CROSS - Symbol of Faith or Curse?

I've read that the greek word for cross was translated wrong and that a better interpretation would be pole. This is an interesting post, definitely something to ponder not just with having crosses but different types of art as well...

I've read that the greek word for cross was translated wrong and that a better interpretation would be pole

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That is nearly identical to what the Watchtower (JW) tracts say ...

We must understand that the cross is a symbol of death, grief, sorrow and agony, and like other objects that we should not have in our home, we don't need to have a cross either, even around our necks. If you have seen any pictures of rock music singers, they almost all have crosses around their necks, in their ears, or other parts of their body. Almost every religion uses a cross, including voodoo (they also use rosary beads). Buddha temples have crosses on the building.

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The Cross is the symbol of Bright Sadness, a symbol of the joy that Christ God descended into Hades and defeated death by death.

An Explanation of the Russian Orthodox Three-Bar Cross

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On the Cross is our Savior, Jesus Christ. Note that He does not wear a crown of thorns, and that His feet are nailed with two nails. Behind the body of Christ, on either side, are a lance (which pierced Him) and a sponge (which was soaked with gall and offered to Christ to drink) on a pole made of reed or cane. On the body of Christ is depicted blood and water flowing forth from His side. Below the feet of Christ are four Slavonic letters meaning: "The place of the skull became Paradise". Hidden in a cave under the earth is 'the skull of Adam'. We are thus reminded that Adam our forefather lost Paradise through the tree from which he wrongly partook; Christ is the new Adam, bringing us Salvation and Paradise through the tree of the Cross. The city of Jerusalem is depicted in the background, for He was crucified outside the city walls.

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Oblio said:

That is nearly identical to what the Watchtower (JW) tracts say ...

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I am familiar with the Watchtower. Just to find another reference I went to crosswalk.com and found this:

*this is for cross in the new testament*
Strong's Number: 4716 Browse Lexicon
Original Word Word Origin
staurovß from the base of (2476)
Transliterated Word TDNT Entry
Stauros 7:572,1071
Phonetic Spelling Parts of Speech
stow-ros' Noun Masculine

Definition
an upright stake, esp. a pointed one
a cross

This is called foreshadowing

And you do know, don't you, that we worship Christ God that hung on the Cross, not the Cross itself. But without the Cross, there is no death of our Lord, no death, no Resurrection, no Resurrection, no Salvation. So we call the Cross lifegiving ...

I see the empty cross as a symbol of Yeshua's victory over death. It was a symbol of execution, but it's emptiness is the statement.
As for the crucifix, it is a powerful reminder of the suffering and sacrifice which Yeshua endured for us. It is such a strong image - one that we should remember to remind us at what price we were bought.

As regarding pagan crosses, we must remember that laying two straight lines across each ohter was one of the first steps that all primitive people took when devising a writing system. It's very, very basic. Also, the pagan crosses were most often equal-armed, whereas the Christian cross (the calvary cross, specifically) is of different meaning specific to Yeshua. The eqaul-armed cross usually represented the sun, or the balance of the four elements, the four seasons, etc. and was also often placed within a circle.
I also like the Orthodox cross, as its design is very distinctive to Christianity.

What's also interesting is that the "Star of David" is not considered at all a controversial symbol by Jews, but it is such a relatively recent adoption. And the Star of David is a hexagram which was used by many pagan cultures as well, in fact it shows up constantly in Hindu Yantras. Back in my Pagan days (evoking demons and such), we made extensive use of the hexagram as a banishing during most ritual work.
Here's a quote from a post I made in another thread:

Gershom Scholem in the Judaica Encyclopedia (Vol. 1, column 687) says (regarding the Star of David):

