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In the practice of religion, a cult image is a human-made object that is venerated for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents. Cultus, the outward religious formulas of "cult" (meaning religious practice, as opposed to the pejorative term for a potentially dangerous "new religion"), often centers upon the treatment of cult images, which may be dressed, fed or paraded, etc. Religious images cover a wider range of all types of images made with a religious purpose, subject, or connection.

Ancient Egypt[link]

This section requires expansion.

Idols were a common presence in Ancient Egypt, and still are in modern-day Kemetism. A common example of a cult image in ancient Egypt was the Apis Bull; famously derided in the Book of Exodus. The term is often confined to the relatively small images, typically in gold, that lived in the naos in the inner sanctuary of Egyptian temples dedicated to that god (except when taken on ceremonial outings, say to visit their spouse). These images usually showed the god in their sacred barque or boat; none of them survive.

Classical Greece and Rome[link]

This section requires expansion.

The Parthenon contained a cult image of Athena, the Greek goddess of civilization and the noble side of war. This cult image was done by Phidias, the sculptor and head supervisor of building the Parthenon. This cult image was used for religious sacrifices at this Athenian temple.

In Greek and Roman mythology, a "palladium" was an image of great antiquity on which the safety of a city was said to depend, especially the wooden one that Odysseus and Diomedes stole from the citadel of Troy and which was later taken to Rome by Aeneas. (The Roman story was related in Virgil's Aeneid and other works.)

Opposition from Abrahamic religions[link]

Members of Abrahamic religions identify cult images as "idols" and their worship as "idolatry", the worship of hollow forms. The paradox inherent in the worship of cult images was given classic expression in the Book of Isaiah:

Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.^[1]

The avoidance of such a degrading paradox was expressed in the early Christian idea of miraculous icons that were not made by human hands, acheiropoietoi. Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians make an exception for the veneration of image of saints, which is not considered by them to be adoration or latria. The word idol entered Middle English in the 13th century from Old French idole adapted in Church Latin from the Greek eidolon ("appearance" extended in later usage to "mental image, apparition, phantom"). Greek eidos was employed by Plato and the Platonists to signify perfect immutable "forms".^[2]

Idols in Mecca[link]

Towards the end of the pre-Islamic era in the Arabian city of Mecca; an era otherwise known, by the muslims, as جاهلية, or al-Jahiliyah, the pagan or pre-Islamic, merchants of Mecca controlled the sacred Kaaba, thereby regulating control over it, and, in turn, over the city itself. The local tribes, of the Arabian peninsula, came to this centre of commerce to place their idols in the Kaaba, in the process being charged tithes. Thus helping the Meccan merchants to incur substantial wealth, as well as insuring a fruitful atmosphere for trade and inter-tribal relations in relative peace.

The number and nature of deities in the pre-Islamic mythology are parallel to that of other polytheistic cultures. Some have been official Gods other of a more private character.

Muhammad's preaching incurred the wrath of the pagan merchants, causing them to plot against him. The opposition to his teachings grew so volatile that Muhammad and his followers were forced to flee Mecca to Medina for protection; leading to armed conflict and triggering many battles that were won and lost, which finally culminated in the conquest of Mecca in the year 630. In the aftermath, Muhammad did three things. Firstly, with his companions he visited the Kaaba and literally threw out the idols and destroyed them, thus cleansing the Kaaba from the stains of Jahiliyyah. Secondly, he ordered the construction of a mosque around the Kaaba, the first Masjid al-Haram after the birth of Islam (although Muslim belief holds that the mosque was created by angels before the creation of mankind). Thirdly, in a magnanimous manner, Muhammad pardoned all those who had taken up arms against him. With the destruction of the idols and the construction of the Masjid al-Haram, a new era was ushered in; facilitating the rise of Islam.

