Arrenvy Bilinski- Turner: Iconoclasts and Iconophiles

Turner discusses the dispute between the iconoclasts who endorse spiritual images and the iconophiles, who are against images delineating devotion to symbols rather than the spirit or Christ himself. The iconophiles are those like “CC,” a thru-hiker on the Appalachian Trial who found symbolic meaning in his hiking sticks that he was planning on leaving at the top of Mount Katahdin. It seemed almost like “CC” projected more meaning on the physical stick rather than the experience itself. For me, I find that a symbol collected from a trip gives me reminders of memories that I do not want to forget, however in “CC”’s case, the poles would serve no meaning to another hiker. Turner argues that our devotion to the sacred place may be interfered by the use of these symbols that become “objects of idolatry rather than of veneration,”(Turner, 1921, p.28) should invest our spirituality directly to place. It was very profound of an action when “CC” threw his sticks off of the mountain, and to me the release seemed sacred in itself bringing a conclusion to the spiritual journey.