To Cross Or Not to Cross you be the judge!

Hope4Others

As a solar-phallic symbol, I have no problems with it at all. It symbolizes generation and regeneration... birth, life, death, rebirth...

I have observed that many people wear crosses that have no religious identity

To me, it is a pagan symbol borrowed by the church to represent the way their savior died I'm with bigdreaux, I think it's weird that people revere a symbol of pain and death.

My laws, it is the death of our dear Lord Jesus is what brings salvation, and the applying faith in his shed perfect blood to atone for all humans who have died so that they can live again as well as those alive now or those in some other point in time who learn about him

Here are some quotes from past posters, I know this is hashed and re-hashed but I would be curious to know if anyone in the jw day's has ever really gotten an answer from a religious

person who wheres or has them in there home "What does the symbol truly mean to them" Or best yet I would like a Catholic to express their view of the meaning to them.

My take on this talking about the trinty etc to a family member which gets you know where is this, "I think most people look at their cross and thank Jesus for what he has done for them.

Am I just too far removed from the jw's that satan has corrupted my thinking and reasoning power. As I'm sure I'd be told. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

I think one of the commandments that these people claim to still be subject to is ,"you must not make a graven image of anything on earth".To me the cross is a graven image or an idol , it was used whenever emperor constantine needed a symbol to unite the pagans and christians ,I think they seriously screwed with the pagans that way since they were using it long before christianity adopted it.

glenster

For what it's meant to mean in a conservative Christian view, I'd go with
apostle Paul boasting in the cross (Gal.6:14)--the cross just being symbolic for
what Jesus did for those of faith in the meaning of it, etc.

For worrying about pagan connotations beyond that (crosses, Christmas tress,
etc.), I'd go with apostle Paul, 1 Cor.8-11, where he parallels eating at an
idol temple with eating at the Lord's Supper--either is okay in strong faith or
bad with weak faith. An easy way to remember it is to imagine the non-faith
side of the same coin--you never hear of an atheist worrying they have to go to
church from now on because they ate a sandwich near a church. The Christian
faith makes the difference, not non-Christians using a faith meaning the
Christian doesn't share for it.

Christianity was to spread from the Jewish culture it started in to the
cultures surrounding it without the ethically unnecessary rules about things,
unclean things, etc., which made for unnecessary division between followers.
Working against that by adding those things is just for a JWs leader or JCanon
routine at affecting exclusiveness (and, unfortunately, division between people)
with their own rules--they can't be of a literal 144,000 of exceptional faith
and what Paul defines as weak in their faith at the same time.

momzcrazy

I wear a celtic cross and a triquetra. I like the look of the cross, and I like the symbolism of the triquetra. Birth life and death. Or maiden, mother and hag, the life cycle of a woman.

As for as the Biblical reasons for the cross, I don't have any. It doesn't matter to me if Christ was killed on a cross or stake. The effect was the same, he died.

momz

Barbie Doll

".To me the cross is a graven image or an idol , it was used whenever emperor constantine needed a symbol to unite the pagans and christians

Some people wear them to let others know they are Religious, some wear them because they are pretty.

alt

Bourne

WHOOPS!!! Sorry, I thought this was a thread about cross-dressing....not that I'm into that kind of.................................................

.............(Bourne looks around nervously and slowly backs out the door.)

yknot

I am still feeling the 'graven' image/ idol thing.

I think that this can and should be applied to the images of a watchtower found on some brother's tie pins, and sisters book bags.

Hope4Others

Some people wear them to let others know they are Religious, some wear them because they are pretty

Barbie doll- I understand this but do Catholics I guess in particular they look down on their neck do they think of Jesus not just the jewlrey and what he did not how he died?

This is what I'm getting at has anyone ever been told this in your door to door days? I guess I always wanted to ask someone this.

For what it's meant to mean in a conservative Christian view, I'd go with
apostle Paul boasting in the cross (Gal.6:14)--the cross just being symbolic for
what Jesus did for those of faith in the meaning of it, etc.

Glenster- thanks I will brush the dust off my bible and read that.

heathen

I think the apostle Paul was trying to convey that instead of a shameful death that it was meant to be ,it really was an act of great heroism and boundless love for the human race that led to an innocent man being murdered .My point was that the pagans used the cross long before christians so just because somebody is wearing a cross does not make them a christian .Christianity is a way of life not just a belief .There is no instruction in the bible for people to use the cross in worship , the apostle John seemed most concerned that christians were starting use forms of idolatry and warned the church to guard itself from it.1john 5:21

drew sagan

The Watchtowers position on the cross has much less to do with accurate historical scholarship and everything to do with creating talking points.

I believe it was Rutherford who first introduced this. He plan was simple, create as many reasons as he possibly could to make his religion different from the rest. Everything in mainstream Christianity was put on a list and he made sure to do the opposite. All the while creating stories about how miraculous events followed him everywhere he went.

To Cross Or Not to Cross you be the judge!

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