The Veneration of Images​—A Controversy

SOMEWHERE in Poland, a man is just about ready for his journey. Yet, he must still care for one important detail. He kneels before an image of Jesus, makes an offering, and prays for protection during his travels.

Thousands of miles away, in Bangkok, Thailand, you can witness the first festival of the Buddhist annual cycle, occurring in the spring of the year. During the festival an image of the Buddha is paraded around the streets.

You must be aware that the veneration of images, as just described, is widespread. Literally billions of people bow before images. For millenniums images have been viewed as an important way to get closer to God.

What do you think about the use of images in worship? Is the veneration of images right or wrong? How does God feel about it? Is there any evidence that he accepts such worship? Perhaps you personally have never given such questions much thought. Yet, if you value having a relationship with God, you need to get the answers to them.

Admittedly, for many this has not been an easy matter to resolve. In fact, it has been the subject of heated and sometimes violent controversies for thousands of years. For example, back in the year 1513 B.C.E., the Hebrew leader Moses destroyed a golden image of a calf and had executed by the sword some 3,000 men who were venerating it.​—Exodus, chapter 32.

Strong opposition to using religious images has not been limited to the Jews. Ancient secular historians have preserved the legend of Takhmūrūp, a Persian ruler who is said to have carried out extensive crusades against the veneration of images hundreds of years before Moses. In China an ancient legendary king is reported to have launched a military attack against the statues of various gods. After the images were destroyed, he denounced as foolishness the veneration of gods made of clay. Later, when Muhammad was still a child, there were Arabs who opposed the use of images in worship. Their influence on Muhammad contributed to his position on idolatry in later years. In the Koran, Muhammad teaches that idolatry is an unpardonable sin, that idolaters are not to be prayed for, and that marriage with idolaters is forbidden.

Even in Christendom prominent religious figures of the second, third, fourth, and fifth centuries C.E., such as Irenaeus, Origen, Eusebius of Caesarea, Epiphanius, and Augustine, opposed the use of images in worship. About the beginning of the fourth century C.E., at Elvira, Spain, a group of bishops formulated a number of important resolutions against the veneration of images. This famous Council of Elvira resulted in the banning of images from churches and in the establishment of severe sanctions against image worshipers.

The Iconoclasts

These developments set the scene for one of the greatest controversies of history: the iconoclastic controversy of the eighth and ninth centuries. One historian states that this “bitter controversy lasted for a century and a half, and was the occasion of untold suffering” and that it was “one of the immediate causes of the division between the Eastern and Western empires.”

The word “iconoclast” comes from the Greek words eikon, meaning “image,” and klastes, meaning “breaker.” Living up to its name, this movement against images included the removal and destruction of images throughout Europe. Several anti-image laws were put into effect to abolish the use of images in worship. The veneration of images became a heated political issue that dragged emperors and popes, generals and bishops into a veritable theological war.

And this was more than a war of words. The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, by McClintock and Strong, states that after Emperor Leo III issued an edict against the use of images in churches, the people “rose up in masses against the edict, and violent disturbances, especially at Constantinople,” became a daily occurrence. Clashes between the imperial forces and the people resulted in executions and massacres. Monks were cruelly persecuted. Hundreds of years later, during the 16th century, a number of public debates took place in Zurich, Switzerland, on the issue of images in churches. As a result, a decree demanding the removal of all images from the churches was enacted. Some reformers were noted for their intense and often violent condemnation of image worship.

Even today there is a wide schism among modern theologians regarding the use of images in worship. The following article will help you to evaluate whether images can really help man to get closer to God.