Thanks for watching! Do you think that an icon or a Bible can be disrespected by us without consequence? If you enjoyed that, please consider supporting the channel at brianholdsworth.locals.com/ or brianholdsworth.ca/support.

As a Japanese Catholic, it's sad that a Christian would do this.

I'm a Protestant and I think that guy is wrong. You can have respect for what a thing represents without making it an idol. And to purposely distmrespect something that is depicting a holy being or that contains the word of God, that is a dangerous slope to dance on.

That is not normal Protestant behavior. When I was in Bible College, a common attitude was that my fellow Baptists would not even want to put other books on top of a Bible because they felt that was dishonoring to the Bible, similar to raising another flag above the American flag on a flagpole.

An icon is only "paint and wood" if you're a materialist. Or a Gnostic.

Excellent use of Fr. Mark clip. Also, that thumbnail is, something.

This was one of the best explanations I have ever heard! I parked it in my "saved videos" so I can practically memorize it for apologetics. God bless you!

Meanwhile the kirishitan japanese who died instead of stepping on an image of our Lord

This is what happens when you "it's not about religion it's about a relationship".

Brian I am always impressed with your thought process in your videos, and I’m often surprised by the direction your videos head in. Not only are you intelligent and eloquent in your speech, you are very entertaining. I always love your arguments.😊

I hope the next thing he does will not be shouting "Satan, I'm giving my entire self to you" and then saying that it is ok to do so as long as you don't actually mean to invite demons to your life and that words have no power in themselves.

Excellent defense of precious icons and the Holy Bible! Thank you!

I wonder if he would step on an American flag? It’s an inanimate object.

Have him bring that same energy on the quaran.

I have many Southern Baptist acquaintances the would readily agree with the young man about stepping on icons, and probably do the same. However, if you dared to step on, spit on, or desecrate a t-shirt from their SEC Football school of choice, they would most definitely fight you. 😆 Good example at the end there, Brian!

Your channel exudes quality and authenticity, with each video offering valuable insights that undoubtedly enrich the lives of your viewers. I wholeheartedly support and hope that you reach even more souls with your inspiring content. Keep the good work and keep your faith. God bless you. Ave Christus Rex!

I'm an ex protestant convert to Catholicism and I don't hold any object, statue or book to be God and it's important not to treat it as such (that's idolatry). But if the thought police demanded that I step on a Bible or an image of Jesus or Mary, then I would hope to have the courage to refuse (fearing that like St Peter I might fail miserably). I know that isn't logical, but that's how I feel.

Well said. Interestingly, the place where Luther called reason "the devil's prostitute" is in his letter "Against the Heavenly Prophets" which was written in opposition to iconoclasts, men like Andreas Karlstadt, who would have loved "clever" arguments like "It's just wood and paint." Luther rightly understood that the question is not about reason itself, but about how reason is used. He also stated, "Reason is God's greatest and most important gift to man, of inestimable beauty and excellence, a glorious light, a most useful servant in theology, something divine."

Thank you for this video! My family underwent a similar battle against a relative years ago. You held your ground well and gave a good explanation!

St. Stephan the Young, during the iconoclast crisis in the East, refused to destroy icons, and to defend himself he stepped on a coin with the image of the emperor. Of course everyone in the trial got scandalized and he got his point. He was executed nontheless.

This reminds me of that American evangelical church that had a football themed Sunday service and punted a bible 😳 across the church! Lord have mercy on their souls.

Another great video. Thank you. 🙏

This was a superb video, my brother! Godspeed!

Amen ‼️

Such disrespectful actions and blindness towards the metaphysical level ultimately stem from deconstructivism. Everything can be demystified when viewed in this way. Then, a person is ultimately just a collection of molecules from various elements. Aristotle already emphasized in his work "Metaphysics": "The whole is more than the sum of its parts."

I remember a I had a brief talk with a person who paints icons. I was amazed that everything is a "symbol" or sign with a specific meaning. From the colors used to the different positions and poses of the body parts. It was way more than simply a replica to mentally engage in a scene of history. Having been in the occult and familar with signs and symbols to excite the senses , the art of iconography seems no different. The only solace I can find in iconography is the object represented leads the heart and mind toward Christ.

Watch the movie Silence if you want to know what Christians thought of the items that reminded them of the holy during times of persecution. We cleave to every little breadcrumb of holyness, we haven't been left to our own devices, we have a living faith, a sacremental faith, we cleave to the holy rather than being ignorant of the depth of imagery that does infact stir the heart when you meditate on it.

Sounds like that guy doesn’t know what relics and sacramentals are. Degree of holiness does not grant license to abuse things or people.

Modern Iconoclasts

Isn't this the same argument we make against members of our society, "It's just a clamp of cells." The perversion of the sacred is the corruption of reason

King James IV of Scotland put his foot on a Bible in his coronation. (In Scotland, placing on something was part of swearing like Americans use their hand.)

I wholeheartedly agree !

