Should Christians be using a cross?

[Followers4christ]

Many churches have crosses outside or inside there church. Millions of people wear cross necklace and even earrings. I've been doing research on the cross and I found out its roots are very pagan. Jesus died a horrible death on the cross and by wearing the cross does that show disrespect to Jesus? I believe it shows disrespect because its the weapon they used to kill Jesus. By Jesus dying on the cross our sins weren't forgiven by the cross but by his death and resurrection. If Jesus hadn't been resurrected he just would have been another man who had died by the cross. So by wearing a cross you show what was used to kill Jesus. If christians want to wear something have it be a empty tomb! I believe Jesus' resurrection is more important than his death!

Does the cross show disrespect to Jesus? No not at all Jesus told us to pick up our crosses and follow him. Thats an interesting saying if it was disrespectful. The cross is mentioned as a symbol of His love for us all and the power of our mighty God.

Matthew 10:38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

1 Corinthians 1:17 or Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Galatians 6:14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Philippians 3:18 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

 

[ViaCrucis]

"But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." - Galatians 6:14

Yes, Christians should be using the cross, they should glory in the cross, they should rejoice and cherish the cross.

I will boast in Christ's cross, I will rejoice in Christ's cross, I will be identified by nothing else other than the cross.

Christ our God who suffered, Christ our God who died, Christ our God who trampled down death by death, Christ our God who rose from the dead, in victory, glory be to Him forever.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[sunshineforJesus]

I have a cross necklace and wear it all the time,to me its a symbol of Jesus sacrifice
and to take up my cross daily.

 

[Paul Yohannan]

Sometimes, I wonder this too, is it idolatry to wear a cross as a necklace?

Nope.

 

[dqhall]

The cross is used as a Christian icon by some. It is not the cross, but it is Jesus who saves. I remember Jesus did not conform to the corrupt religious practices of his day, but instead suffered as a dissident on a cross, executed for telling the truth. The power of Christianity is not in the cross, but in his resurrection.

Nazareth was once a Christian dominated town. Years ago, the local Muslims rioted and smashed the windshields of cars belonging to Christians. Christians left Nazareth and Israel. The town became majority Islamic and elected a Muslim mayor.

I was walking through Nazareth taking photos. In some of the cars there were small crosses suspended from the rear view mirrors. I remembered the article I read about the smashed windshields.

In some parts of the world Christians must hide and worship in secret as Christianity is illegal. In ancient Rome, the Christians were not allowed to meet. They were allowed to form funeral societies and met for memorial services. They had church meetings in the catacombs. This was the underground church. At times they did not want to openly display crosses as they risked being led to trial. Those who did not renounce their Christianity and worship the emperor were executed.

 

[Goatee]

The Crucifix is a reminder of what Our Lord went through for us. Should we forget that? Push it to the back of our minds?

I have several crucifixes around the house. When i look at one it reminds me what Jesus went through for me.

Remember that God had Moses erect a carving of a snake in the desert for people to turn to if bitten.

We have Jesus, on the cross, to turn to when in need!

I could not live without the cross in my life.

 

[Basil Isaacks]

Many churches have crosses outside or inside there church. Millions of people wear cross necklace and even earrings. I've been doing research on the cross and I found out its roots are very pagan. Jesus died a horrible death on the cross and by wearing the cross does that show disrespect to Jesus? I believe it shows disrespect because its the weapon they used to kill Jesus. By Jesus dying on the cross our sins weren't forgiven by the cross but by his death and resurrection. If Jesus hadn't been resurrected he just would have been another man who had died by the cross. So by wearing a cross you show what was used to kill Jesus. If christians want to wear something have it be a empty tomb! I believe Jesus' resurrection is more important than his death!

Think about this if you had a family member killed by a gun and to remember the person everyone in the community got a necklace with a bullet attached to it to remember that person. That would be messed up.

