"The core of Christian dogma may be expressed as follows: nearly two thousand years ago a man named Jesus permitted himself to be tortured to death on a wooden cross. This act is supposed to have 'saved' or 'redeemed' humankind from an earlier 'fall' to sin. We were 'redeemed' because we were all sinful to begin with, and because the man who accepted this torture and death was non other than God himself, in the person of God the Son" (Rancour-Laferriere 12).
This is a discourse analysis of how these concepts of redemption, sin, faith and hope are depicted and read by individuals in images of the suffering, crucified Christ. The contradictions and conflicting messages within images of the crucifix will be explored, as well as how personal experience affects one's identity with and understanding of the cross. Tangible visual objects will also be analyzed as a way of incorporating the meaning of the cross into every aspect of life along with other institutional technologies that serve as disciplinary measures, causing the viewer to not only identify with the crucifix, but also to uncover a calling to reenact that level of sacrifice in their own life.

by: Rosalie Bonner

Complexity and Contradiction in the Cross

Works Cited

 

 

This Webpage was produced in COM 784: Visual Communication,

a class taught by Bob Bednar in the Communication Studies Department at Southwestern University