Icon Veneration is CLEARLY Christian!

The debates about iconography in Christianity and in the early church used to be about proving that images were used in the temple worship and Christian Churches to prove the 7th Ecumenical Council correct. Protestants have recently begun to acknowledge the fact that icons existed in the early church, but the controversy now is over whether the icons were venerated! In this video, I demonstrate why icon veneration is part of the faith of the apostles by showing the theological reasons for such belief in scripture and tradition, and debunking the usage of the allegedly iconophobic church figures and fathers on this topic.

And yes, this video was done in one take, unscripted!

Recommended Sources:

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
02:48 Introduction to the Theological Principles
10:29 Responding to Aniconic Arguments
42:28 Icon Veneration in the Bible
55:01 Icon Veneration in the Pre-Nicene Era
1:12:39 Icon Veneration in the Post-Nicene Era
1:43:05 Summary & Conclusion

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[JayDyer]

Good video. I would have added the issues with neoplatonism and origenism at 7th synod back to eusebius’ day and the arbitrary standard ortlund wants for written evidence in first three centuries undercuts own prot canon which has no support until st jerome

[GeorgeLiavas]

Shamoun arguing the point:
Man is made in His what?
- image
In His what? I couldn't hear you
-image
Sorry? A little louder, made in His what?
-image

[orthodoxpilgrimofficial]

Keep up the good work brother David, God bless you and your effort ☦

[MaximusOrthodox]

Iconography has always been held, Luke the Evangelist was the first icon painter.

[parkerkemmerly]

Don’t worry, I stayed to the end and watched the whole thing. This is great to listen to whilst driving, drawing, walking, etc. The long format for this video is great.

[Charlie-gkuq]

I haven’t watched the whole video yet so I’m not sure if you address this, but it’s interesting that Ortlund and company don’t really engage with the arguments made by saints like John of Damascus, they just try to find the earliest sources and interpret them through a Protestant lens.

That’s because the don’t have any continuity with the early church. They treat these sources the same way they treat the Bible — archeologically. They have to reconstruct a whole system from a few fragments, instead of accepting the deposit of faith as it was handled down.

[DeaconYeabkal]

Hello David. Your videos are great and helpful. God bless you. You helped me to know the truth and to convert from OO to Orthodoxy.☦☦

[apollonm]

Hey David, I am a watcher of your content and I live in Athens and if you ever visit I would love to meet up. God bless.

[hollyjollygngy]

Hey David, I watched until the very end and I am more than impressed by your scholarship in this video. As the title says, this video has STRENGTHENED my convictions in the veneration of icons and of the decisions and anathemas passed at the holy, great, and ecumenical synod of Nicaea II. May the All Mighty Triune God bless you and all your work abundantly, God bless you David☦️❤️‍🔥☦️

[CCSPN]

They will keep changing the goalpoast, then the will concede that christians venerated icons but that they didnt bow to them or something like that

[Jerônimo_de_Estridão]

1:15:08 Epiphanius is the best father to prove iconodulia is early and the majority position. Those quotes backfires at the neo-iconoclasts (I bet soon they will deny their authenticity).
Its good to remember that Epiphanius was a JEWISH (romaniotes) convert. And jews had a more scrupulous behaviour toward images.
And it is no problem deniyng something that our saint have said, we do that with Augustine too. The saints were not perfect in all they said.

[saint-jiub]

Amazing quality David. Thank you brother!

[aaronmalloy]

It is sad to see that some contemporary Orthodox scholars will concede to the West when it comes to icon veneration being apostolic. Especially when there is such a plethora of evidence against it.

[acekoala]

The Orthobro Anti-Funko Popism is my favorite meme.

[charlesnunno]

The admission from Protestants that the catacombs have images seems absolutely retarded to me. Like, "Yeah, we know."

[Captnsouthpaw]

54:57 this was a very strong point. I hadn’t thought of it this way. Words are symbols that predicate of realities beyond them just as icons, if verse are able to be venerated images by necessity would also be because they are functionally the same thing. My favorite part of this presentation. Thank you for this wealth of information

[nicklong]

Fantastic video. This has got to be one of the most comprehensive and extensive breakdowns out there on the subject. As a long time extremely involved and committed protestant, I very much appreciate the thoroughness.

[TruthUnites]

David, just watching this now. Will comment as I am able. Just a first note on Origen, the comments about Origen around 25:00 reveal a lack of having read the broader context. See my response to Truglia; this is the first point I addressed there. For Origen, Christian altars, statues, etc. are metaphorical. He is making the opposite point that you are making. While you might discount Origen on the grounds that he is a heretic, the fact remains that he is describing Christian worship in his time. This historical testimony cannot be dismissed. It is unfathomable that Origen would maintain that Christians have rejected the cultic use of images if in fact the early Christians venerated images in the way Nicaea II claims.

[charlesgene]

where in the NEW TESTAMENT writers commands the VENERATION OF IMAGES?

[ICXC_Humbly]

Thank you! You have helped me to further complete my thoughts in different areas relating to this topic! I agree on many points and I think (as a transitioning baptist) that the ultimate blockade for protestants regarding this issue lies at the core of their doctrine that rejects any form of Church authority being part of the church from the beginning! (SEE JOHN 20:22-23 apostles are given authority to FORGIVE SINS BY JESUS! And SEE ACTS 15, the early counsel of the church making decisions!)