Perfectly articulated argument, Sir Brian!

You and Trent should do more stuff together

Honestly, I wouldn't really step on a picture of anyone, that's just disrespectful- let alone a saint

The 7th Ecumenical Council was about icons. The veneration of icons affirms the Incarnation. The Roman Church never implemented the decisions, which ruled against the use of statues. Although the church teaches that these objects should be venerated but not worshipped, I wonder if we all know where to draw the line. Books and scrolls can also become idols. Writing "G-d" is widespread but over the top. The practice of Koran burning is a related issue. It's main purpose is hostile polemic. Oddly enough, burning the regarded as the reverent method of disposal for icons that are beyond repair. Jews bury their worn out holy books.

"Let me know what your neighbour's reaction was in the comments when you spat on a picture of his wife right after you made a rude gesture towards it." 😂😂😂 I was so angry right until that moment. It gave me a well needed laugh.

I did that when I was in college to make a point to an Orthodox. I regret that. What is sad and actually shows how stupid that was, is that I picked the habit of not putting anything especially a book on top of the bible from my protestant mentor who kind of raised me after I left the Orthodox church to be a protestant. So, this was stupid and evil on my part. May God forgive me. So, I apologize to you and to anyone who would be stumbled by this.

This is what comes of iconoclasm.

I know that a damaged bible or a rosary etc can be disposed of by burning etc. What about a weekly church flyer (containing religious imagery)?

In order for stepping on the Bible to be offensive, the act of stepping on something has to signify disrepsect in the culture you are in. Arguably, in our late, modern Western culture, the act of stepping on something no longer signifies disrespect any more than pointing the sole of your foot towards the person you're sitting next to does (which is still a no-no in Middle Eastern culture). EDIT: I want to qualify this statement, having thought more about it. I think that stepping on something CAN still communicate disrespect in our late modern, Western culture, but that context is all important in determining how the symbolic act is understood by those who see the act. In these videos of a guy stepping on a Bible and an icon, he has already communicated verbally that he means no disrespect by it. Because of that, we the viewer already have been signaled not to interpret the action as disrespectful. I think that this is one of the major differences between modern and premodern cultures - today we've become more self-aware of how language, including the use of symbolic action, communicates meaning, and we no longer interpret words or actions to have an inherent meaning in and of themselves outside of the communicative context and intent of the communicator. Is this a good or a bad thing? I'm not sure...

That's what they tried to make Mark do in That Hideous Strength to complete his "objectivity training"

I’m not sure what Luther meant by his quote about reason, but the magisterial reformation did not reject reason. You have a whole history with reform churches and the Lutheran Church, and the Anglican Church of the scholastic methodology being used in theology, as well as a respect for tradition and reason. For example, their doctrine of God is right in line with the early and medieval church. They just thought that scripture was primary. The disrespect for reason is much more a product of the 19th century and early 20th century among some evangelicals.

@Brian Holdsworth. Could you make a clip discussion martin luther and his movement?

What is the introduction chant for your channel. I’m trying to figure it out

There are a lot of Prots who seem to believe the bible is the fourth person of the Trinity. They are usually the same ones who say Catholics worship Mary as a deity.

Thank God for our wholistic view of the spiritual and the material. My mind went right to Silence, and to the Burning Bush. Really well said.

That’s apostasy

Huguenots bashed in icons as idols.

Our Lord drove the *money changers* out of the temple courtyard, because they were exploiting the poor via the exchange rates they had set for buying temple money (the way people could pay to buy an animal to make an offering at the temple without having to travel with their own animals from afar). The money changers were "skimming off the top" at the expense of people who didn't know any better.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. What the man did was sinfully wrong. Sinfully wrong.

Just curoius: how long will he last if he had tried this w the Quran? In Saudi Arabia? 🤔

what is the icon at 9:51 called? I NEED TO FIND IT!!

We're so attached to symbols! It's bad to step on bibles because people get stressed by it

Silence by Shusaku Endo is an excellent book for those who haven't read it. Highly recommended.

The Holy icons are representations of God and the saints. They are sacred, not because what they are made of but because what they represent.

The Bible is MORE than paint and wood. It's the Word of God. Jim Jones did that in one sermon. He did NOT end well (UNDERSTATEMENT!!! ) There's a verse in Hebrews about trampling the word of God beneath your feet and counting it an unholy thing.

I deny Jesus

No Christian would ever spit on a crucifix because of what it represents. I don't get what is so difficult about this.

Setting aside anything else to make his arguement valid logically you would have to have it say something like: Humans are more valuable than x, it is okay to step on humans, therefore it is okay to step on x. That'd be logically valid, but the second premise is false. To put it simply, the relative value of humans and x tells you nothing about whether humans should step on x.

