incarnationmedium and the message also get befuddled because the former gets
diffused, diffracted, and becomes intangible, which leaves the phantom
of simulation, a hyper-real, and loss of history. The image created
by Baudrillard reflects the reign of difference in which metaphysics
is lost, exchange is annulled, and accumulation of wealth and power is
terminated.
From a different postmodern perspective, Jean-Luc Marion draws a
distinction between an idol and an icon with respect to their functions.
While an idol, an object created for worship, restrains a person’s gaze,
an icon liberates the gaze and opens the mind of the viewer to imagina-
tion, which suggests that it opens potentialities in the viewer. This pro-
vocative nature of the icon provides a visible focus for the divine
reality with the function of making invisible divine qualities accessible
to some extent to the viewer. According to Marion, the icon renders
itself visible by giving rise to an infinite gaze that suggests something
beyond one’s ordinary ability to conceptualize, whereas the idol func-
tions like a mirror that reflects and limits the gazer’s ability to conceive
the unlimited divine.Further reading: Baudrillard (1994); Besançon (2000); Freedberg (1991); Marion
(1991); Schopen (1997); Strong (2004); Swearer (2004); Waghorne (1984)INCARNATION
The derivation of this term resides with the Latin in carne (in flesh/body).
This concept refers to a God becoming incarnate within a human body,
representing a God-human being. The most famous incarnation in the
West is Jesus, who is called the absolute paradox by the nineteenth cen-
tury Danish thinker Kierkegaard; Krishna in Hinduism and the Buddha
in Mahāyāna Buddhism are excellent examples in the East. Traditionally,
Jesus’ incarnation is interpreted as a gracious act of God intended to
redeem humans from original sin by Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross.
According to the Bhagavad Gītā, Krishna, assuming the guise of a war-
rior and teacher, becomes incarnate to fight against unrighteousness and
to conquer the forces of evil. As the incarnation of the eternal Buddha-
nature, the historical Buddha brings wisdom to the world and the means
of ending suffering.
Further reading: Pelikan (1971); Smith (1979)