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I always believed in One God, with no image( which for me means no mental image of something). Jesus Christ is a prophet from God. I was taught in this way. I was in a Catholic College and I never heard from a priest that Jesus Christ is God. What type of Christian am I?

I ask this because many non-Christians tend to believe that all Christians believe that the son of Mary is God - I'm not talking about trinity here because as I said, I believe in One God.

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    What does “with no image” mean ? Catholics certainly do believe in the trinity and teach that Jesus is God
    – Kris
    Dec 15, 2018 at 16:32
  • christianity.stackexchange.com/q/24176/23657. This related question may be helpful
    – Kris
    Dec 15, 2018 at 16:41
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    I think many Christians (Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox, as understood from my Protestant background) would say that Jesus is God is an essential doctrine, so not believing that would make you not a Christian. And all Christians certainly believe in One God. But as the link Kris posted says, it would be a non-Trinitarian or likely Unitarian view. Also like Kris mentioned, what does "with no image" mean? Dec 15, 2018 at 17:45
  • Kris, for me image means mental image of something.
    – bcloney
    Dec 15, 2018 at 18:35
  • @AlexStrasser Regarding trinity, I know christians that believe, do not believe, and question about trinity, even constant-practicers, so in my cultural perspective they are still christians - these that were born with a bible near, they are free to considering them-selfs christians even if they are non-practicers and believe in one God (or lastly in a ethnic origins sense).
    – bcloney
    Dec 15, 2018 at 18:36

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Virtually all Christians consider Jesus to be the image of God because of this passage in Colossians 1:15-16

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

If you are concerned with the question of whether Jesus is actually God, rather than whether he is merely the image of God, then the word you are looking for is probably 'Unitarian'. Unitarians believe that Jesus is the best and ultimate prophet and messenger of God, but not actually God. There are other kinds of groups too, including 'Christadelphians'. If you want more specific information you would have to tell us more about what you believe. Unitarians and Christadelphians consider Jesus to be the image of God, for the reasons I said above.

If your Catholic priest never said at any time that Jesus Christ is God, then he either presumed you already knew that or, if you were of a different faith, didn't want to offend you by contradicting your faith. He almost certainly believed it himself.

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  • Note though that even Unitarians would acknowledge some sense of Jesus being the image of God, as Colossians 1:15 says, and because all humans are made in his image!
    – curiousdannii
    Dec 17, 2018 at 0:34
  • curiousdanni See this. "Unitarian Christians, therefore, believe that Jesus was inspired by God in his moral teachings, and he is a savior, but he was not a deity or God incarnate. (...) " So, at least, not all of them acknowledge that.
    – bcloney
    Dec 17, 2018 at 3:29
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    @Bcloney That doesn't mean they don't believe Jesus is the image of God.
    – curiousdannii
    Dec 17, 2018 at 13:58
  • If I might add some advice, it's commonly agreed that Jesus intended his followers to live the Christian life as part of community - or at least not alone. I would strongly suggest finding other Christians to spend time with and identify with. This would also sort out the question of what label you want to apply to yourself - you can use the same label they do. Dec 17, 2018 at 15:06
  • Exodus does not say "God has no image". It is a command "You will make no image", talking to the Israelites. Jesus can be the "image of God" because he was not made by the Israelites, so that doesn't contradict the command. The Bible (the foundation book of Christianity) specifically says Jesus is the image of God. If you want to understand more about this you might like to talk to Christian leader where you are. Dec 17, 2018 at 15:30
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Unitarianism (from Latin unitas "unity, oneness", from unus "one") - Thanks @DJClayworth

  • Is a Christian theological movement named for its belief that the God in Christianity is one person

  • Believe that Jesus was inspired by God in his moral teachings, and he is a savior, but he was not a deity or God incarnate.

  • Unitarians place emphasis on the ultimate role of reason in interpreting sacred scriptures

  • Other possible designation for this is Unorthodox. (Thanks @Lesley)

(Source: wikipedia )

Its worth to mention Iconoclasm. (Thanks @PeterTurner) this characteristic its important to mention and related:

Within Christianity, iconoclasm has generally been motivated by those who adopt a literal interpretation of the Ten Commandments, which forbid the making and worshiping of "graven images or any likeness of anything".

I think Unitarian Christian its the best modern answer. And in a Catholic sense, some can consider this type of Christian as Unorthodox, even if some can have different concepts about God (trinity for example). For a long time I was a constant practicer and I always believed in One God with no image and in the Commandments - This conceptualization about Unitarian Christianity belief is similar to: (@Thanks Anne)

  • Jehovah's witnesses
  • Mormons
  • (Quran) Muslims
  • (Torah) Jews

I have nothing more than to respect others Christians beliefs, taking in consideration that the apparent majority of people that are Christians believe in the pure Orthodox sense.

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That would make you Unorthodox, i.e., not pertaining to either Catholic or Protestant orthodox Christianity. Because God is Spirit, it is impossible to give Him any image. However, Trinitarian Christians acknowledge that there is only the One Being of God, but within the Godhead subsist the three persons of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Not three Gods, however.

Orthodox Christians also believe that Jesus was more than just a man, a prophet. The Christian Bible tells us that before Jesus came to earth to be born and dwell with us, he was with God, in the beginning as the eternal and uncreated Word (or Logos) of God. The Christian Bible also tells us that Jesus died, was resurrected and returned to heaven from whence he came.

Looking at your profile, it seems likely that you are a Muslim. That might explain why you do not give God any image and why you believe that Jesus is only a man, a prophet from God. If I am wrong, I will apologise.

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  • Please accept my unreserved apology for drawing a wrong conclusion. I'm glad DJ Clayworth provided you with an insightful answer.
    – Lesley
    Dec 16, 2018 at 8:37
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You may be an Iconoclast. The reason that there are so many pictures of God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit in Christian churches is because we believe that when the Second Person of the Trinity (Jesus) took on human flesh in the Incarnation that He made a real "Image" of himself in human history. Therefore depictions of Him are licit because He made a depiction of Himself.

Iconoclasm was an overreaction to image worshipping which resulted in the smashing of all depictions of God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and all other holy pictures, even relics of the saints.

There's no real sect you can join to be with your iconsclastic brothers and sisters (and any attempt to practice what they preach would hopefully be against hate crime laws). Catholics, Orthodox and most Protestants are not Iconoclasts, although Protestants are probably closest.

  • Catholics pretty much embrace every tasteful depiction of God,
  • Orthodox prefer icons and
  • Protestants pretty much loath everything except smiling or knocking pictures of Jesus as Papist nonsense. But they like relics less than iconoclasts because they don't believe in the Communion of Saints in the same way Catholics and Orthodox do.

Basically, iconoclasm, wasn't necessarily about a hatred for art, but an exaggerated reaction against the doctrine that allowed the production of the art (i.e. the Incarnation). The Incarnation is central to all Christianity (and by extension all human history) so it's probably worth finding out what it is and why it's important before defining what kind of Christian believes the things you're asking about.

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