why are people so into the cross in religion?

Question

to me its like if you love your grandpa or someone and they are hung to death after being beaten, almost to death...and spit on and stabbed and stuff....would you be walking around with a noose on your neck and bible and everywhere the cross is? the bible even says not to use the cross..dont know if this is why but, it does say not to use it...i just figure like my grandpa or someone, i would find a better way to 'remember' him by than the weapon that killed him..like following , let along reading his teachings(not just the accknowledged most mis interpreted kj version)

Answer 1

I'm not. I also agree with you on this one.

The Bible DOES say not to use the cross as spiritual things. Some people even believes it keeps away harm!

Answer 2

You are correct, why hold dear to you that thing that killed the person you love? And be reminded how he suffered.

Also, the cross that most people use now is not what was used to execute Jesus. The Greek word generally translated “cross” is stau·ros′. It basically means “an upright pale or stake.” The Companion Bible points out: “[Stau·ros′] never means two pieces of timber placed across one another at any angle . . . There is nothing in the Greek of the [New Testament] even to imply two pieces of timber.”

In several texts, Bible writers use another word for the instrument of Jesus’ death. It is the Greek word xy′lon. (Acts 5:30; 10:39; 13:29; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24) This word simply means “timber” or “a stick, club, or tree.”

The shape of the 'cross' we see now had its origin in ancient Chaldea, and was used as the symbol of the god Tammuz (being in the shape of the mystic Tau, the initial of his name) in that country and in adjacent lands, including Egypt.”

Answer 3

According to Webster’s dictionary a cross is “a structure, typically an upright supporting a horizontal beam, anciently used in the execution of malefactors.” In the Bible the Greek word usually rendered cross is stauros. Its Latin equivalent is crux. Was the stauros or crux on which Christ died a traditionally shaped cross?

Yes, say spokesmen of Christendom, such as the Signs of the Times, October 23, 1956. It dogmatically states that the stauros on which Christ died was such a cross. In support of this assertion several authorities are cited, secular and religious. But what are the facts?

The facts are that authorities are not agreed that there is “no doubt” about the nature of the stauros on which Christ died and are not agreed that it was the traditionally shaped cross. The Encyclopædia Britannica, 1907 and 1942 editions, under the term “cross” states that Christ is “generally believed” to have died on such a cross, that at best it is only “by general tradition” that the matter is established.

As for religious authorities, one states: “The accounts of the manner of the crucifixion being so meager, any degree of certainty is impossible.”1 And another tells that “no definite data are found in the New Testament concerning the nature of the cross on which Jesus died. It is only the Church writers after Justin Martyr who indicate the composite four-armed cross as Christ’s vehicle of torture.”2

And concerning the terms stauros and crux we are told that ‘stauros properly means merely a stake.’ “In Livy [Roman historian shortly before Christ’s ministry] even, crux means a mere stake.” “The Hebrews have no word for Cross more definite than ‘wood.’”3

Clearly there is no Scriptural support for the traditional cross as a symbol of Christianity. Then how can its adoption by professed Christians be accounted for? It was borrowed from the surrounding pagans. It is another one of the many paganisms that the early apostate Christians adopted so as to appeal to the pagans and to be more like them. In this they followed the example of the Israelites who wanted a king so as to be like the nations round about. Thus Dr. Killen, in his Ancient Church, writes:

“From the most remote antiquity the cross was venerated in Egypt and Syria; it was held in equal honor by the Buddhists of the East; and what is still more extraordinary, when the Spaniards first visited America, the well-known sign was found among the objects of worship in the idol temples of Anáhuac. It is also remarkable that, with the commencement of our era, the pagans were wont to make the sign of the cross upon the forehead in the celebration of some of their sacred mysteries.”

Answer 4

Your illustration does not exactly work, because I am assuming that your Grandpa didn't die for you. It helps us remember that Jesus paid the ultimate price for us to live. If I didn't think about it at all, I'd lapse back into my old ways. The Bible is very good to keep me on the path, but if I were to forget the cross, I would not read the Bible at all because it would no longer mean anything to me. It does not insult God to remember how He died. It would, however displease Him if we were to forget.
And where in the Bible does it say that? I've read the entire Bible, and do not remember reading anything like that. And I kind of wonder about your version of the Bible. I admit that I use the KJV but I've also read the NIV and a few others.

