Seeing the Divine

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I have known about religions that are imaginative and image-oriented for a while, mostly by learning about them in school. I learned about how it is normal to pray and worship the gods and goddesses through statues, which as a Christian, I thought was interesting and peculiar. I did not realize until reading Eck's book, that for Hindus, the notion of worshiping an invisible deity is seen as foreign and strange. The gods and goddesses in Hinduism take form in very elaborate and ornate ways so, I guess, it does make sense for them to be represented visually. Vibrant colors and visuals are often associated with Hindu culture and it is translated through the imagery of the gods and goddesses. What I am most interested in when it comes to Hinduism, is how the descriptions of how and when what these gods and goddesses look like came to be.

 
https://www.piqsels.com/en/public-domain-photo-fzxim
 
In Protestant Christianity, the idea of imagery and worshiping idols that are supposed to depict God is basically seen as blasphemous. It is true that we have depictions of Jesus, but that is because he was human and described in the Bible. God has no human form and thus cannot be represented by imagery.  We pray to God, sometimes with crosses present, but never directly to an "idol." That is one of the reasons why Protestants disagree with and differ from the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. These sects of Christianity have been known to pray to saints and statues of saints, which goes exactly against some of the teachings of Christianity. I have had two spiritual experiences in my life where I felt God's presence with me. Both times it was a sudden wave of emotion that to this day I cannot even describe. One included a visual experience of being in a national park, but the other was when I was standing in the shower. Both were felt deep inside me. In conclusion, I think I understand the need for "visual aid" in certain religions but personally, I appreciate the fact that I do not see God, I feel God. 

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