Lead Us Not Into Temptation – circa 1910
For this Sunday, another illustration of a phrase from the “Lord’s Prayer”.
This phrase is problematic, theologically, at least in the most common translations.
The Roman Catholic Church just approved a revised translation for English-speaking congregations that reduces the suggestion that God leads one into spiritual danger.
Many linguists argue that the meaning is closer to, “do not put us to the test”.
In any event, one is struck by the vision of temptation as “wine, women, and song”.
In our age, the gravest temptations are celebrity, wealth, power, and arrogance.
Admittedly, the spiritual sins are much harder to illustrate!
This postcard, printed in Europe about 1910, was not mailed.
