Graven Images

You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth (Exo. 20:4).

I recently heard this passage quoted as a reason why Nativity scenes shouldn't be part of Christian celebrations. I'm sure you see the point. No likeness of anything that is in heaven ... like Christ.

There is a line of folks primarily in the Reformed category that make an issue out of this. When Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ came out, several said they refused to go see it because we aren't allowed to have any images. They object to art in church. They object to stained glass windows that portray angels or biblical events. Art, carvings, paintings, sculptures, they're all bad.

I don't exactly know how to manage this concept. On one hand I see the command. It's clear. Not a lot of ambiguity. God has stated what He wants, and we who love Him ought to give it to Him. We shouldn't have other gods in His presence. We should honor our parents and not steal and not murder and ... well, you get the idea. If we agree that adultery is not good, why is it okay to have images?

On the other hand, the command is quite clear. Do not make images of anything that is. So ... what about photographs? What about family pictures? The "no image" folks are understandably upset about images of Christ or angels or the like, but what about images of people? It's wrong to have an image of Christ in a movie or on the wall. Okay. What about a church directory with photos? Don't the members of a church fall in the category of things that are "on the earth"? My father-in-law has a really cool screen saver that looks like an aquarium. Is that evil? I mean, fish would be things that are "in the water", right?

I'm looking for clarity. Is this particular command something about which we need to concern ourselves? If not, why not? If so, how do we fit in any pictures whatsoever? It would seem like TV and videos and your coffee table photo album would fall in the category of prohibited items. It seems like it should be easy to answer. Somehow I'm not finding it so easy.

Update: Based on a variety of inputs and some further thought, this is what I've come to. The whole context of the first four commandments (which, by the way, vary based on what your particular view is) has to do with how we relate to God. Other commandments have to do with interpersonal relationships, but these first ones are between you and God. Therefore, it would seem most rational that the context of "no images" refers to worship or service. Are you serving God, or do these images offer you something to serve? By the way, I think that pictures of Jesus, for instance, too often operate as something to serve for too many people. They assume "Jesus is like that" whatever "that" may be and assign to Him the qualities they see in an image. That would be problematic.