The cross is a symbol of death the romans used it to kill tons of people! So its a weapon of death that some Christians choose to wear around there neck..etc

And don't forget about the third commandment
Exodus 20:4-6
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

When I went to church I see some people who wear a cross necklace hold the cross part in there hands when they pray.
When you wear a cross your remembering his death and not his resurrection. Plus its been used in pagan worship for thousands of years! When you wear a cross your wearing a weapon of death and an idol thats been worshiped by pagans.
Would Jesus be okay with you wearing a cross?

St. Paul wrote that the very word "Cross" is foolishness to those who are perishing.

Then how much more the visual reminder of it is to those who are perishing.

\\When you wear a cross your remembering his death and not his resurrection.\\

WRONG! Speak for yourself.

\\ Plus its been used in pagan worship for thousands of years! \\

So what? Pagans were binding their books as codices for hundreds of years before Christians used it for the Scriptures. Does this mean we should abandon the codex and return to the scroll?

The whole message of the Gospel is taking something that was alienated from God and using it for His glory. If you don't understand this, you simply don't understand the Gospel!

Glory to Jesus Christ!

 

[Philip_B]

There are various forms of the Cross, often depicted in and around Churches.

1. The simple Cross, which reminds us that at the centre of our salvation is this simple truth - Christ died for us.
2. The Crucifix, our salvation was wrought and a great cost to God, and we should be mindful of it.
3. The Christus Rex, Christ not only died, but rose again King of all Creation
4. The Celtic Cross, where mans full stop in the cross meets God's eternity in the circle

Of course there are many more variations, and I believe they all have there place in our traditions, they all proclaim something of the Gospel, and are a value add to the mission.

 

[thecolorsblend]

of course not lol

Very good. So if you're not worshiping the cross necklace, how can wearing it possibly be idolatry?

Take me, for example. I'm wearing a Ralph Lauren polo shirt. The act of doing so doesn't somehow mean I worship Ralph Lauren. It simply means I have exquisite taste in clothing and found this shirt for a pretty good bargain at 30% off in the middle of some sale the department store had going.

 

[Philip_B]

Very good. So if you're not worshiping the cross necklace, how can wearing it possibly be idolatry?

Take me, for example. I'm wearing a Ralph Lauren polo shirt. The act of doing so doesn't somehow mean I worship Ralph Lauren. It simply means I have exquisite taste in clothing and found this shirt for a pretty good bargain at 30% off in the middle of some sale the department store had going.

If you were wearing a billabong shirt you would declaring real class!

 

[Paul Yohannan]

If you were wearing a billabong shirt you would declaring real class!

And singing Waltzing Matilda perhaps?

 

[AmusingMargaret]

Many churches have crosses outside or inside there church. Millions of people wear cross necklace and even earrings. I've been doing research on the cross and I found out its roots are very pagan. Jesus died a horrible death on the cross and by wearing the cross does that show disrespect to Jesus? I believe it shows disrespect because its the weapon they used to kill Jesus. By Jesus dying on the cross our sins weren't forgiven by the cross but by his death and resurrection.

People can make anything an idol...and if a cross on a chain is an idol to a person, then they need to address the issue. If it serves as a token of their appreciation for the price paid on the cross, it really shouldn't be a concern to you. But, if it bothers you, I'd say you should not wear one. Did Jesus Himself say, "take up your cross and follow Me."?

By the way, a cross and a bullet...two different situations, and there is really no comparison.

What I hate to see is people tossing their Bible around like a used pillow, or putting in on the floor, letting it be used as a foot rest or a prop, or just leaving it at church until the next service. Jesus might feel disrespected by that....

 

[Basil Isaacks]

\\Would Jesus be okay with you wearing a cross?\\

I checked and He said He's ok with it.

But He also told me to tell you to mind your own business.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

 

[Blade]

There are so things said by man that my Father has never once said a word about and this is one of them. If for "YOU" this is wrong then "YOU" should never ware one. And if I was hanging around you and new this I would take mine off.

