On social media, I often see questions about icons, especially their use in Eastern Orthodoxy. And I wile back, I saw a Reformed Christian claiming that they necessarily contradict the Ten Commandments. In this post, my intention is simply to explain how icons differ from idols, and how claiming that the use of icons is idolatrous is a misuse of the the commandments. My claim is not that iconic idolatry does not exist – we cannot know what the individual makes of icons – but that there is nothing in the use of icons as such that tells us it is idolatrous. I will also make some connections to why I think iconography, and imagery in general, is central but for a more thorough Christian Platonist treatment, read Fr. Thomas Plant’s post
Naturally I like this post!