Many of the Reformed are in favor of iconoclasm and have posted proudly about destroying "idols" in churches and other places during the Middle Ages and also in the Byzantine Empire.
How did this square with protection of private property? Were churches seen as belonging to the people and, therefore, the people could remove the idols? Or was it an act of illegal destruction of property?
If my Catholic neighbors have the Virgin Mary in a half-bathtub decoration on their front yard, I cannot destroy it without sinning due to destruction of a neighbor's property. So how did this become praiseworthy in ages past?
Anarchy, mob rule, and vandalism in the name of religion.
Was iconoclasm blameworthy or praiseworthy, and why or why not?
How did this square with protection of private property? Were churches seen as belonging to the people and, therefore, the people could remove the idols? Or was it an act of illegal destruction of property?
If my Catholic neighbors have the Virgin Mary in a half-bathtub decoration on their front yard, I cannot destroy it without sinning due to destruction of a neighbor's property. So how did this become praiseworthy in ages past?
Anarchy, mob rule, and vandalism in the name of religion.
Was iconoclasm blameworthy or praiseworthy, and why or why not?