Consider the following verses (1 Cor 1:22-23 & Gal 3:1):?

Question

1 Corinthians 1:22-23
"For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we PREACH CHRIST CRUCIFIED, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,"

Galations 3:1
"You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes JESUS CHRIST WAS CLEARLY PORTRAYED AS CRUCIFIED"

So how is one way to preach Christ crucified?
Like the old saying goes, "One picture is worth one thousand words".
Catholics use the 3-D picture called a Crucifix (a cross WITH Jesus on the cross) and not a bare cross.

Doesn't Gal 3:1 sound like the Galatians were looking at a Crucifix?


Catholics use a Crucifix to remind us of HOW Jesus redeemed us. Of His sacrafice for us. Of how the Father gave up His Son.

So the REAL question:

Why do Protestants (non-catholic christians) refuse to "preach christ crucified" by using a Crucifix ???

regarding the answer:
"The cross portrays a RISEN Christ"

For us Catholics, we KNOW that the RISEN Christ is in the Holy Eucharist.

He IS there Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.

Answer 1

Perhaps because many Protestants are hyper-sensitive about avoiding idolatry -- to the point that they consider as idolatry actions which are clearly not idolatry.

Many Protestants think that fashioning any "graven image" is idolatry -- when in fact, idolatry involves the act of WORSHIPPING an image, not merely the act of making one.

Some Protestants see Catholics wearing crosses bearing the image of the crucified Christ, or see them hanging in our churches, and shallow-mindedly conclude that we are committing idolatry. They really believe that we are actually worshipping the crucifix!

This is silly to us Catholics, of course, because we are clearly capable of telling the difference between worshipping an image (which is idolatry and is forbidden) and using an image as a reminder or an aid in worship (which is what we do with things like a crucifix).

Answer 2

Gal 3:1 Who was being talked to? Galatians. Which Galatians? Those who SAW Jesus crucified, not every Galatians was there at the time of the Crucifixion. Why do we not use an IDOL. Ex 20:2-6, seems simple enough to us. And do not come back with that ignorant stuff about 'we don't worship images' YES you do. The Church of Rome, gave up her Christian standards about 1700 years ago when she untied with the pagans, and then began to persecute any and all who opposed her and he NEW beliefs, and she is getting ready to do the same thing now/again! Compare the prophecy's of Danial and Revelation, they are both talking about the Catholic church and the pope! Get a clue dud! You a not Christian you are pagan! Christians are Christ like, look at the history of your church, is that Christ like? NO it is not. I admit that not every Christian is Christ like, that is why on that day Christ will say 'depart from me I know you not'. Because, 'they have a form of Godliness, but deny the power thereof'. Besides, when you 'weir' your cross, you are declaring that you believe in talismans, idols of protection, it is a pagan thing.

Answer 3

A crucifix has symbolism to it like hanging from a tree. If you don't know why hanging from a tree is symbolic, you don't know why a crucifix is symbolic. Why was Christ crucified on a cross and why was the cross wood? What is symbolic about two wooden beams crossing? Ummm Catholicism didn't feel the need to address the interpretation of parables. If you are a Catholic you are not a prophet like Daniel or Joseph or Isaiah. The two do not mix.

Answer 4

The crucifix shows and points to a dead and defeated Jusus.

The empty cross shows a Victorious Jesus that rose from the dead and defeated the enemy.

The Galatians were being reprimanded because they were falling back to doing the works of the law for their redemption.

Read the whole scripture in context and it is easy to understand!

Gal. 3
1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.

2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?

3Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?

4Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing?

5Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

Answer 5

Because it's not a matter of physical objects, like a crucifix. Even though, there's nothing wrong with portraying it that way. But the best way is to live the way Jesus lived, and like He says himself, to take up our cross and follow Him. This means sometime we will have to suffer, but if we suffer, we will reign with Him. So preaching Christ crucified, doesn't necessarily mean we have to show a picture or object of Him hanging on the cross, it means to live the same lifestyle that He lived.

Answer 6

Second commandment:

You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

That is why protestants shy away from the crucifix. Also, it was one of the things that Protestants picked up as one of the reasons for the break with the Catholic Church. The reasoning behind the commandment, from a Protestant point of view, is that people will begin to worship the object instead of God. Protestants for that reason also shied away from relics, which hold a significant place in many Catholic Churches.

Answer 7

As a Protestant, I am not offended by the crucifix. In fact, I think that it is good to have the visual image of Christ's sacrifice. In many ways, I think Protestanism has gone too far in their attempt to move away from the corruption of the Catholic church as it was at the time of the Reformation and thus in doing so, lost some of the important psychological facets which are inate to Christiantiy.
Many Protestant churches say they broke away to get away from things such as the rituals of the Catholic church but they have only replaced them with Protestant rituals.
Catholicsim stresses the sacrifice, while Protestanism stresses the gift of eternal life. I think sometimes Protestants take the sacrifice too lightly because it isn't stressed enough.
This is one area I feel the Catholic church has it right and the Protestants are wrong. However, I do feel the Catholic church's obsession with Mary, the Mother of Jesus is way off the mark. I do agree with most of the Protestant views about her.

Answer 8

I understand your opinion. However, as a Christian non-Catholic (my mother was Catholic) I had always been taught that we don't use the crucifix as a teaching tool, rather an empty cross to remind us that we have a risen Lord and that He is no longer dead.

As for the verses, I think you are taking them slightly out of context, and they were not referring to a literal sight in front of them. The backbone of Christianity is the crucifixion, and we do preach Christ crucified, but also risen.

Answer 9

Because the focus should be on Christ not on the method of his death. The preaching should be on his suffering, and his resurrection, not on a cross. The catholics also bow before statues of Jesus, when the bible clearly states do not make any Graven images of anything in earth, in heaven or in the sea.

Answer 10

You need to stop and think about all the readers who will be reading this before you post questions like this.

The cross portrays a RISEN Christ