Why don't Christians cross themselves at church or in prayer in the way Catholics do?

Question

By "Christians" I mean Protestants, as opposed to "Catholics". Obviously both follow Christ in their faith.

Answer 1

Because making the sign of the cross over your chest serves no purpose..... i do not worship a cross.... the cross was the instrument used to cause pain and torment to my Savior. Yes the cross is held in Christianity as a symbol of the sacrafice of Christ... however I am told nowhere in Gods word to do this practice. My reverence is to God.... not a cross.

Answer 2

I do everyday! It's not a Catholic thing only, it's a Christian thing! (I'm a Charismatic who does. Go figure!) Unfortunately many Christians don't understand the importance of the sacraments (the stuff of earth that God comes to us through) and have pooh-poohed them. They are robbing themselves of many good treasures! Many Protestants get "Protestant Paralysis" when they see non-Catholics sign themselves with the cross. Yet they'll have crosses on their church steeples, Hymnal covers, sanctuary walls, Bible covers, business cards, in their homes, and other places. They'll wear them as jewelery. They'll sing about the "Wondrous Cross" and talk about taking up their cross but if another non-Anglican Protestant signs themselves with the cross, they freak. I think some in their ignorance have thrown out the baby with the bath water. Some former Catholics have converted to Protestants as well and because of hurt in their past and a lack of quality teaching on the sign of the cross have disregarded it as just a religious act that God's not into. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America website points out- "In the Small Catechism, in the section on morning and evening prayers Luther says: "When you get out of bed, bless yourself with the holy cross and say ‘In the name of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen." This same instruction is given for bedtime."

Answer 3

This is probably because the majority of Christian denominations that exist today are a result of the protestant split from the Catholic Church. Luther, Calvin and Zwingli split over theological issues but what you will also find is that the Catholic church is very big on ritual and order and when there is a "revolution" many of the rituals will be shed also.

This is probably why the ritual of "crossing" yourself has faded from use in many of the protestant deniminations.

Answer 4

Catholics are very ritualistic. It is just symbolic of their faith when they do these gestures and rituals. Nothing wrong with not doing it for the people affilated with other denominations. I am not a believer but I think all of the denominations of the Christian religion should be accepting of each other and embrace their similarities. Like for example, believing in Jesus. I do not believe in Jesus, but it still just blows my mind how much prejudice there is amoung people of the same religion. Some of the answers to this question is a good example of what I am talking about.

Answer 5

hi catwoman. remember catholics are christians too. so are protestants of different sects, greek orthodox, etc. all are followers of Christ & His teachings. Catholics crossing themselves in church or in prayer, is a custom brought down from centuries of tradition the origin of which has been lost.
other christians who do not practise this do not violate anything.
perhaps paying homage to God thru Christ in one's own silent way is even more profound & a sure sign of humility. Godbless...

Answer 6

The bible mentions nothing about people needing to cross themselves. Nor does it say anything about popes, cardinals, nuns, celibacy, wearing red, baptizing babies, praying to Mary, naming people as Saints, or having crosses everywhere, with or without images of Christ hanging on them. Nor does it say that Mary should be prayed to - in fact Christ would probably raise his eyebrows at that one. As for making the sign of the cross, what would they do if Christ had been stabbed to death? Make the sign of a knife across their bodies and have knives hanging in their churches? Sorry, but many religions do all kinds of things that just don't jive with the Bible...

Answer 7

Wow, not any real answers to your question yet.

It is done to show reverence to God by catholics.
we all believe God is inside of us, so we do not need a sign of the cross or genuflect, in a building called the church - because God is not there.

during prayer - the prayer should be from the heart, not something ritualistic to get God's attention (he already knows what we are doing) or something that we could do thoughtless.
God wants our Mercy, not our sacrifice, whether it is a cow sacrifice, or a small hand signal

That is what Protestant side of Christianity thinks

Answer 8

I hate to be the one to tell you this, but Roman Catholics are Christians. Most of the Protestant religions do not have their believers cross themselves.

Answer 9

Jesus did not die on a "cross". The original Hebrew word for the instrument that Jesus died on is " STAUROS", meaning ' upright stake ' or 'pole'. There is no suggestion of a cross bar.
For the instrument to have been a pole with a crossbar, as depicted for a long time by mainline religions, the word in the Bible should have been "crux"...for cross...but it was not. It remains 'stauros'. Catholics depict the cross by their actions. A belief not based in fact.

Answer 10

Because crossing yourself is a form of exorcising and true Christians need not perform such acts of no faith.

Catholicism is a man made religion that practices their own dogmas and theologies that are not from God. Religion and Christianity have little at all in common.><>