www.alphadictionary.com

I see that KatyBr suggested this word before, but it was back in 2005, and I couldn't find that there was an article on it since, so I thought I'd throw it back on the pile.

I would love to see it!

Sardith

I second your motion. I'm surprised this one hasn't crossed our path yet.

In the meantime, I have a question:

Would the supporter of one Presidential candidate, who publicly referred to another Presidential candidate's religion as a 'cult', be considered an iconoclast?

If so, I believe a Dr. Goodword iconoclast article would be quite timely.

Sardith

Would the supporter of one Presidential candidate, who publicly referred to another Presidential candidate's religion as a 'cult', be considered an iconoclast?

My take is no. To be a breaker of icons, the icons need to be generally accepted. A Mormon who speaks against basic Mormon teachings would be an iconoclast, as would a Catholic who goes against the Pope's rule. If one doesn't accept the "word" of a religion, they are not necessarily an iconoclast, just a non-believer. I believe you have to have been part of something, or that the something is so endemic to your society that being against it is seen as wrong, to become an iconoclast.

I may be wrong, so pile on folks and let us know what you think it takes to be an iconoclast.

Time to bring this one up again. We just had Heresy, which covers heretic, too. So, can iconoclast and heretic be used interchangeably? Or are there significant differences?

I am interested in the distinction between iconoclast and heretic. To me, the former takes an active role to dismantle the foundations of a religion, whereas the latter would rather passively leave the fold. That is, until they are hunted down and slaughtered by the Orthodox, true believers.