What is the true story behind the fish symbol in Christianity?

Question

Could someone please confirm the story behind the fish symbol in Christianity? I've heard one explanation but would like some back up on this. Thank you, everybody!

Answer 1

F.I.S.H. is an acronym meaning Forever I'll Serve Him. I'm not sure who thought of it but it is a great way to show your love and faith for God.

God Bless!

Answer 2

The fish symbol has been used for millennia worldwide as a religious symbol associated with the Pagan Great Mother Goddess. It is the outline of her vulva. The fish symbol was often drawn by overlapping two very thin crescent moons. One represented the crescent shortly before the new moon; the other shortly after, when the moon is just visible. The Moon is the heavenly body that has long been associated with the Goddess, just as the sun is a symbol of the God.

The fish symbol "was so revered throughout the Roman empire that Christian authorities insisted on taking it over, with extensive revision of myths to deny its earlier female-genital meanings...Sometimes the Christ child was portrayed inside the vesica, which was superimposed on Mary's belly and obviously represented her womb, just as in the ancient symbolism of the Goddess."

Answer 3

The Greek word for fish is "ixthus" or "icthus." The Christian fish symbol is known as the “ixthus.” Five Greek letters form the word “ixthus,” and those letters inside the fish form an acrostic which is a message that Christians clearly identified with. The first letter represented the word Jesus. The second letter represented the word Christ, the next two, God Son, and the final letter represented the word Saviour. This adds up to “Jesus Christ is God’s Son, the Saviour.” During early Christianity, Christians were often put to death for practising their faith, so they worshipped in secret places. A fish painted on the outside door of a house let other Christians know that they would be safe and welcome inside. The Christian fish symbol is now often used to identify Christians and/or Christian businesses.

Answer 4

I don't know if what i heard about this is true or not because i have not seen it in the Bible but i was told it was a secret symbol back in the day for one christian to recognize another for after Christ was crucified they killed Christian the followers of Christ Saul who became Paul the one who in Romans was a Christian Killer and i think they used the fish because Jesus said i will make you fishers of men and then there was the miracles of the fish

Answer 5

The fish symbol was used back during the early days of the church when Christians were heavily persecuted. Believers would secretly meet and they used the fish as a symbol to point others believers to those meeting places.

Answer 6

Supposedly, it was a symbol of recognition. Two people facing each other on a dirt road could use their foot to trace out images in the dirt.

One person would trace a simple curve. The other would make a similiar curve crossing the other. This would create the traditional fish symbol, and be innocent looking, while allowing Christians to recognize each other.

Should one create the one curve but the other did not complete it, one would be very cautious of saying too much.

Answer 7

The History of the Christian Fish Symbol
The fish outline is a logical symbol for the early Christian church to adopt. Fish play a major roll in the gospels. For example:

Mark 1:17: "Come after Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."
Matthew 12:40: "...Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
Matthew 14:17: "And they said to Him, 'We have here only five loaves and two fish.'"
Luke 5:6: "And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking."
Luke 24:42: "So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb."
John 21:6: "And He said to them, 'Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.' So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish."
1 Corinthians 15:39: "All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fish, and another of birds."

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Some Christians believe that a second link between their religion and the fish symbol is seen in the Greek word for fish (ichthus, spelled: Iota Chi Theta Upsilon Sigma). That is an acrostic for "Jesus Christ, of God, the Son, the Savior" [Iesous (Jesus) CHristos (Christ) THeou (of God) Uiou (the Son) Soter (the Savior)]. An acrostic is an "arrangement of words in which the first letter of each line ordinarily combines with others to form a word or words or the alphabet." (1)

The Apostles were often referred to as "fishers of men". Followers of Christianity were called Pisciculi; the root of this Latin word is "fish". The symbols of "sacremental fish, with wine and a basket of bread represents the Eucharist and the Last Supper in Christian art." (2). The symbol was simple to draw and was often used among Christians as a type of password during times of persecution by the Roman government. If two strangers met and were unsure whether each other was a Christian, one would draw an arc in the earth like:). If the other were a Christian, they would complete the symbol with a reverse arc: (), forming the outline of a fish.

In modern times, the fish outline symbol is experiencing a comeback. It is commonly seen in the form of a bumper sticker or casting mounted on the trunk lids of cars. The body of the symbol may be empty, or may contain a name ("Jesus" or "ICTUS"). This has inspired some Secularists, Atheists and promoters of the theory of evolution to mimic the Christian fish symbol with one of their own. It usually has "DARWIN" in the body of the fish, and little legs underneath. This has prompted "fish wars" between supporters of the secular and religious symbols. Reference (3) contains a humorous expose of the battle between the Darwin and Christian fish. It displays some new species such as the "Evolve Fish" (a fish with "EVOLVE" on its body and a wrench in one of its forepaws) and the "Shark Jesus Fish" (a shark that eats all types of Jesus Fish).

Answer 8

the fish was something people used to tell if the other was a Christian. This was done in Ancient Rome because if the Romans found you to be a Christian you would be sent into the arena. So Christians would draw a fish on the ground and other christians would recognize it

Answer 9

I was told this was how Christians identified one another by writing the symbol of the fish.

Answer 10

The first disciples, Peter, Andrew, James and John, were all fishermen being partners and having multiple boats. Jesus called them to shore and told them that from henceforth, he would make them fishers of men. Thus, the fish symbol represents the calling of these professional fishermen to become fishers of men. That calling is extended to all of us to search out the honest in heart to receive the message of the Gospel.

Answer 11

First of alll to the previous message Christianity IS NOT A CULT!!
Secondly it is used by the Christians to keep from captured by the roman centurians it was drawn in secret by the staffs of the people to identify other Christians