The religious authority has generally rejected iconolatry. In order to reinforce the religious authority and to organize the Church which was distracted by the Reformation, the authority had to introduce the image which was the fruit of the Western Catholic Church, and the piety which was distracted by hagiolatry, into the Protestant Church system. There were cases where the desire for Reformation was connected to the ambition for the religious power. Naturally, the arts began to be excluded, and only Luther among all the Reformers did not forbid the arts from being passively accepted. The other radical Reformers were dissatisfied with this kind of attitude and insisted upon stronger iconoclasm. Karlstadt, Calvin and Zwingli started to go their separate ways. The Reformers held fast to the recognition that art was idolatry itself, as a response to idolatry of the Roman Catholic Church, even before they mentioned any theological criteria regarding distinction between art and idol. And the iconoclasts marked radical acts down as clearer, stronger response to the Catholic Church, which would strengthen the Reformation. It cannot be affirmed that the other radical Reformers except Luther failed to have eyes for art and beauty. In Churches of the regions where the Reformers gained victory, holy pictures were no longer demanded as they used to be in the Middle Ages. The artists had to paint other topics for living.
Ironically, the Korean Protestant Church of the present time is actively accepting modern technology. The images of Jesus Christ and the holy pictures are slowly disappearing from Church walls. and are replaced by CCTVs showing videos of the pastor’s sermon. The influence of the pastor’s image which is periodically broadcast through closed circuit cannot be irrelevant to the Church’s propaganda and the believers’ idolization of their pastor. A theological excuse is demanded to carefully reconcile the attitude of Luther who used his own portrait to unfold the Reformation, with the attitude of the other Reformers who were dissatisfied with him and insisted upon stronger iconoclasm. The Protestant Church has to focus more on esthetic education to enhance piety through the religious arts, rather than strongly present the pastor’s image on a CCTV.

• 이정구(성공회대학교) | Lee, Jeong Ku