“I Am the Nail”: A Multimodal Analysis of a Contemporary Reception of Isaiah 53

The Arma Christi, the instruments of the Passion of Christ, are a fascinating collection of symbols evident throughout the history of Christian art. This article considers the striking re-emergence of visual depictions of the Arma Christi in the contemporary spiritual practice of Bible Journaling. H...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inReligions (Basel, Switzerland ) Vol. 14; no. 3; p. 370
Main Author Dillon, Amanda
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.03.2023
Subjects
Analysis
Artists
Bible Journaling
Biblical hermeneutics
biblical reception
Book publishing
Christian art
Christian art and symbolism
Christian theology
Christianity
Diaries
Isaiah 53
Mindfulness
multimodal analysis
Narratives
New Testament
Passion of Christ
Redemption
Salvation
Semiotics
Social aspects
Social networks
Spirituality
Theology
United States
New York
United Kingdom
Illinois
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Summary:The Arma Christi, the instruments of the Passion of Christ, are a fascinating collection of symbols evident throughout the history of Christian art. This article considers the striking re-emergence of visual depictions of the Arma Christi in the contemporary spiritual practice of Bible Journaling. How have these symbols of the Passion made their way back into the popular Christian imaginary and creative expression of Bible readers today? The creative, devotional practice of Bible Journaling is gaining popularity in many countries, notably the US. Almost exclusively practiced by women, Bible Journaling involves making artistic interventions directly in the material artefact of the printed Bible, with different creative media. In considering the value of this practice for women’s spirituality, this article employs a social semiotic approach, multimodal analysis, to survey their visual representations and to analyse in detail one specific creative intervention, “I AM THE NAIL”, as a reception of a contemporary understanding of salvation through the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross. Also considered are intertextual readings of the Hebrew Bible (Isaiah 53: 3–5) and the NT. The semiotic influence of popular cultural products such as The Passion of the Christ movie on the visual idiom embraced by the journalers forms part of this analysis.
ISSN:2077-1444
2077-1444
DOI:10.3390/rel14030370