Why do Jehovah's Witnesses have a problem with the cross?

Question

I don't understand why they deny that Jesus was crucified. It was the widely used method of execution in the Roman Empire. Do they believe that anyone died on a cross? Or were crucifixions simply nailing someone to a straight pole?

Answer 1

Most all cult groups have some belief/practice that runs counter to historic Orthodox Christianity. These are often used as "conversation starting points" while trying to spread their beliefs.

As you can read from the JW Responders above, they tend to be very legalistic in their beliefs (legalism, in varying degrees, afflicts many Christian Churches as well). The Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 2;16-17:

"Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ."

All of the man-made rules, requirements, and do-this/don't-do-that stuff is garbage and does nothing to promote a closer relationship with God. Christians were told by the Apostle Paul that it was okay to purchase meat that had been sacrificed to idols in the markets (1 Corinthians 8), but the JW's say wearing a cross is to close to paganism?! I don't know of one person who has ever "worshiped the symbol of a cross". Yes, the cross (as an instrument of death) is a strange thing to represent the life we have in Christ...but so is a fish! Those are not objects of worship, they are merely representations of our faith.

Edit: By the way, the traditional shaped cross has more historical backing than a "pole". Graffiti from a Roman wall (dating to around 200 A.D.) shows the T-shaped cross. Likewise, the acheological discover of a man named "Yehohanan" also confirms a similar method of crucifxtion (from 1st century A.D.). In short, the JW argument for the shape of the cross has no merit.

Answer 2

The Greek word generally translated “cross” is "stauros". It basically means “an upright pale or stake.” The Companion Bible points out: “Stauros" 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 "xylon". (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 cross also has pagan origins.
“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.”

So, a true Christian won't venerate the cross.

Answer 3

I'm not a JW, but I used to be friends with one, and she explained to me that historically, only "important" people - and that means important *from the Romans' perspective*, e.g. people who'd committed high treason against the Roman government - were nailed to an actual cross. "Common criminals" - which, from the Roman perspective, Jesus was (they more or less executed him only because the Jewish High Priests demanded it and they were afraid of civil unrests if they didn't - in their eyes he hadn't done much of anything serious) - were nailed to a stake (guess because it's easier and cheaper).

However, she also said that that distinction in itself is a technicality - it's important why and how Jesus died, the exact shape of the wood doesn't matter much. But the reason JWs are opposed to the cross is that it's often considered "holy" in itself - and since it's just a symbol, but not God, it should not be regarded as such.

Not sure if I got all the details right, but this is pretty much what she said.

(Oh, and to the person who said JWs aren't even Christians - correct me if I'm wrong, but I always thought the defining attribute of Christianity was t believe that Jesus died for people's sins and through his sacrifice, people can be saved? Because JWs DO survive that, so wouldn't that make them Christians?)

Answer 4

Jehovah's Witnesses have a problem with Jesus Christ being God with us. St. Paul said, I preach Jesus Christ and him crucified; and further that the preaching of the cross was foolishness to them that perish.

They have, with regard to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, rewritten the Bible to suit their beliefs. The people responsible for all this 'scholarship' remain unidentified without a name or address or history. Thus the level of their expertise cannot be verified by anybody.

All these changes around the person of the Lord Jesus Christ go to their claim that Jesus was a son which God created for himself; much like Gepetto created Pinocchio.

The Jesus Christ of the New Testament is Jehovah God of the Old Testament. God came to earth in the manifestation of Jesus to set up a reconciliation for everyone on earth who will accept it. The separation of darkness and light begins at the cross; where the true revelation of who Jesus Christ is remains the same, yesterday, today and forever.

It does not matter how many questions you can answer about the Bible. The big question is: Do you know the author? If you know the author, He will provide the answers as you need them and truth where others refuse correction.

All other religions aim to get people away from the cross and away from the shed blood. If they cannot do that, they make every attempt to divert attention to other teachings; and deny those things necessary to a living relationship with Jesus the Christ.

I trust you know that I am not preaching at you; but pointing out some major problems with the little changes that people make.

King James_1611 is a Yahoo Group you might enjoy as there is a matching of many translations by verse, side by side. On the site http://www.scionofzion.com you can find the group and interesting background on Gnostic teaching like that of the JW.

Answer 5

I am not a Witness, but am well informed of some of their beliefs. And I think this is a good one. They do believe that Christ was crucified, but place no real significance on the manner of his death. That is like removing our focus from his willing sacrifice for us. Though Christ was sent forth to be crucified it didn't pleasure God any. If your son was shot to death in saving someone from being mugged would you wear a tiny gun around your neck? This is why Moses' body was disposed of by God, so that people wouldn't worship it (and in so doing committing a grave sin against God), this is why Jesus burial tomb and all that he touched or wore will never be found, so that these items are not worshipped. Anything that takes the glory away from Christ himself and placed on an inanimate object is idol worship. Moses was instructed to remove the shoes from his feet when conversing with God on the Mount because he was standing on Holy Ground. Sin against God is not so much a personal affront as a breaking of Holy laws that He cannot abide because of His infinite justice.

Answer 6

We do believe Jesus was crucified, it is this ransom sacrifice of his that we need to put faith into for us to be acceptable to God.

