Why the Fish sign?

Question

You know those stickers on the back of the car. What does the Fish sign represent?

Answer 1

It is an ancient symbol of Christianity.
The Greek word for fish is ixthus.
It stood for:
I = iota, first letter of Iesus (Jesus)
X = chi, first letter of Christos (Christ)
TH = theta, first letter of Theou (of God, or divine)
U = upsilon, first letter of Huios (Son)
S = sigma, first letter of Soter (Savior)

So it became a cryptic confession of faith between fellow Christians during times of persecution.

Answer 2

Besides the apparent Christian attribute, Jesus as "a fisher of men" as the previous answerer responded, Astrologers point to the symbolism as pertaining also to the Age of Pisces (the sign of the fishes) which encompassed the two thousand years from shortly preceding Christ's birth until just prior to the recent millennium when the Age of Aquarius, which is meant to be a time of innovative enlightenment, commenced. If the preceding is true, would the fact of the Astrological Ages precessing from the sign of Pisces to the sign of Aquarius, then, foretell an alteration in religiosity from Christianity to a more liberal worldwide Spirituality??

Answer 3

It's an acronym. The words meaning Jesus Christ God's Son Savior in Greek begin with Iota, Chi, Theta, Upsilon, Sigma. Those five letters spell out 'ichthys' or 'fish' in Greek.

Unless the bumper sticker fish had legs, in which case it's a Darwin fish, or Noodly Appendages, in which case it's a Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Answer 4

Because it is an Icthus, in the Greek of the time it meant fish. The Christians also used it as an acronym for Jesus Christ God's own Son. (I could be a bit off on the exact translation of the acronym but it is close I think). I have been told that the early Christians would use the 'fish' symbol to point to secret Church meetings since they had to keep their meetings secret for a time after the death of Christ.
(The Greek letters for fish looked something like.."IXOYE"...only with Greek letters.)

Answer 5

In Jesus' later life, he called his disciples to be "fishers of men" - that is, they had been normal fishermen until they followed Jesus. Jesus meant them to spread the gospel and win men's souls to God - sort of like catching fish on the line. Also, in the later age when Christians were being persecuted by the Romans, they would identify a friend by drawing the half of the fish symbol, which was just a curved line. If that "friend" drew the other half of the fish symbol, completing the fish, than the Christian knew he was to be trusted. More than anything, it was a password in the later A.D. after Jesus's ressurection and ascension.

Answer 6

The symbol of the fish was an early church symbol used when the Christians were being persecuted and had to go underground to save their own lives. In Greek the word for fish was ICTHUS and it was used as an accrostic for Jesus Christ God's Son Our Savior. When the Christians were to meet they would scratch this symbol on the roadside or somewhere for others to see. A generation or so ago Christians revived it just as a symbol of Christianity.

Answer 7

The fish sign originated from the word of Jesus in Matthew 4:19: "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." implying that all true Christians are fishermen. The symbols within the fish: AEXIOU are Greek for "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior." Hope this answers your question, without going into too much detail.

Answer 8

Jesus told the disciples they would be fishers of men. When the Christan church was persecuted by the Romans they used the fish sign to signal other Christians where meeting would be held and safe places. Over time it became an indicator of those who believe in Jesus.

Answer 9

Societies of Christians in the early Roman Empire, prior to the Edict of Milan, protected their congregations by keeping their meetings secret. In order to point the way to ever-changing meeting places, they developed a symbol which adherents would readily recognize, and which they could scratch on rocks, walls and the like, in advance of a meeting. At the time, a similar symbol was used by Greeks to mark the location of a funeral, so using the ichthys also gave an apparent legitimate reason for Christians to gather. Another story suggests that the ichthys was used as a sort of secret handshake: one person would draw with a staff a single curve, (half of the ichthys) in the sand, and another person could confirm their identity as a Christian by completing the symbol. Alternatively, one would draw the symbol, and another person would confirm their faith by drawing an eye on it.

Ichthus ΙΧΘΥΣ, is Greek for fish.

HTH

Charles

Answer 10

Christianity