SECOND EDIT: Sermon on the Destruction of Icons

[Leah S.]

SECOND EDIT:
"... for five hundred years, during which religion was in a more prosperous condition, and a purer doctrine flourished, Christian churches were completely free from visible representations" - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion
From Eve in vines about her legs
Like fetters forged in Paradise,
To saintly men in grief reposed,
We see the brass bull teem with lice. What brass bull? You start out with clear and elegant images of classical art, but where the heck is the brass bull coming from? Are you thinking of the Golden Calf that the Israelites worshipped? If it's the Brazen Bull the Greeks used to execute criminals, that's really coming from left field, and has nothing to do with Christian iconography. (and Yes, I Googled it.....sorry.)
The Christ Himself a sack of rice,
Held in his mother's drooping arms,If you're thinking of the Pieta, it's Christ who is drooping. Mary is pretty strong. I like the sack of rice image. I'd lose the capital on "Himself" unless you're being deliberately facetious.
Will grease your eyes in Roman homes. Sorry, I don't immediately associate "Roman" with "Roman Catholic" so I struggled to get out of the triclinium. Not sure about 'grease your eyes'.
God is not blind to ancient charms.
These are the idols John warned us Calvin, or the Apostle?
might damn our poor flock's naive hearts.
If hammers be the rage of Christ Where did that come from? The only weapon Jesus used (as far as I know) was a whip.
We all must break these pagan arts.
The elders preached in rooms of stone,
Down aisles built for yearning sheep.
The rocks that make their tombs will say:
A heart of Rome will find no sleep. Sorry, I don't see why RC's are going to lose their eternal sleep over this issue.
I read all three versions, and I think you are over-editing. Let it rest for a bit. I like the snarky tone that seems to be struggling to emerge in the last edit. Bear in mind, if you're preaching iconoclasm, better make us believe you really mean it, or conversely, that you are poking fun at both the makers and breakers of both modern and classical religious art. Either you are seriously preaching Calvinism, or you are being the skeptical Critic. You are also assuming your reader is very educated in both art and religion. Carry on, though, this poem has a lot of merit.
FIRST EDIT:
"... for five hundred years, during which religion was in a more prosperous condition, and a purer doctrine flourished, Christian churches were completely free from visible representations" - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion
From Eve in vines about her legs,
Like fetters forged in Paradise,
To Saintly men in grief reposed,
We see the brass bull snort with life.
These are the idols John warned us
Would curse our flocks with wicked hearts.
If hammers be the rage of Christ
We all must break these Pagan arts.
From this meek house of stone I preach,
This pulpit fit for cloistered sheep,
And these bleak bricks will tell you now:
That Papist hearts will find no sleep.
ORIGINAL:
"... for five hundred years, during which religion was in a more prosperous condition, and a purer doctrine flourished, Christian churches were completely free from visible representations" - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion
From Eve in vines about her legs,
Like fetters forged in Paradise,
To Saintly men in grief reposed,
And God Himself a sack of rice,
Slid limply in His mother's arms.
These are the idols John told us
Would bring to folly naive hearts.
If hammers be the rage of Christ,
Let men destroy these morbid arts.
I speak to thee from place of stone,
A pulpit fit for cloistered sheep,
And this dark stone will teach thee well:
That Papist hearts will find no sleep.