Christianity[link]

Frans Hogenberg, The Calvinist Iconoclastic Riot of August 20, 1566, in Antwerp, the key moment of the Beeldenstorm in 1566, when paintings and church decorations and fittings were destroyed in several weeks of a violent iconoclastic outbreak in the Low Countries. Several similar episodes occurred during the early Reformation period.

Christian images that are venerated are called icons. Christians who venerate icons make an emphatic distinction between "veneration" and "worship".

The introduction of venerable images in Christianity was highly controversial for centuries, and in Eastern Orthodoxy the controversy lingered until it re-erupted in the Byzantine Iconoclasm of the 8th and 9th centuries. Religious monumental sculpture remained foreign to Orthodoxy. In the West, resistance to idolatry delayed the introduction of sculpted images for centuries until the time of Charlemagne, whose placing of a life-size crucifix in the Palatine Chapel, Aachen was probably a decisive moment, leading to the widespread use of monumental reliefs on churches, and later large statues. The Libri Carolini, a somewhat mis-fired Carolingian counter-blast against imagined Orthodox positions, set out what remains the Catholic position on the veneration of images, giving them a similar but slightly less significant place than in Eastern Orthodoxy. The intensified pathos that informs the poem Stabat Mater takes corporeal form in the realism and sympathy-inducing sense of pain in the typical Western European corpus (the representation of Jesus' crucified body) from the mid-13th century onwards. "The theme of Christ's suffering on the cross was so important in Gothic art that the mid-thirteenth-century statute of the corporations of Paris provided for a guild dedicated to the carving of such images, including ones in ivory".^[3]

The 16th-century Reformation engendered spates of venerable image smashing, especially in England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, the Low Countries (the Beeldenstorm) and France. Destruction of three-dimensional images was normally near-total, especially images of the Virgin Mary and saints, and the iconoclasts ("image-breakers") also smashed representations of holy figures in stained glass windows and other imagery. Further destruction of cult images, anathema to Puritans, occurred during the English Civil War. Less extreme transitions occurred throughout northern Europe in which formerly Catholic churches became Protestant. In these, the corpus (body of Christ) was removed from the crucifix leaving a bare cross and walls were whitewashed of religious images.

Catholic regions of Europe, especially artistic centres like Rome and Antwerp, responded to Reformation iconoclasm with a Counter-Reformation renewal of venerable imagery, though banning some of the more fanciful medieval iconographies. Veneration of the Virgin Mary flourished, in practice and in imagery, and new shrines, such as in Rome's Santa Maria Maggiore, were built for Medieval miraculous icons as part of this trend.

Jainism[link]

The focus for image worship among many Jains is the icon of the Tirthankara in either a domestic shrine or temple shrine room. Jainist doctrine holds that Tirthankaras cannot respond to such worship, but that veneration of the image can function as a meditative aid. Although most worship takes the form of prayers, hymns and recitations, the idol is sometimes ritually bathed, and often has offerings of made to it; there are eight kinds of offering representing the eight karmas of Jainism.[1]

This form of reverence is not a central tenet of the faith, and there seems to be debate about the value of this form of worship.

See also[link]

• Idolatry
• Madonna and Child
• Fetishism
• Asherah
• Murti
• Prana pratishta
• Puja
• Antinous Mondragone

Notes[link]

Diamond D
Background information
Born	Bronx, New York City,[citation needed] U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Producer-MC
Instruments	Keyboard Sampler Drum machine Strings Turntable
Years active	1988–present
Labels	Chemistry/Mercury/PolyGram Records Diamond Mine Records Babygrande Records

Diamond D (born Joseph Kirkland, 1969) is a hip hop producer and MC from the Bronx, New York City, and one of the founding members of the legendary D.I.T.C. crew.^[1]

Biography[link]

