Have you ever watched a 3D movie through those specially designed 3D glasses? If your answer is yes, then during the movie you have also most likely taken on and off your 3D glasses because you were intrigued with what the picture looks like without the glasses and then how the picture changes with the glasses. But have you ever experienced seeing 3D naturally in a special form of art rather than in movie form with 3D glasses?
This form of art is generally called "3-D Stereograms" and can be viewed in books, posters, and even on the computer screen. If you are not familiar with 3-D Stereogram art and do not have access to a 3D Stereogram book, please visit the following website and view some of the stereograms that are presented.
A variety of techniques exist to help us view this form of art. One of the easiest is to hold the picture up close to your face so that your nose is almost touching the center of the picture. Then relax your eyes and stare at one spot on the picture and "phase out" which means to stare out into "Never Never Land" like we do when we stare into space during a boring lecture. Everything should then look a little blurry.
Once you are staring at that spot, gradually move the picture away from your eyes, but continue staring blankly at that spot. As you move the picture away from your nose and as you stare at your spot, you should begin to see the picture transform into a 3D image. If you do, then transition your stare away from the spot and toward the picture and you will begin to see an image of some sort. If you do not see anything in 3D appearing, then pull the picture back up to your nose and start again. Don't worry if you can't do it on the first time as sometimes this can take awhile to see because our eyes are not used to relaxing.
Just in case you are feeling silly pulling a picture up to your nose (or placing your nose up against the computer screen if you were looking at the related website above), let me tell you a fun story. Prior to writing this study of the word "PERSON," I went to a used book store to purchase a 3D Stereogram book. The clerk on duty was not fluent in English and the woman who apeared to be the owner was even less fluent. Therefore, I was not surprised to learn that the clerk had no idea what type of book that I was asking for. I tried to explain that this was a 3D form of art where a person could see a picture within a picture. He was giving me a blank look (like the kind that you need to view the 3D art!)
Suddenly, the owner, who was picking up bits and pieces of our conversation, began speaking excitedly to the clerk in her native language while at the same time holding her hands out flat like a book and moving them back and forth away from her nose. I then knew that she knew what I was looking for and my bookstore venture ended in success. From this little incident I learned that the method of viewing 3D art is consistant wordlwide and in every language.
Since God Uses Everyday Things to teach us about Him, let's review some of the truths that we can learn about God from 3D art.
First, 3D art will teach us about the "PERSON" of God.
Second, 3D art will teach us about the "EXISTENCE" of God.
Third, 3D art will teach us about our "VIEW" of God.
Let's begin by looking at how 3D art will teach us about the "PERSON" of God.
God is one God, but He is described throughout the Bible as three persons. Just like we looked at one picture and we saw three dimensions within that one picture, we can believe in one God who is introduced to us as three persons.
But this can be confusing because if God is one God, then how can He be three person? Let's use our 3D picture to help us understand. When we look at a 3D picture normally from a distance, we see what appears to be a normal picture (a meaningless picture, but none the less "normal"). But is there more to this one picture than meets the eye? The answer is "yes" for those of you who have seen the three dimensional aspect of the picture. And for those of you who have not seen the image yet, keep trying because you will also want to experience the excitement of seeing and experiencing the fun of 3D stereograms.
In the same manner that we can see 3D in one picture, the Bible clearly speaks of God as one God who reveals Himself in three person. In order to understand this further, let's look at the following verses.
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