In these sections, Calvin dismantles the familiar claim that images serve as “books for the unlearned,” insisting instead that Scripture calls them teachers of lies, not aids to faith. Drawing from the prophets, the apostles, and the early Church Fathers, Calvin shows that images do not clarify divine truth but replace it—substituting mute objects for the living voice of God in His Word. He argues that whenever visual representations are used as tools of instruction in the Church, they inevitably weaken reverence, distort doctrine, and foster superstition. True faith, Calvin insists, is not formed by gazing at wood or stone but by hearing the gospel preached, through which Christ Himself is set forth before our eyes. The real cause of ignorance, then, is not the absence of images but the absence of faithful teaching. Idolatry thrives not because images are powerful, but because hearts deprived of the Word grasp for something visible to trust.

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