Discuss the Second Commandment and explain why some religions forbid images and others favor them. Be sure to provide specific examples.

The
Second Commandment is a tricky one and has
become a source of contention among many religious
groups. The full text of
this commandment (from the King James version of the Bible, Exodus 20:
4-6)
says:

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven
image,
or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in
the earth beneath, or that
is in the water under the earth.

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor
serve them: for I the
Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon
the
children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

And
shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my
commandments.

The main confusion is
whether the first or second part of the
Commandment is most important. If you
read only the first part, it sounds like people are not
allowed to make any
kind of image that represents a specific person or creature. This is the

interpretation taken, say, by the Muslim religion, where traditionally no kind of
representative
art is allowed at all. Islamic artists became masters at
calligraphy and abstract art, such as
ceramic tiles and mosaics, partly
because their religion forbids portraits of people or
animals.

Other religions focus more on the second part, where it states that

people should not bow down to any graven image. This ties into the ancient traditions,
as in
Egypt, where statues of gods and goddesses were worshiped as if they
were the real thing.
(Incidentally, the Hebrews were also caught doing this
when Moses descended Mt. Sinai with the
Ten Commandments in handthey had made
a golden calf and were praying to it, instead of to God.
Moses was not
pleased.) However, as long as the images are not a replacement for God, or
prayed
to as a god, then it is okay to make them. This is the view taken by
the Catholic church, for
example. They have statues of saints and beautiful
paintings, which people admire, but everyone
knows these images are not
actual deities. Therefore it is fine to include them in church

decoration.