God. However, general references to the name of God may branch to other special forms which express his multifaceted attributes. The Old Testament reveals YHWH (often vocalized with vowels as "Yahweh" or "Jehovah") as the personal name of God, along with certain titles including El Elyon and El Shaddai . When reading

4964-403: The throne, Byzantine emperor Justinian II put an image of Christ on the obverse side of his gold coins, resulting in a rift which ended the use of Byzantine coin types in the Islamic world. However, the increase in religious imagery did not include depictions of God the Father. For instance, while the eighty second canon of the Council of Trullo in 692 did not specifically condemn images of

5037-405: The use of a human figure is the belief that God created the soul of Man in the image of his own (thus allowing humanity to transcend the other animals). It appears that when early artists designed to represent God the Father, fear and awe restrained them from a usage of the whole human figure. Typically only a small part would be used as the image, usually the hand, or sometimes the face, but rarely

5110-418: The use of magic after converting to Christianity . During his days as an itinerant preacher, he was attacked by a gang of detractors. He was rescued by Qalanga, a councillor of Chief Ndlambe. Qalanga introduced Makhanda to the royal chief of the Rharhabe . Around 1812 Chief Ndlambe appointed Makhanda as an advisor and military doctor. As a royal appointee, Makhanda had discussions with the Rev. Vanderlingen,

5183-471: The words contained in this book all can reach salvation, so, due to the action which these images exercise by their colors, all wise and simple alike, can derive profit from them. Images of God the Father were not directly addressed in Constantinople in 869. A list of permitted icons was enumerated at this Council, but symbols of God the Father were not among them. However, the general acceptance of icons and holy images began to create an atmosphere in which God

5256-474: The world, yet acknowledge his involvement in the world, are transcendence and immanence . Transcendence means that God is eternal and infinite, not controlled by the created world and beyond human events. Immanence means that God is involved in the world, and Christian teachings have long acknowledged his attention to human affairs. However, unlike pantheistic religions, in Christianity, God's being

5329-610: Was usually shown in some form of frame of clouds in the top of the picture space, where the Hand of God had formerly appeared; the Baptism of Christ on the famous baptismal font in Liège of Rainer of Huy is an example from 1118 (a Hand of God is used in another scene). Gradually the amount of the human symbol shown can increase to a half-length figure, then a full-length, usually enthroned, as in Giotto 's fresco of c. 1305 in Padua . In

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