Answer 5

Wow great question!
"Then Jesus said to the disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me." Mt 16:24 (This is symbolism, Jesus doesn't necessarily mean that we will literally shoulder a cross - nobody cruxifies any longer do they:)) Although, many were, HIS statement means that if we say we want to follow HIM, then we must bare the same scrutiny and pain that HE had to endure.
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I sometimes wonder if this passage makes people who claim to be Christian want to wear a cross?! A very interesting take on the origins of the "Cross" can be found at the website below and I advise anyone who thinks that wearing a cross is a good thing let alone a "Christian" thing to go to this site and "examine" this thought of thinking! (Here is an section of the site's explaination of the origins of the cross) A tradition of the Church which our fathers have inherited, was the adoption of the words "cross" and "crucify." These words are nowhere to be found in the Greek of the New Testament. These words are mistranslations, a "later rendering," of the Greek words stauros and stauroo. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says, "STAUROS denotes, primarily, an upright pole or stake...Both the noun and the verb stauroo, to fasten to a stake or pole, are originally to be distinguished from the ecclesiastical form of a two-beamed cross. The shape of the latter had its origin in ancient Chaldea (Babylon), and was used as the symbol of the god Tammuz (being in the shape of the mystic Tau, the initial of his name)...By the middle of the 3rd century A.D. the churches had either departed from, certain doctrines of the Christian faith. In order to increase the pretige of the apostate ecclesiastical system pagans were received into the churches apart from regeneration by faith, and were permitted largely to retain their pagan signs and symbols. Hence the Tau or T, in its most frequent form, with the cross piece lowered, was adopted..." [1]
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And I agree with your wonderful anology about the grandfather. An interesting point to note is that no one in the first church which was governed by the disciples of Jesus Christ who were hand-picked by HIM ever wore anything like a cross or cruxfix . . . and if anyone thinks they did prove it from scripture, please. I also agree with your saying that to find a better way to "remember" him if anyone cares to look it up there are many ways that the Lord asked us to remember HIM and how to worship HIM and how to follow HIM!
God Bless You

Answer 6

The cross has always been a popular religious symbol, even before the advent of Christianity. Usually, it is thought to symbolize the 4 cardinal directions, and therefore having some relationship to the entire space of the earth.

Answer 7

A intresting point I would like to point out to a lot people that answer this question I have been reading the bible just to get facts correct there is no place in the bible that says Jesus was placed on a cross it was wooden stake like a flat piece of board if I am incorrect please show me.

Answer 8

Well, in my religion we don't use the cross. One of the more common symbols is Thor's Hammer (which symbolizes Thor's Might and Protection) or the Valknot (which symbolizes the Nine Worlds, etc).

I fully understand your point about the cross. I bet if Jesus had died 2000 years later, Christians would be wearing little electric chairs about their necks.

Answer 9

The cross as a holy symbol predates Jesus and symbolizes the meeting of heaven and earth. It is a symbol for divine intervention in human affairs.

It may only have been a coincidence that crucifixion upon a cross was the means by which Jesus was executed, but the symbology implied is that Jesus, through the spirit of Christ (God) intervenes on our behalf for our salavation.

We don't need the church or all its rules to save us though. We are able to save ourselves and each of us may choose to do so. None of us will wind up condemned to eternal torment in hell.

Howver, the church teaches that we must have an intercessor to save us from eternal damnation, and that Jesus by embodying the Christ spirit is our only hope of salvation. So many people choose to venerate Jesus and the spirit of Christ through the icon of the cross because it symbolic of the salvation of their souls, something they are deeply hopeful or grateful for.

Answer 10

The cross is a reminder to us what God did for us, just so that we could have an open door of communion with Him.

I adore looking at the cross. I see my sins nailed to it, and I know that my Jesus died for me, but HE AROSE AGAIN!

The Bible said to "pick up your cross and follow me." We are to remember the cross, and remember what Jesus did for us that day.

Now, I don't kneel at the cross, or worship it. But, it is a reminder to me of God's love for me.

Dont' kneel at the cross. Get on your knees in your bedroom and go straight to the Man.