Is wearing jewellery with the cross or the crucifix a form on idolatry?

[Alison Peebles]

I havn't read the whole Bible throughly yet but I know that it states throughout The Bible including verse Leviticus 26:1 which says "You shall make you no idols nor graven image neither rear you up a standing image neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God". Leviticus 26:1

I believe that making graven images of things in Heaven & on Earth is also one of the 10 commandments. I think it was the second commandment.

Is wearing jewellery with the cross or crucifix, may it be a necklace, earrings or bracelet etc a form of idolatry? Is doing this going against scripture? I wear a necklace with the cross on it but I am beginning to believe that wearing a cross or owning a statue etc of the cross, crucifix or even of Jesus alone is committing idolatry. I used to believe that wearing a cross or crucifix around my neck or another form of jewellery was a representation of Jesus dying for our sins but now I am starting to believe that it is the wrong thing to do and I am thinking about removing the cross from my necklace.

If you believe what I am saying is correct, please explain why and if you believe otherwise , why do you believe that wearing the cross or crucifix is not committing idolatry?

 

[ewq1938]

I don't believe a cross would be but I don't like the ones that have a tiny dying Jesus on them

 

[TuxAme]

No. You have to be worshipping the object (or "serving" it) in order for it to be idolatry. If you're wearing it as a statement of faith (or just for fashion), that doesn't apply.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

If you believe what I am saying is correct, please explain why

I've always known , all my life, that it is idolatry, and the Scripture you know and believe in verifies that it is.
Why? The basic reasons why are simply what God's Word says, as again, you already know. Other reasons are because most of the nations of the world use items associated with the idolatry for profit, greed, and practices that have nothing to do with God nor with Scripture. There are more reasons from the Bible as well, but that's for another time.

 

[TuxAme]

I've always known , all my life, that it is idolatry, and the Scripture you know and believe in verifies that it is.
Why? The basic reasons why are simply what God's Word says, as again, you already know.

It's not idolatry. What precisely makes you believe so?

 

[Inkfingers]

Perhaps 1 Peter 3:3-4 covers this matter...

 

[TuxAme]

Perhaps 1 Peter 3:3-4 covers this matter...

Not really. You could say wearing a cross is vanity before idolatry (but if it's worn with the right intentions, not even that).

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

Of course, you're going to get different responses from different people, based on their denominational backgrounds, and you know what the Catholics will say, but I'd like to give you my two cents worth. A crucifix of any sort can be regarded in any of a few different ways, depending on what it means to you.

Art: It can be a work of art, like any other, though art is usually supposed to be a thing of beauty, and a man being executed is not beautiful, on its own. Any beauty seen is in the symbolism. A cross without Christ on it is also not art, but a symbol.

Symbol: Words are symbols. The saying that a picture is worth a thousand words holds true. The cross around your neck could be there to remind you of Christ, to remind you of your Christian identity, or to tell others where you stand. In all of those cases it's a symbol, the same as if you wore a sign around your neck stating as much.

Talisman: When you begin to think of it as something beyond just a symbol, when you need it to make your prayers feel effective, when you bow to it, use it to ward off sickness or bad dreams, or ascribe any kind of superstitious or supernatural significance, it becomes a talisman. A talisman is a magical object, whether slightly or significantly. An idol is a form of talisman, and one might have a great deal of trouble distinguishing between an idol and a talisman that isn't an idol, assuming there is such a thing.

 

[Danielwright2311]

I havn't read the whole Bible throughly yet but I know that it states throughout The Bible including verse Leviticus 26:1 which says "You shall make you no idols nor graven image neither rear you up a standing image neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God". Leviticus 26:1

I believe that making graven images of things in Heaven & on Earth is also one of the 10 commandments. I think it was the second commandment.

Is wearing jewellery with the cross or crucifix, may it be a necklace, earrings or bracelet etc a form of idolatry? Is doing this going against scripture? I wear a necklace with the cross on it but I am beginning to believe that wearing a cross or owning a statue etc of the cross, crucifix or even of Jesus alone is committing idolatry. I used to believe that wearing a cross or crucifix around my neck or another form of jewellery was a representation of Jesus dying for our sins but now I am starting to believe that it is the wrong thing to do and I am thinking about removing the cross from my necklace.

If you believe what I am saying is correct, please explain why and if you believe otherwise , why do you believe that wearing the cross or crucifix is not committing idolatry?

In the very commandment we are not even to make them, or carve them at all, so even making one or carving one is breaking the very commandment.

But to where a cross?

Did you make it or buy it?
Are you bowing down to it?
Are you worshiping it?

The problem is our God is a jealous God and if he sees you adoring it over him then yes, it is breaking the commandment.

But if you are just going to put it around your neck for faith in Jesus I myself see nothing wrong with it.

I dont see how God will get jealous over you having faith for his son and showing it with a cross.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

More simply, what does Yahweh always say ? Like the OP, read Scripture, and believe what Scripture says directly, simply.

 

[Radagast]

Is wearing jewellery with the cross or crucifix, may it be a necklace, earrings or bracelet etc a form of idolatry? Is doing this going against scripture? I wear a necklace with the cross on it but I am beginning to believe that wearing a cross or owning a statue etc of the cross, crucifix or even of Jesus alone is committing idolatry.