I would only step on a Bible if I was attempting to demonstrate standing on the promises of God & depending on His Word to uphold my being. I guess my point is that, just as “paint & wood” can be imbued with significance, so can an act. Eating pages from a Bible, for example, could be an act of disrespect, meanwhile we eat the body of Christ in the Eucharist. So eating is not intrinsically irreverent. In this guy’s case though, his point was that it’s ok to disrespect the objects, so disrespect was his intent. As a Protestant though, I do resent attaching reverence to a physical object that can be desecrated by man. God’s glory is not accessible to being stepped on, burned, spat on, or used to wipe. I personally wouldn’t step on an icon, because I respect what it symbolises, but I resent that we have given such symbolism to objects that can be stepped on. It goes against the spirit of the commandment to not make graven images.

They do realizr this is an Insult to Japanese Christians right

I bet this dude wouldn’t spit on a picture of his nearest and dearest deceased relative.

If a group of 4 Christians were freezing to death with a bible between them, But the bible could be used to make fire somehow, Would they be blameless if they used it as fire to protect themselves?

I read the book Silence , if given the choice between stepping on an icon or saving someone's life i would be torn, is the piece of wood more valuable then a human life? Or is stepping on it a rejection of Christ?

It is just a book.

Gonna big steppie in the bible!

Comment for the algo

PERFECT!!!!!!

I never understood why Christians treated their bible so bad. I have all sorts of bibles but even my old ones look brand new and will last forever. Treat your bibles good before they take it off the market. This country is becoming like China each and every day soon they will probably wont make physical bibles anymore sadly and they will take your online bible away from you too so treat your bible like its your last.

How do these people not understand symbols? It's a symbol. It stands in for the thing it symbolizes. That's why it's offensive to people, not because the icon ITSELF is holy. We should do an experiment. What if we take the pride flag and set it on fire and stomp it out? Would that offend this person? Obviously, it shouldn't because it's just a flag with some dye applied to it, and flags aren't important.

He's not a Christian.

Totally off topic, but here is a serious question I wish you would address one day. To be clear, this has absolutely nothing to do with political correctness, nor am I trying to be a smarta**. It genuinely bugs me, and I imagine it would bother other folks if they thought about it. To wit - God is our Ultimate Father. Therefore, God is male. Male implies a feminine counterpart, otherwise, maleness would make no sense. It's like south without north, left without right, up without down, and on and on. One without the other isn't even possible. So...where is Miss God? I don't say "Mrs." because I can't imagine who would have the authority to perform God's wedding, but still, the basic question prevails; where is Miss God? (Pulling out the Asherah card doesn't count.)

Its disrespectful. But as someone suffering from ocd I actually heard that some therapists recommend this to their patients a s kind of erp but I couldnt do it.

In defense of the Twitter person, Hezekiah destroyed the snake from Numbers as an idol. This is why Catholic is a different religion then Protestant. Praying to icons is a corner stone to that faith, but Protestantism is democratic rejecting all icons.

Spreading the image as a thumbnail doesn’t help…

I don't even like the video thumbnail

If it's just a book, then why are you stepping on it? People don't step on books and then post it on social media.

This is why I will not receive communion at a novus ordo Mass anymore. Because I do not want to step on particles of Our Lord that fall on the floor because people are receiving in the hand and a paten is not being used. But it's amazing to me how many people don't have a problem with this. I guess it goes back to what you are saying about people not having a problem with stepping on icons of Our Lord or the Bible.😢

Miserable souls lol 🙏🏻🙌🏻🕊🌹🔥

2:03 well, as far as I’m concerned, wood and paint doesn’t blaspheme the Lord, commit adultery, sloth, envy, etc. So yeah, as a human being who definitely sins a lot more than wood and paint, that’s reasonable.

Lmfao. Imagine being offended by someone stepping on your favorite farytale book.

Yeah people should step on an icon to avoid death. Dumb take.

1:04 well it was a picture of mary, soo

Attacking Protestants on this Catholic channel is nothing but click bait!!! All a Catholic podcaster has to do is feature a criticism of Protestants and WOW ... thousands of likes! Try doing a podcast on evangelism ...

This guy may not be educated on how icons are created. It’s a lot more than wood and paint. Ignorance

A picture of Jesus is an idol, so why would Christians have a problem stepping on an idol?

Not a Christian lol

Putting books over spiritual authorities is calvanism.. All you should be doing is learning Spanish if your in America or converting to Islam in Europe in restoring holy communion

maybe he should do that to the koran and post it to youtube and see the reaction.

Your analogy of a library and books without a library you can buy your own books and have your own library, you don’t have to adhere to all the rules. You can enjoy stories without having to believe their real. I don’t read Dracula novel and believe that there are vampires But I still enjoy it

It’s very easy to say Christianity makes a nice society and it’s all because of religion and the Bible, but try living 500 years ago under the church, it’s only because we have stopped believing rigidly stopped being fundamental in the most part that Christianity is acceptable. The same cannot be said about Islam, which is what Christianity was 500 years ago. So I do get Dawkins it might sound confusing but without the religious side without believing in God some of the Christian traditions are very nice you don’t have to believe to appreciate something.