[Aquinasfan]

but I would rather see it destroyed than become an object of worship.

I'd prefer to smarten up the worshippers.

We should be respectful with it, but only as a testimony of the risen Christ,

Primarily.

not as an object from which we might derive mirculous power.

I agree, but you can't dismiss this out of hand.

[Buggman]

I'd prefer to smarten up the worshippers.

Me too--trust me, I don't want to see it damaged or destroyed. I'm sure Hoshea would've loved to educate the masses and keep the serpent too, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

I agree, but you can't dismiss this out of hand.

I don't. God clearly chooses to invest symbolic objects with His power for a time and for His purposes, as per your example earlier, or the cloths that Paul prayed over and sent to the sick. But that doesn't mean that we should chase after such relics or hope to obtain our healing from them--we need to pursue God, and if He chooses to act in a wierd way or through an object, wonderful. But even if He does, we should never show worship to the creation rather than to the Creator.

The only thing that comes close to being an exception that comes to mind is the Ark of the Covenant, the earthly symbol of God's throne in heaven. But even there, the Israelites were clear that they worshipped the God "who dwells between the cherubim," not the Ark itself.