He started out as a DJ for Jazzy Jay back in the late 1980s and was at the same time perfecting his skills in beat making and turntablism, and, together with rhyme partner Master Rob, he was one half of the group Ultimate Force. The group signed with Jazzy Jay's Strong City Records, and Diamond and Rob started recording their debut album, I'm Not Playin', in 1988 and released the 12-inch single with the same title, which spawned a buzz in the underground. The album was completed in 1990, but it got caught up in label politics, such as the shutdown of Strong City distributor Uni Records, and was shelved until 2007 when it was released through Traffic Entertainment. One of the last songs recorded for the album was a Diamond D solo song in which he actually picked up the mike for the first time. The song was called "The Best-Kept Secret." As Ultimate Force dissolved, record executives got their eyes on the Bronx phenomenon, which eventually resulted in the release of Diamond's debut album, Stunts, Blunts and Hip Hop (released under the moniker Diamond & the Psychotic Neurotics), in 1992. The album is considered to be one of the finest D.I.T.C. solo LPs and features early appearances from Big L and Fat Joe, the latter of whose 1993 debut album, Represent, was mainly produced by Diamond D.^[1]

From then, he went on to produce for multiple hip hop and R&B artists listed below in the discography.

In 1996, Diamond D appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD America is Dying Slowly alongside Biz Markie, Wu-Tang Clan, and Fat Joe, among many other prominent hip hop artists. The CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men, was heralded as a masterpiece by The Source magazine. In 1996 He won a Grammy for his production contribution on The Fugees LP The Score

Diamond's second album, Hatred, Passions and Infidelity, was released in 1997 to mixed but mostly positive reviews. Following the release, Diamond established his name as a sought-after producer after providing impressive beats for hip hop legends such as Busta Rhymes, Fugees, KRS-One, Queen Latifah, the Pharcyde, and Brand Nubian, among others. He is regarded as one of the first hip hop producers to work with artists on both the east and west coasts. Since then, he released the independent street album Grown-Man Talk, the official mixtape compilation The Diamond Mine, and provided contributions to his D.I.T.C. cohorts' projects including the crew's self-titled 2000 debut album on Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records.^[1]

In 2007 he was nominated for a Grammy award for co-production on Natalie Cole's cover of Aretha Franklin's "Day Dreaming"

In 2008 Diamond signed with Babygrande Records. His fourth album, titled The Huge Hefner Chronicles, was released in October 2008, and unlike previous efforts, the LP showed Diamond focus more on his rhymes, as production was handled by other respected underground beat makers such as Nottz, DJ Scratch, Ill Mind, Def Jef, and Jesse West.

In 2010, he produced “Shine,” the first single from Pharoahe Monch's LP The W.A.R. Report.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Production[link]

