“In fact, there was never any movement of Christians that accepted iconography, but rejected their veneration, prior to the Protestant Reformation.”
The absence of something from the details of historical record does not mean that it did not exist. History is largely made up of things we cannot possibly know.
What we do know is that EVERY time in scripture that objects were bowed down to, and offered sacrifices and incense to, those objects, even if originally constructed under God’s command, had to be destroyed. Even the temple itself was destroyed by God twice because of the corruption of worship and the defilement it caused.
No movement is necessary until there becomes a problem with willful rejection and disobedience to the commands of God.
When the scriptures teach plainly that the serpent Moses lifted up for people to look (not bow to, or pray to, or offer sacrifices to) was commanded by God and yet had to be destroyed because it became and idol, how can the “church” refuse to acknowledge even the possibility or danger of icons becoming idols?
The New Testament also warns to flee idolatry. It does not say that relics and icons are so important that the idolatry command is trivial.
1 John 5:21
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
1 Corinthians 10:14
Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
Nowhere does the Bible command Christians to use objects, icons, relics in worship (with the one exception of the perishable elements of communion). These are inventions of men. The Bible does not instruct the church about choirs, pews, stained glass windows, air conditioning, or even buildings of any kind. Does this mean they are wrong? No. But it does mean they are non-essential. And trying to make traditions of men into commands of God is the worse sort of false prophesying.
God did not forbid pictures, images, beautiful buildings and art. He did forbid bowing to them, praying toward them, and offering sacrifices to them. When these idolatrous practices happen, it becomes necessary to purge these objects because they defile God’s temple (the spiritual temple not made with hands).
And like God’s Spirit departed from the Old Testament temple because of the horrible corruption, God’s Spirit left the Catholic organization masquerading as the Church. He remained with His true church “outside the camp”.
See Ezekiel chapters 8-11.
Where did God forbid us from bowing before or kissing the texts of Scripture? The Jews do this, and apparently did not get the memo. They also kiss the mezuzah every time they go in and out of a doorway with one on it.
And while we have a command against bowing before idols (and also making them, or worshiping them), there is no command in the Old Testament or the New against bowing before or kissing a sacred image. In fact, the Bible commanded the Israelites to bow before the Ark, and that had two images on it.
And the problem with the Bronze serpent was that some Israelites were worshiping it as a deity, Nehushtan.