Click the link here for the story of the Obama votive candle, with the Senator in the guise of a saint.
Some of you may wonder why I keep an eye on the Obama as "messiah" thing. I find it curious for two reasons. First it shows that some people, even people who would probably reject Christ, still have an innate need for a savior, a desire for saints, and the belief there is something greater then themselves to which they can be vicariously attached. Second it shows these folks are willing to use historic and traditional trappings to understand their sensibilities. The votive candle with Senator Obama on it uses very traditional Catholic imagery and there may be an icon of the Senator somewhere even now.
Some will dismiss this all as well, "That's just San Francisco..." but whether we agree with the politics of the Senator or not his presence has brought out a hunger for a savior in many people a hunger sometimes expressed in Christian traditional language and images. It will be interesting to see, of course, how these people react when they discover their saint and savior is just a human being but discerning Orthodox will see in these demonstrations of a secular piety a kind of opening through which we can present an authentic Savior and an authentic faith.
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5 comments:
Did they super impose his face on an image of St. Martin de Porres? Also, the image is kind of small, is it really Obama's face or a depiction of Porres that kind of looks like him (unlikely but still ...)
It is probably St. Martin de Porres. he is holding a broom which is common to his iconography, and the habit while not exact is similar to other artistic portrayals of this saint.
Though the face looks much more like Obama than the typical portrays of St. Martin who is usually shown much older.
I will investigate this. The story indicated it was Sen. Obama but it could have been a mistake.
Thats just St. Martin de Porres
http://www.stmartinofporres.co.uk/store/catalog/1103por2.jpg
Same image, the curve of the candle makes his face look narrower
No, it's really Obama depicted as a saint. I know the guys that make them.
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