• 1989: Raheem - "I'm The King"
• 1990: Lord Finesse & DJ Mike Smooth - Funky Technician (LP):
  "Funky Technician", "Here I Come", "Bad Mutha", "I Keep The Crowd Listening"
• 1990: Ultimate Force - "I'm Not Playing" (LP)
• 1999: Showbiz & AG - "I'm Convinced", previously unreleased
• 1991: Lord Finesse - Return of the Funky Man (LP):
  "Fuck ’Em", "Isn't He Something", "Praise The Lord", "That's How Smooth I Am", "Praise The Lord (Remix)"
• 1992: Showbiz and A.G. "Hard to Kill", "Soul Clap," from Runaway Slave
• 1992: The Ghetto Girlz - Ain't Takin' No Shit (LP):
  "Alphabetical Order", "Bitch Ass Nigger", "Marked For Death", "That's All She Wrote"
• 1992: Diamond D And The Psychotic Neurotics - "Best Kept Secret (Remix by 45 King & Diamond)"
• 1992: Brand Nubian - "Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down", "Punks Jump Up... (Remix)
• 1992: Busy Bee - Thank God For Busy Bee (LP):
  "Get With Me", "Home Boyz", "I Got Thingz Sewed", "My Personality"
• 1992: The A.T.E.E.M. - Yeah (Diamond Mix)
• 1992: R.O.C. - Dedicated to My Girl (Diamond Mix)
• 1993: Illegal - "CrumbSnatcher" and "Illegal Will Roc" from The Untold Truth
• 1993: Red Hot Lover Tone - Give It Up (Remix)
• 1993: Cypress Hill - When The Ship Goes Down (Diamond Mix)<--Unreleased & Revamped says year 1996, not 93(?) (The single was released 1993, the album was compiled in 1996)
• 1993: Yaggfu Front & Diamond D - Slappin' Suckas Silly (Remix)
• 1993: Apache - "Who Freaked Who" and "Get Ya Weight Up" from Apache Ain't Shit
• 1993: Fat Joe - Represent (LP):
  "Bad Man", "Watch The Sound", "Flow Joe", "Da Fat Gangsta", "Shorty Gotta Fat Ass", "You Must Be Out of Your Mind"and "Get On Up"
• 1993: Diamond D - "I'm Outta Here (Remix)"
• 1993: Illegal - "We Getz Buzy (Remix)"
• 1993: Raazda Rukkuz - "Da Chronic Asthmatics" and "Loco Impact", 12" Single
• 1993: Leaders of the New School - "Classic Material (Remix)"
• 1993: Diamond D ft. Lord Finesse & Sadat X - "You Can't Front"
• 1993: Private Investigators - "Who Am I? (God) [Remix]"
• 1993: Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs - Roxbury 02119 (LP):
  "Streets of the Ghetto", "Busted", "Love Comes & Goes", "I Thought Ya Knew", "Dat Ain't Right"
• 1994: Fu-Schnickens - ""Sneakin' Up On Ya", ""Aaahh Ooohhh!" from Nervous Breakdon
• 1994: A.D.O.R. - The Concrete (LP):
  "Day 2 Day", "Heart & Soul", "Keep it Real", "The Kid is Crazy", "Day 2 Day (Mecca Mix)"
• 1994: Shadz of Lingo - A View to a Kill (LP):
  "Different Stylez", "Don't Test Da Skills", "Ill And Get Clowned", "Think I Give A Fuck"
• 1994: Red Hot Lover Tone - "#1 Player" and "Bust The Manueva", from #1 Player
• 1994: Nefertiti - "Come Down Baby" and "Family Tree" from L.I.F.E.
• 1994: House of Pain "Word is Bond", "Word is Bond (Remix)" from Same As It Ever Was
• 1994: Justice System - "Dedication to Bambaata (Remix)"
• 1994: Dana Barros & Cedric Ceballos, ft. A.G. & Brand Nubian - "Ya Don't Stop"
• 1994: Outkast - "SouthernPlayalistiCadillacMuzik (Remix)"
• 1994: Scientifik - "I Got Planz" and "Yeah Daddy", from Criminal
• 1994: The Veldt - "Soul in a Jar (Guitar Mix)"
• 1994: Joi ft. Shadz of Lingo - "Freedom"
• 1994: Total Devastation - "Wonderful World of Skins (Remix)"
• 1994: Lucas - "Cityzen (Diamond D Remix)"
• 1995: The Pharcyde "Groupie Therapy," from Labcabincalifornia
• 1995: KRS-One - "Build Ya Skillz," "Squash All Beef," from KRS-One
• 1995: KRS-One - "Ah Yeah (Diamond Flava)" and "Ah Yeah (Diamond Rhode Mix)", 12" Single
