Here is a MUST READ article about religious iconography. This reminds me of a more recent debate I had with folks about Good Friday over Easter. It also reminds me of a response I once read Protestants making about why they hate crucifixes: "We celebrate the risen Christ."

So you can separate the resurrection from the death and make a value judgment about which is more important, but choosing the other part is wrong? When the whole mission of God was the death? When the death is what makes you square eternally? When the death is the once for all?

I should've argued more forcefully. Maybe next time, I will.