No. Protestants won't, in general, wear a crucifix, and some Protestants are against pictures of Jesus.

But everybody agrees that there is nothing wrong with a plain cross. It's not being worshipped; it's not a picture of God; it's just a reminder of what Jesus did. That's why almost every Christian church in the world has a cross on it.

 

[Job3315]

I havn't read the whole Bible throughly yet but I know that it states throughout The Bible including verse Leviticus 26:1 which says "You shall make you no idols nor graven image neither rear you up a standing image neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God". Leviticus 26:1

I believe that making graven images of things in Heaven & on Earth is also one of the 10 commandments. I think it was the second commandment.

Is wearing jewellery with the cross or crucifix, may it be a necklace, earrings or bracelet etc a form of idolatry? Is doing this going against scripture? I wear a necklace with the cross on it but I am beginning to believe that wearing a cross or owning a statue etc of the cross, crucifix or even of Jesus alone is committing idolatry. I used to believe that wearing a cross or crucifix around my neck or another form of jewellery was a representation of Jesus dying for our sins but now I am starting to believe that it is the wrong thing to do and I am thinking about removing the cross from my necklace.

If you believe what I am saying is correct, please explain why and if you believe otherwise , why do you believe that wearing the cross or crucifix is not committing idolatry?

I believe you could be getting a revelation.

When I was little I was forbidden to wear a cross. My mom had the revelation that if we wore crosses we would depend on them instead of in Jesus when we prayed/needed help. Us humans tend to get attach to physical things things and make them idols; images, other humans, even things we see in the spirit or things we haven't even seen like UFOs. When I grew up I bought a cross and a few days later I just felt weird and stop wearing it.

There’s a verse in Jeremiah that I love. It says:
“Has a nation changed its gods, Which are not gods? But My people have changed their Glory For what does not profit.” Jeremiah‬ ‭2:11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

My favorite version in Spanish says that we left Him, He who is our Glory. When I read that, it opened my eyes and I received the revelation that He is my Glory, my most precious treasure. I do buy things that remind me of the season I am in at the moment, but I barely wear any jewelry because I found myself holding on to charms when I was praying, like holding on to something and not to Him. I do like pearl but its because they have a special meaning.

 

[mama2one]

Symbol: The cross around your neck could be there to remind you of Christ

this yr at school, some of the kids were scaring our child with stories about scary movies and saying things like you're going to die on Fri 13th
she was truly scared so I immediately went and got a necklace with a cross on it and told her to touch it to remind her that God is with her and would keep her safe

after about a wk, noticed she wasn't wearing it anymore and asked about it
she said she didn't need to wear it anymore cause she knew God was with her

 

[Albion]

If you believe what I am saying is correct, please explain why and if you believe otherwise , why do you believe that wearing the cross or crucifix is not committing idolatry?

That verse from Leviticus also includes this important qualifying statement about images and idols: "to bow down unto it."

I don't suppose that you bow down to or worship the cross or crucifix you wear, so no, it is not idolatry.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

But everybody agrees that there is nothing wrong with a plain cross.

No. Not everybody. Not nearly.

Look up history where Yahweh punished men for making another snake on a stick,
the same kind, maybe the original one,
that when the sick looked at it they were healed.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

after about a wk, noticed she wasn't wearing it anymore and asked about it
she said she didn't need to wear it anymore cause she knew God was with her

"... a little child will lead them....." ....

 

[Hank77]

Of course, you're going to get different responses from different people, based on their denominational backgrounds, and you know what the Catholics will say, but I'd like to give you my two cents worth. A crucifix of any sort can be regarded in any of a few different ways, depending on what it means to you.

Art: It can be a work of art, like any other, though art is usually supposed to be a thing of beauty, and a man being executed is not beautiful, on its own. Any beauty seen is in the symbolism. A cross without Christ on it is also not art, but a symbol.

Symbol: Words are symbols. The saying that a picture is worth a thousand words holds true. The cross around your neck could be there to remind you of Christ, to remind you of your Christian identity, or to tell others where you stand. In all of those cases it's a symbol, the same as if you wore a sign around your neck stating as much.

Talisman: When you begin to think of it as something beyond just a symbol, when you need it to make your prayers feel effective, when you bow to it, use it to ward off sickness or bad dreams, or ascribe any kind of superstitious or supernatural significance, it becomes a talisman. A talisman is a magical object, whether slightly or significantly. An idol is a form of talisman, and one might have a great deal of trouble distinguishing between an idol and a talisman that isn't an idol, assuming there is such a thing.

Winner x3

 

[R. Hartono]

It isnt idolatry unless you wear it for protection purpose.

 

[Radagast]

Look up history where Yahweh punished men for making another snake on a stick,
the same kind, maybe the original one,
that when the sick looked at it they were healed.

You've got that story all wrong:

And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. (Numbers 21:5-9)

God told Moses to make the bronze snake. God used it as a way to heal the people. The New Testament tells us that this was a symbol of Jesus (John 3:14).

No. Not everybody. Not nearly.

Every Christian church I've ever seen has a cross on it or inside it.

 

[FireDragon76]

No, it's not idolatry, it's a religious symbol. Whether or not the cross has a corpus makes no difference, it is an artistic representation of an object of faith.