Belief+Doubt=Sanity #SH2013

Looking back on my notes from Gerard Kelly’s excellent Spring Harvest Bible Readings on 1 John, I was drawn afresh to his referencing of Barbara Kruger’s art. It came in the context of some reflections on 1 John 2:15-17:

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. ¹⁶ For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. ¹⁷ And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
New Living Translation

Gerard asked the question ‘Where does our identity come from?’ The point being that our identity comes from what holds our heart and he used some of Kruger’s art to illustrate. So I went back to look up some of her work which I find both challenging and illuminating. Kruger’s iconic image is:



But the image that really grabbed my attention and got my mind buzzing is this one which Gerard also referenced: