by orangefatcat 47 Replies latest jw friends
A lot of Christians wear crosses around their necks. Do you think when Jesus comes back he ever wants to see a ******* cross? It's kind of like going up to Jackie Onassis with a rifle pendant on." Bill Hicks I agree with that. I wouldn't wear a cross, let alone a crucifix, if I was a Christian.
Sounds like something I used to teach to bible studies...........
Yes I would.
I'd probaly ear one, only, not just yet?
A lot of Christians wear crosses around their necks. Do you think when Jesus comes back he ever wants to see a ******* cross? It's kind of like going up to Jackie Onassis with a rifle pendant on." Bill Hicks I agree with that. I wouldn't wear a cross, let alone a crucifix, if I was a Christian.Sounds like something I used to teach to bible studies...........
Yes, it does, doesn't it?
What does the cross mean? To a Roman Catholic it appears with a crucified Jesus, but to others it appears without Jesus - a plain cross, the symbol of the risen Lord i.e. the resurrection.
So the WTS doesn't have it right at all. But then, they're habitual misrepresenters of others' beliefs, aren't they?
Mrs Ozzie wears a cross each day as a symbol of her faith in the resurrection and to identify herself as a christian amongst a buddhist and moslem work community.
At almost 14 years out of the org, and about 2.5 years after learning they are a hoax, I finally put on a cross and here's how that came about...
Several months ago I got one in the US Mail from some type of ministry or mission or somebody who I don't even remember their name, or why it would have been sent to me. Enclosed in their envelope was a beautiful cross on a gold chain, and who would know but God himself, it was in my most favorite colors of all time, and the colors of which my entire apartment and bedroom are decorated in: Teal & Peach! The two beams of the cross are made of small 'squares' of teal (or turquoise if you will) and right in the center is a small 'square' of peach! It was sooo cute and beautiful and I loved it right away.
BUT...
I still had the 'cross hangup' as described above (would Jesus want us to wear it? Did he really die on a cross? etc. which the last question I really didn't care anymore, but the first...?)
So I let the pretty little cross sit on my dresser for a month or so until one day I saw this guy on TV for the first time: Arthur Blessit: http://www.blessitt.com/
He's a guy who carried a 12-foot cross around the entire world. He was relating a story on this TV program of how back whenever, he either owned a bar or worked in a bar or hung out in a bar, and he decided he was going to make a giant cross to put on the wall. So he was in there one afternoon working on it and a biker guy comes in. He asked the biker guy if he had any tools? The biker guy said yes and went to get them. Then this Arthur guy asked the biker if he would help him do some hammering on the beam? And the biker dude freaked out and said, "No Way Man! No Way I'm touching that!" It was at that moment, Arthur said, that he finally realized THE POWER OF THE CROSS.
That really got to me, how he explained about THE POWER OF THE CROSS (which means, of course, the POWER of Jesus' SACRIFICE and RESURRECTION for OUR benefit, not just the 'idol image' of the cross itself).
Then he told another story of when he was in his journeys of carrying the cross around the world, and he was just carrying the cross down some beach somewhere, nobody around. Then out of nowhere comes a lady running up to him, all out of breath. She said she had been jogging and praying high above on the ridge, that God would let her know he exists, and then she looked down on the beach and sees this guy carrying this big cross on his back. I don't remember all the details of what he/she said, but it was just very cool, and the more I hear/learn/listen day by day, I know that God reaches people of all kinds, in all places, and through ALL KINDS OF WAYS, and not just thru 'normal' channels of the 'narrow-minded.'
So it was after seeing/hearing these stories by Arthur Blessit on TV about THE POWER OF THE CROSS, that I sat and thought about it for a few minutes and realized I really DID want to wear a cross, and just happened to have that beautiful teal/peach one still on the dresser, in MY FAVORITE COLORS, mind you, so I immediately got up and put it on, and have been wearing it ever since! Oh Happy Day! I love it and what it 'stands for'!