I guess its how you look at it. This death.. God new about it before the world was. New what HE would do for HIS creation that HE did not want to lose. I have never looked at a cross and thought of Jesus still on it. The thoughts of "pegan" things like this comes from man. As if that has more power over what happen. This death.. was so much more then flesh and blood. He took EVERY ONES sins on at ONE TIME. We can not grasp this. So many just see this "Cross" death and being whipped so not even an inch was left of flesh. Yet this was not the worst. Many have been torched much much worse. He took ALL..

it COST GOD something to die. He did not just die rise and its all back to normal. It COST GOD something. And to take ALL wow. The pain for the WORLD all that has ever been or ever will be.. He took at ONE TIME! PRAISE GOD! To then think that what some man or group does with this cross nulls makes of no effect what JESUS DID on that Cross. That does not have more power then Christ. To me this is like Xmas. What some group did on some day would then effect GOD? God MADE the days..its all HIS not mans. What man does or did on some day does not make all evil..

 

[Swan7]

From what I understand what the Bible says, God is much more concerned about where your heart is, not what you wear. However, it would be breaking His commandment in you are bowing down and praying to this piece of metal, an inanimate object that has no power which is pretty much a slap to His face because He is our Creator. We only bow down and pray to Him.

There must be a "depends" option to the poll because it all depends on the intent in your heart for this cross.

Also, just because pagans have used crosses doesn't at all mean God can't use it for good - which He has at the cost of His Son.

 

[Monk Brendan]

I've been doing research on the cross and I found out its roots are very pagan. Jesus died a horrible death on the cross and by wearing the cross does that show disrespect to Jesus? I believe it shows disrespect because its the weapon they used to kill Jesus.

First of all, the cross has been a historical symbol of Christianity since before the 2nd century. It is NOW widely recognized as such.

I don't like when people use it as a fashion statement.

As far as it being pagan--of course it is! So are the letters and numerals you use every day. ABC and so on are Phoenician in origin, and not Hebrew or Christian. 123 etc are Arabic.

So, to remove all of the pagan symbols from your life, you would have to create a new alphabet and a new numeral set. Then good luck getting anyone else to read and understand it.

Get back to us when you have those two new systems figured out.

 

[roamer_1]

No.

 

[Monk Brendan]

if Jesus hadn't been resurrected we wouldn't be having a conversation on the message boards and christians wouldn't have existed.

If Jesus had not risen from the dead, then we would all still be dead in our sins, and beyond caring.

 

[Monk Brendan]

but there are passages in the Bible that speak about using beads and such to pray.

Forgive me, but please point them out to me.

 

[thecolorsblend]

From what I understand what the Bible says, God is much more concerned about where your heart is, not what you wear. However, it would be breaking His commandment in you are bowing down and praying to this piece of metal, an inanimate object that has no power which is pretty much a slap to His face because He is our Creator. We only bow down and pray to Him.

There must be a "depends" option to the poll because it all depends on the intent in your heart for this cross.

Also, just because pagans have used crosses doesn't at all mean God can't use it for good - which He has at the cost of His Son.

Agreed. Most pagan religions are adaptable. Indeed they have to be in order to survive considering the hegemony other religions possess in most places of the world.

St. Peter's cross is a devotional thing for a lot of traditional Christians but the use of a similar crucifix in some satanic religions has branded St. Peter's cross as a "pagan symbol" to some people... even though the pagans co-opted that symbol centuries later. It's a bit ignorant for someone to decry this symbol for its "pagan roots" when doing so defies any objective study of history.

Apart from inherently positive Christian symbols being used for non-Christian religion, these cross-measuring contests about what is and is not a "pagan symbol" also ignore the probability that pagan symbols and practices can be commandeered for Christian purposes (as could be said of baptism, which was hardly the first water immersion-based religious ritual in history).