Images of Jesus often reflect the hopes and fears of the society in which they were created. What do a selection of images say about Jesus? What hopes, fears - or other emotions and attitudes - are reflected in them?
	These images are (from left to right): · Christ Crowned with Thorns by Hieronymous Bosch · Christ by W. Sallmann (1940) · Page from the Westminster Psalter (c.1200) · Lamb of God by Francisco de Zurbaran (c.1635). Click on the images for links to larger versions. Teachers could make their own selection from different historical periods and from different cultures. The images could be distributed individually and groups report back to the whole class their thoughts and feelings about their example. Alternatively, each person could analyse a series of pictures. A voluminous selection of Western Art from between 1200 and 1800, including many appropriate images, can be found at the web Gallery of Art at:       http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/welcome.html Other images can be found via the links on Dr Mark Goodacre's site, New Testament Gateway, at:       http://www.ntgateway.com/images.htm This topic inevitably invites creative responses to the issues discussed. These could involve, initially, copying images in various styles, to develop a feeling for the different approaches and to develop a repertoire of techniques. Students could then create their own images, in a variety of media, remembering that each will have a theological significance - will give an insight into the artist's understanding about the nature of God. Another approach would be to focus on the cultural context of the images. The second half of the 20th century saw a reaction against the flaxen-haired Christ that predominated from the Victorians onwards. Could the students create images of Christ that reflect and speak to societies other than our own? (see also the 'Cross' activity suggested in the 'Mission' section.)
	It is important to remember that the historical images do not just reflect the emotions of the society that produced them; they are also struggling with - and full of - theological ideas. For example, Christians believe that Jesus was Emmanuel ('God with us'), but what are the implications of this perception? Did it mean that God could suffer pain too? Images of Christ on the cross which show a triumphant or unperturbed Jesus are, possibly, trying to answer this question. Another interpretation is that they are looking through the moment of pain to the ultimate reality of the Risen Christ. Another interpretation would be….?