AbbaGail f/k/a GRITS
(Gail is my real name so decided I might as well use it! and ABBA speaks for itself, and that's yet ANOTHER story... ;-)
I think crosses mean plenty of different things ... even religiously a cross may stand for Tammuz and ancient sacrificial King killing rituals (of which Jesus is also in that category). Every culture has some important meaning with the cross. Usually it has some relationship to sacrifice. So in that sense it's sad but also anthropologically interesting.
In high school I used to wear the ankh as pierced earrings... I had little gold ones that I threw away when I became a JW. What a waste!
I do have plenty of rosaries with the crucifix. I just like the way they look and the idea that globally religions use rosaries for personal contact with "god" or the godhead... if you are a believer I think that personal relationship with whoever you worship is probably the only honest religious devotion... Just my opinion...
So why do people wear crosses? To me it's like a bumper sticker or one of those Jesus fish, announcing your belief. But shouldn't a Christian be known for their life? Same goes for the Star of David ... just so much bling.
I'm going to share my story about the cross. For Christmas this past year my husband handed me a small box. I opened it and in side lay a gold chain with a small gold cross. The conversation went something like this: Lisa: How beautiful, thank you. Why would you buy me a cross? Oz: We can take it back. Lisa: No, no, I don't want to take it back. I love it. I just want to know why you would buy me a cross. Oz: They had lots of different hanging things...I started to get you a gold heart. Would you rather have a heart? Lisa: I'm keeping the cross. I just want to know WHY you would buy ME a CROSS??? Oz: (looking around nervously.....bewildered and perplexed look on his face) UMMMM...I don't know. I just thought that since you've been talking a lot about religion and stuff...well I thought maybe there was a chance for you. Lisa: A CHANCE FOR ME????? What the hell does that mean???? Oz: You know, like maybe you believed now, or had found Jesus. Hell, I don't know what I was thinking. Do you want to take it back? Lisa: I'm not taking it back. I'm wearing it. Part two of my story. I put the necklace on that very moment. I have not taken it off since then. Starting in January 1 through out tax season, I manage a tax office that has about 11 employees. Nine out of the eleven employees, started wearing a cross. Each one came up to me, mentioned that they had noticed that I wore a cross, and told me that because I wore one that they had started wearing theirs. I asked each person about their cross and what it means to them. It made me think of AbbaGail's post about the power of the cross.
That is a beautiful story Lisa, and I love the sensitivity of your husband.
Its interesting what happened at work too, and most of your co workers decided to start wearing their crosses. Its a beautiful thing.
Almost everytime when I am in public with my cross on( I too don't take it off my neck), I get comments such as wow what a beautiful crucifix your wearing. In our building when going down the elevator everyone makes comments about how lovely it is.
I count it a joy to show people that I believe in Christ. I have a passion for God and Christ and I can show that to others by wearing my cross. I find no shame in it what so ever.
I believe that it is true that many ex jws are still stigmatized by the cross because of the things we were taught by the WTS. I find that in my research that even though the cross existed centuries before Christ it doen't altar the fact that he was impaled upon a cross. All the studies I have ever done the Romans used crosses to crucify criminals or anyone for that matter. I never believed that Jesus died on a tree because logic and history of that time show that the cross was used. There had to be a cross beam no matter what the Society says about it.
Any way Lisa I just wanted to let you know how much I was touched by your story and may God bless you and OZ
all my love 
Orangefatcat
There's a wooden cross on our wall - blessed by the pope nonetheless.
Orangefatcat, The "cross" doesn't really MEAN anything to me. I mean not in the way that it MEANS something to other people. I like mine, simply because it was a gift. A gift that Oz picked out on his own without any hints from me. It is fascinating the kind of reactions that other people have towards it. I guess I'm wating for the meaning of the cross to still come to me. I have although started collecting ornamental crosses. wall art. They usually anywhere from 6 to 24 inches and made out of metal or wood. (I'm waiting for the sister's that stop over to mention the crosses. They never did mention my Budda collection) Lisa
"..and without Him was nothing made that Was made"
