Die ausgetilgte Handschrift am Kreuz (Kolosser 2,14)

Abstract This article deals with a prominent emblem composition by the Stettin theologian Daniel Cramer, which is based on Colossians 2:13-14, one of the most important basic texts of the New Testament that deals with the fundamental relevance of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross for salvation. This article first locates Cramer’s emblem in the context of Martin Luther’s theology and early modern Lutheranism. Furthermore, it examines the heterogeneous way in which the symbol was adapted, interpreted, and disseminated in early modern church furnishings is examined. The focus here is on the analysis of a double change of media: Firstly, it is the metaphor of the sinner’s promissory note, which is transformed in an engraving. In this change of media, however, another change of media takes place. Through God’s activity of writing with the blood of Christ as ink, the certificate of debt becomes the opposite of itself: a carte blanche.