Ancient Insights is at it yet again. This article is an excellent Biblical defense in favor of iconodulia. For my Protestant friends, the Orthodox hermeneutic is not something very compelling to you, I understand. So, I am not pretending that this “pwns” iconoclasm or anything of the sort. In any event, it is of interest to those interested in Biblical interpretation and why Orthodox venerate icons.

Ancient Insights

One of the central arguments used by Protestants and Muslims against the Orthodox teaching on iconography is the second commandment:

“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me (Exodus 20:4-5)

As is clear, the second commandment prohibited the children of Israel from creating graven images of anything “in heaven above, on earth beneath, or in the waters below” (the waters symbolizing the pit of death “below” the earth). When discerning what exactly this means, it’s important to recognize that the ten commandments themselves are based on the creation account given…

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