CC vs EC - Charge #4

NO ICONS ALLOWED

4 - We have great problems with the use of icons to give them a sense of God or the presence of God. If they want to have a tie with the historicity of the church, why not go back to the church in Acts, which seems to be devoid of incense, candles, robes etc., but was filled with the Spirit.

Was the early church "devoid of icons"? The use of priestly clothing and incense have very early witness.

Should the church have incense?
Interesting question which Smith would clearly say "no". Unfortunately for Smith the Bible says something quite different. Mal 1:11 prophetically states about the church that

Mal 1:11 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.

The context here is clearly one of the proper worship of God among the Gentiles and incense is specifically mentioned.

Let's turn this passage around. In every place where God is worshiped incense is offered. Is incense offered at any CC? Nope. Then it stands to be asked if God is being worshiped there or are they only playing at worship?

The Scriptural Test
Are there Scriptural prohibitions against incense? We see the contrary is the case. Are there Scriptural prohibitions against robes? The Priests in the Old Testament wore priestly clothing to differentiate them from the rest of the people. The principle would seem to be a sound one even today. It marks a person as a religious leader if they wear different clothing. There are no prohibitions against this anywhere in the New Testament and there is a precedent for it in the Old Testament. How can CC justify their rejection of specific clothing? There is no indication in the NT one way or the other.

How about Icons?
Calvary Chapels often have religious images in their worship spaces. Costa Mecca has a wooden dove at the front of the church and on their literature. Why? Does the New Testament portray the dove icon anywhere? Or is the presence of the icon not so much the issue as the attitude of the person towards the icon?

This same controversy happened way back in church history. It was called the iconclast controversy. 'Iconoclasts' were deeply suspicious of any pictorial representations of Christ, the Mother of God, and the saints, and they therefore unleashed a wave of persecution against the use of religious images, while 'iconophiles' fiercely defended the veneration of icons as an integral element of the life of the church.

The controversy over icons during the eighth and ninth centuries shook the entire Byzantine Empire. Emperor Leo III triggered the dispute with an open condemnation of icons in 726, and only the Seventh Ecumenical Council, held in Nicea in 787, could reverse the iconoclastic current.

Basically, Calvary Chapel agrees with the Roman Catholic emperor Leo III. On the other side, the church council settled the question in favor of icons. Calvary Chapel has a right to be distinctive but they need to understand that their position was rejected by the entire church in 787. It was the Muslims who have a radical rejection of religious imagery that inspired the icon smashers. Why does Calvary side with the Muslims against the Christian church?