No church I have been in has Crucifixes. I am no theologin but from what I know it is because the work on the cross is finished and Jesus rose to the right hand of the Father. So Jesus being resurrected means he is no longer on the cross and should not be pictured there.
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Mark 11:24-26 (New International Version)
24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."
There are crucifixes in most Anglican churches. Some of the lower ones might not include them, but most do.
I think what people are getting confused about is the difference between eternal and temporal.
Our God is eternal, and we are temporal. To us, the crucifixion was a one off event in history; as with any other event there was a time before it happened, then it happened, and then it stopped. Those who take the 'empty cross because it is finished' stance, are looking at the crucifixion as a one off event, which happened 2000 years ago, and is no longer happening. But this stance puts God under time, like us.
The Incarnation is far more complex than that; God is eternal and unchanging, and he is not subject to time as we are. The Incarnation as a whole is about God with us, and is therefore not a temporal event, but an eternal one, which means that the crucifixion does not stand in time, but outside time, and for all time. This does not mean that Christ is still on the cross, but rather that we can kneel at the foot of the cross in contemplation and actually experience the reality of being there, just as we can be actually beside Christ at Golgotha, or in the Upper Room, or on the road to Emmaus. In other words, because in Christ we are now eternal beings as well, we too can step outside time in our prayers and meditation, and be alongside him at all stages of his life and his journey, not just figuratively but in reality.
The crucifix reminds us that our place as Christians is at the foot of the cross, worshipping our Lord who has given his life for us, so that we in turn can follow his example and give our lives for him.
Wearing a crucifix is not an attempt to crucify the Lord all over again, as I have been told by Methodists. Rather it is my way of identifying myself with Christ at the most difficult, most painful moment of his life, so that I can understand why my own life will also at times be difficult and painful. When I contemplate the Lord's death, I do not bring that death into today, rather I enter into the reality of his death as he experienced it; I am no longer constrained by time, any more than he is.
The point is, suffering continues on earth today; terrible suffering among millions of people. It is meaningless to say the Lord's suffering ended 2000 years ago; as long as any human being on earth is in pain, he is in pain. As long as anyone is hungry, he is hungry. Is this not what Matthew 25 tells us? Therefore, Christ on the cross is Christ at his closest to our human condition; pain and suffering even unto death.
Why on earth would we want to say, yes he felt that way once, but that was a long time ago? It was not a long time ago; it was eternal because he is eternal.
Eternal does not mean going on forever, because that is a temporal description, from a temporal perspective.
Eternal denotes not subordinate to time. The empty cross is the crucifixion from a temporal, human perspective. The crucifix is the crucifixion from an eternal one; the perspective from which God himself sees.
__________________ God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. 1 Corinthians 1:9-10
Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God. 1 Corinthians 7:24
In the words of Fr. Benedict Groeshel on why Catholics have the Crucifix:
"All of us has a Cross to carry, none of us knows what it's like to be risen from the dead."
Or something like that.
Are there really no crucifixes in Protestant churches?
Fr. Groeschel has some fine things to say about the cross. "Look at the cross all of you, and know that I shall not be overcome, because the Lord of life is with me, and He shall go with me even through the valley of the shadow of death."
Jim, it's surprising that you as a Lutheran would start out this thread by saying basically that Protestants use a bare cross and Catholics use crucifixes. Many, many Lutheran churches use crucifixes - and not just during Lent.
For those who might have a problem with depicting Christ on the Cross because 'he's not on the cross any more' - I sure hope you don't ever put baby Jesus in a manger ...
No church I have been in has Crucifixes. I am no theologin but from what I know it is because the work on the cross is finished and Jesus rose to the right hand of the Father. So Jesus being resurrected means he is no longer on the cross and should not be pictured there.
This may appear innocuous, but is in fact a good example of God the Son being subordinated to time, which in effect strips the whole Godhead of his supremacy.
This is the depiction of a temporal, human, non divine Jesus, and a god who has another god over him; Time. He does one thing, then he does another thing, then he does another thing. This describes mortal existence, but it does not describe God. God's name (Exodus 3:14) is Ehyah asher ehyer, which generally translates as I am that I am, but denotes far more; 'I continue to be, and will be, what I continue to be, and will be'.
Ehyeh - I am; I that ever will be; the ever existing one.
God subject to time is, strangely enough, pagan thinking. In Greek mythology, Zeus is the foremost and chief of all the gods. And his father is Cronos; god of time.
Therefore, your theology is accurate enough; the problem is it is not Christian.
Last edited by Catherineanne; 3rd November 2009 at 09:44 PM.
Jim, it's surprising that you as a Lutheran would start out this thread by saying basically that Protestants use a bare cross and Catholics use crucifixes. Many, many Lutheran churches use crucifixes - and not just during Lent.
For those who might have a problem with depicting Christ on the Cross because 'he's not on the cross any more' - I sure hope you don't ever put baby Jesus in a manger ...
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