SYMBOL, MYTH, AND THE BIBLICAL REVELATION AVERY ...

26 THEOLOGICAL STUDIES
images, which attribute our redemption to the blood of Christ, freely
shed for our sake, and which represent Him as inviting us to drink of
the blood of the Son of Man.
In a thriving Christianity the creation of secondary images of this
sort goes on apace. At times they may even seem to overshadow the
biblical imagery, somewhat as in New Testament times the symbol of
the heavenly Lord assumed priority over the older symbol of the Son
of Man. But the new images, devised for the needs of a particular culture,
are never completely new. They look back to the great ideas and
symbols in Scripture. Like new doctrines, they are ultimately controlled
by the primary sources from which they stem.
There is no need to minimize the problem of bridging the cultural
gap between biblical times and our emerging technopolitan civilization.
But it would be a mistake, I suggest, to concede too quickly that
the biblical images should be cast aside. If some of them are less immediately
available for popular preaching, they can continue to nourish
the thought of the preachers themselves. Remaining in historical and
spiritual continuity with the people of God in biblical times, the Church
will not wish to shelve the memory of the experiences by which God
originally manifested Himself to the prophets and apostles. The biblical
symbolism which enshrines these experiences will always remain a
primary object of study and meditation. And it is doubtful that the
faithful will ever cease to look upon God as their Father and Lord, or
upon Jesus as the Good Shepherd and the Lamb of God. These inspired
symbols form part of the patrimony by which the minds, imaginations,
and emotions of the Christian people are to be formed and
educated.