Arguments for and against images of God

I am orthodox christian and on my walls I have icons of Jesus and Saints. But theese days I thought of the stature Christ the Redeemer from Brazil, Rio de Janeiro and I remembered some words from a book about prophet Elijah. Those aren't the words of Elijah from the Bible, but they refer to the ministry of Elijah: "They(Phoenicians and Corrupted Israelits) take a stone and chisel it in the form of a god, but at the end of the day it is just a rock. It has a mouth, but doesn't speak, it has eyes, but can't see. Those are the idols they prefer over the invisible allmightly God". This is not the exact quote from that book, because I read it in my language and I tried to translate the quote. Now I accept answers from both traditional and reformed christians who accept/deny icons and statues. My question is if you think that Christ the Reedemer is an idol, a stone with face as described by Elijah(in the book I read, not in the Bible) what are your arguments, or if you believe statues and icons aren't idols and are an accepted form of worshipping God and what are your arguments.