• 1995: KRS-One - "What I Know", unreleased outtake from KRS-One
• 1995: Big C - "Look Alive", from D&D Project
• 1995: Big Red - "Created A Monster" and "How They Want It", 12" Single
• 1995: Various Artists - "Freedom (Theme From Panther)"
• 1995: Tha Alkaholiks "Let it Out," "Next Level," from Coast II Coast
• 1995: Fat Joe - "Bronx Tales" and "Watch Out", from Jealous One's Envy
• 1995: Urban Thermo Dynamics - "Manifest Destiny"
• 1996: Fugees "The Score," from The Score
• 1996: Xzibit "Bird's Eye View," from At the Speed of Life
• 1996: Mondo Grosso - Do You See What I See (Remix)
• 1996: Ronnie Foster - "Summer Song (Diamond D Mix)"
• 1996: Sadat X ft. Fat Joe - "Nasty Hoes", from America is Dying Slowly
• 1996: Raekwon ft. Ghostface Killah& Jodeci - "Rainy Dayz (Mr. Dalvin Remix)"; co-production, programming & mixing
• 1996: Ras Kass "Soul on Ice (Remix)", from Soul on Ice (12" single)
• 1996: Broadway A.K.A. Party Arty - "Enjoy Yourself"
• 1996: Sadat X - "Wild Cowboys", "Petty People" and "Move On" from Wild Cowboys
• 1997: Afro Jazz - "Paria v/s Estat"
• 1997: Organized Konfusion "Questions," from The Equinox
• 1997: Diamond D - "Hiatus (Remix)", "MC2", from The Hiatus 12"
• 1997: D.I.T.C. - "Day One", 12" Single
• 1998: A.D.O.R. - "The Rush", from Shoq Frequency
• 1998: Busta Rhymes "What the Fuck You Want!!" from Extinction Level Event (Final World Front)
• 1998: Brand Nubian - "Foundation", from Foundaction
• 1998: D.I.T.C. ft. Brand Nubian - "I Flip Styles"
• 1998: Queen Latifah - "I Don't Know", from Order in the Court
• 1999: A.G. - "Nowhere to Go", from The Dirty Version
• 1999: Busta Rhymes - "The Bus-a-Bus (Remix)"
• 1999: Diamond D - "When it Pours it Rains", from Soundbombing 2
• 1999: Diamond D & Sadat X - "Feel It", 12" Single
• 1999: Mos Def "Hip-Hop," from Black on Both Sides
• 1999: Pharoahe Monch "The Light," "The Truth," "The Ass," from Internal Affairs
• 1999: Scaramanga - "S.I.R.", from 7 Eyes, 7 Horns
• 1999: Too Short ft. Jay-Z - "Here We Go", from Can't Stay Away
• 2000: A.D.O.R. - "Cock'd Back", from Animal 2000
• 2000: Freddie Foxxx "Bumpy, Bring it Home," from Industry Shakedown
• 2000: D.I.T.C. "Day One," "Foundation," from D.I.T.C.
• 2000: Sadat X - "X-Man", "You Can't Deny" from State of NY vs. Derek Murphy EP
• 2000: Unbound Allstars - "Mumia 911"
• 2001: Busta Rhymes - "Wife in Law" featuring Jaheim
• 2001: Muro ft. O.C. - "Lyrical Tyrants (Diamond Mix)"
• 2002: The 45 King - "Double Dare"
• 2003: Akrobatik- "Feedback," from Balance
• 2003: ASD - "Sag Mir Wo Die Party Ist"
• 2004: Earatik Statik ft. Pacewon - "People Like Us", from Feelin Earatik
• 2004: Edo G featuring Pete Rock - "Streets is Callin", from My Own Worst Enemy
• 2004: The Omen - "It's Our World", from DJ Rhetmatic Mixtape
• 2005: A.D.O.R. - "The Realness", from Signature of Ill
• 2005: Sadat X - "The Great Diamond D", from Experience & Education
• 2005: Medina Green - "Green Boogie", from Mixtape
• 2006: Cannonball Adderley – "Bohemia in the Dark (Remix)"
• 2006: Sadat X - "The Post", from Black October
• 2007: Sean Price - "Get it Together", from Master P
• 2007: Natalie Cole - "Day Dreaming", from Leaving
• 2008: Terror Tongue - "Lyrical Threat", from Unreleased Production 1994
• 2009: Collective Efforts - "I Get Down"
• 2009: Freestyle Professors - "Think About It", from Gryme Tyme
• 2011: Pharoahe Monch - "Shine", from "W.A.R. (We Are Renegades)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Myspace