"From as early as the Bronze Age it was used—possibly as an ornament —in many civilizations and in regions as far apart as Mesopotamia and Britain. Iron Age examples are known from India and from the Iberian peninsula prior to the Roman conquest. Occasionally it appears on Jewish artefacts, such as lamps and seals, but without having any special and recognizable significance. The oldest undisputed example is on a seal from the seventh century B.C.E. found in Sidon and belonging to one Joshua b. Asayahu. In the Second Temple period, the hexagram was often used by Jews and non-Jews alike alongside the pentagram (the five-pointed star), and in the synagogue of Capernaum (second or third century C.E.) it is found side by side with the pentagram on a frieze. There is no reason to assume that it was used for any purposes other than decorative. Theories interpreting it as a planetary sign of Saturn and connecting it with the holy stone in the pre-Davidic sanctuary in Jerusalem (Hildegard Lewy, in Archiv Orientln, vol. 18, 1950, 330–65) are purely speculative.
Between 1300 and 1700 the two terms, shield of David and seal of Solomon, are used indiscriminately, but slowly the former gained ascendancy. It was also used, from 1492, as a printers' sign, especially in books printed in Prague in the first half of the 16th century and in the books printed by the Foa family in Italy and Holland, who incorporated it in their coat of arms. Several Italian Jewish families followed their example between 1660 and 1770. All these usages had as yet no general Jewish connotation.

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The prime motive behind the wide diffusion of the sign in the 19th century was the desire to imitate Christianity. The Jews looked for a striking and simple sign which would "symbolize" Judaism in the same way as the cross symbolizes Christianity. This led to the ascendancy of the magen David [Star of DAvid] in official use, on ritual objects and in many other ways. From central and Western Europe it made its way to Eastern Europe and to oriental Jewry. Almost every synagogue bore it; innumerable communities, and private and charitable organizations stamped it on their seals and letterheads. Whereas during the 18th century its use on ritual objects was still very restricted—a good specimen is a plate for mazzot (1770), reproduced on the title page of Monumenta Judaica, catalog of a Jewish exposition in Cologne, 1963—it now became most popular. "

SonWorshipper said:

Isn't the Bronze age around the time of King David?

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So is he the one that gave the design to the Mesopotamians, to the people of India and the British?

Gershom Shcholem in the Judaica Encyclopedia said:

From as early as the Bronze Age it was used—possibly as an ornament —in many civilizations and in regions as far apart as Mesopotamia and Britain. Iron Age examples are known from India and from the Iberian peninsula prior to the Roman conquest. Occasionally it appears on Jewish artefacts, such as lamps and seals, but without having any special and recognizable significance. The oldest undisputed example is on a seal from the seventh century B.C.E. found in Sidon and belonging to one Joshua b. Asayahu. In the Second Temple period, the hexagram was often used by Jews and non-Jews alike alongside the pentagram (the five-pointed star), and in the synagogue of Capernaum (second or third century C.E.) it is found side by side with the pentagram on a frieze. There is no reason to assume that it was used for any purposes other than decorative.

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I don't think it diminishes Judaism at all if we acknowledge that the hexagram was (and still is) in use by cultures around the world, for non-Jewish purposes, and that the Jews adopted it fairly late in the game. I personally feel that the menorah (as in the Seal of the state of Israel) would be a more appropriate symbol for the Jews - since it references the Jewish Temple which is unique to the Jewish Faith. IMHO, of course!

Yuh-oh! Guys, this shoudln't turn into an Interdenominational debate!

And since you brought it up, if you are worshipping the risen L-rd then what is the need for all the crucifixes? The crosses?

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Without debating since I can plainly state why Orthodox Christians venerate the Cross.

It reminds us of the Sacrifice that brought us our Salvation, and we worship the Prototype (Christ) that is depicted on the Cross. For Orthodox Christians, the Cross and Resurection (especially) are vital to our Salvation.

"We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness" - I Corinthians 1:23

The menorah in the seal is the uniquely Jewish symbol, representing the Temple - the focus of Jewish worship and identity:

The menorah in the seal is the uniquely Jewish symbol, representing the Temple - the focus of Jewish worship and identity:

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There is one of these in each Orthodox Christian Sanctuary, a symbol of our Jewish roots.