Pay Attention

Today I was in the Duomo in Parma, using a long telephoto to get pictures of the details in the ceiling.  Since the Duomo is perhaps 60 feet from floor to ceiling, and it’s always dark, I knew I would find something there that you wouldn’t usually see.  Low and behold, here are two examples.  Notice that the picture of God has the Hebrew name above it–and is at the same time a direct violation of the second commandment.  Oh, well.  Aquinas and Luther informed us that the commandments do not count anymore, right?  Then look at the second photo.  High up on the ceiling is the “grotesque,” a pagan representation of a fertility goddess.  Syncretism at its best, you find this symbol all over Italy in churches.