Long before the Christian era, crosses were used by the ancient Babylonians as symbols in their worship of the fertility god Tammuz ( t, phallic symbol, think about the male female symbol in medicine). The use of the cross spread into Egypt, India, Syria, and China. Then, centuries later, the Israelites adulterated their worship of Jehovah with acts of veneration to the false god Tammuz. The Bible refers to this form of worship as a ‘detestable thing.’—Ezekiel 8:13, 14.

The Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John use the Greek word stau·ros′ when referring to the instrument of execution on which Jesus died. (Matthew 27:40; Mark 15:30; Luke 23:26) The word stau·ros′ refers to an upright pole, stake, or post. The book The Non-Christian Cross, by J. D. Parsons, explains: “There is not a single sentence in any of the numerous writings forming the New Testament, which, in the original Greek, bears even indirect evidence to the effect that the stauros used in the case of Jesus was other than an ordinary stauros; much less to the effect that it consisted, not of one piece of timber, but of two pieces nailed together in the form of a cross.”

As recorded at Acts 5:30, the apostle Peter used the word xy′lon, meaning “tree,” as a synonym for stau·ros′, denoting, not a two-beamed cross, but an ordinary piece of upright timber or tree. It was not until about 300 years after Jesus’ death that some professed Christians promoted the idea that Jesus was put to death on a two-beamed cross. However, this view was based on tradition and a misuse of the Greek word stau·ros′. It is noteworthy that some ancient drawings depicting Roman executions feature a single wooden pole or tree.

A more important issue for true Christians should be the propriety of venerating the instrument used to kill Jesus. Whether it was an upright single torture stake, a cross, an arrow, a lance, or a knife, should such an instrument be used in worship?

Suppose a loved one of yours was brutally murdered and the weapon was submitted to the court as evidence. Would you try to gain possession of the murder weapon, take photographs of it, and print many copies for distribution? Would you produce replicas of the weapon in various sizes? Would you then fashion some of them into jewelry? Or would you have these reproductions commercially manufactured and sold to friends and relatives to be venerated? Likely you would be repulsed at the idea! Yet, these very things have been done with the cross!

Answer 7

It's not that we have a problem with the cross as a piece of wood people were executed on. It's the idol worship of the cross we dislike.
God himself said to not worship idols or give them undue glory. Wearing a cross is not only idolatry, but it's disrespectful to Jesus and Jehovah.

Long before the Christian era, crosses were used by the ancient Babylonians as symbols in their worship of the fertility god Tammuz. The use of the cross spread into Egypt, India, Syria, and China. Then, centuries later, the Israelites adulterated their worship of Jehovah with acts of veneration to the false god Tammuz. The Bible refers to this form of worship as a ‘detestable thing.’—Ezekiel 8:13, 14.

The Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John use the Greek word stau·ros′ when referring to the instrument of execution on which Jesus died. (Matthew 27:40; Mark 15:30; Luke 23:26) The word stau·ros′ refers to an upright pole, stake, or post. The book The Non-Christian Cross, by J. D. Parsons, explains: “There is not a single sentence in any of the numerous writings forming the New Testament, which, in the original Greek, bears even indirect evidence to the effect that the stauros used in the case of Jesus was other than an ordinary stauros; much less to the effect that it consisted, not of one piece of timber, but of two pieces nailed together in the form of a cross.”

Suppose a loved one of yours was brutally murdered and the weapon was submitted to the court as evidence. Would you try to gain possession of the murder weapon, take photographs of it, and print many copies for distribution? Would you produce replicas of the weapon in various sizes? Would you then fashion some of them into jewelry? Or would you have these reproductions commercially manufactured and sold to friends and relatives to be venerated? Likely you would be repulsed at the idea! Yet, these very things have been done with the cross!

Answer 8

The Witnesses say it's because Jesus died on a stake, rather than a cross. I personally think it's just another effort for JW's to convince themselves they have the true religion and others don't. Just another form of division. Why not go further and just call it a tree instead of a stake, if you really want to be semantically correct?

Jesus was not like that, and anyone who believed in God, he reached out to, and placed love and the bible above traditional details. In fact, he was often irritated by religious leaders who put these distractions above love and fellowship.

Jesus didn't care if the person was a thief, fornicator, tax collector, adulterer, or worse. He often ignored religious and traditional details and put fellowship with others first.

It doesn't seem to bother Watchtower Witnesses to call their place of meeting "kingdom halls" when Jesus called them churches. Or their preaching "field service" when jesus called it spreading the good news. The list could go on. They pick and choose ways to prove they're different just to create more isolation from others.

Also, some of them - as shown in a few of these messages - will go so far as to falsely accuse Christians of "worshiping" the cross or of idolatry, which is an intentional and misleading false statement. It never ends with this sect.

Answer 9

The Greek word rendered "cross" in many modern Bible versions ("torture stake" in NW) is stau-ros'.In classical Greek,this word meant merely an upright stake,or pale.Later it also came to be used for an execution stake having a crosspiece.The Imperial Bible-Dictionary acknowledges this,saying:"The Greek word for cross,[stau-ros'],properly signified a stake,an upright pole,or piece of paling,on which anything might be hung,or which might be used in impaling [fencing in]a piece of ground.......Even amongst the Romans the crux(from which our cross is derived) appears to have been originally an upright pole." - Edited by P.Fairbairn (London,1874),Vol.I,p.376.

Answer 10

Let me answer you with these questions: Why do you believe in the cross? In other words, if somebody kills any of your relatives, would you keep the gun and show it to every people you know? or would you even hang it up on your neck or on your wall? Would you feel comfortable doing that? Would Jesus' father?