why do catholics have crusifixs in their churches dont they know Jesus has been risen?

Answer 1

First of all, you would want to check out 1st Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 23. Paul says, "...but we preach Christ crucified..." Why does Paul preach Christ crucified? Doesn't he know Jesus has been raised from the dead? Of course he does! But, he knows that it is through the power of the crucified Christ on the cross that the bonds of sin and death are broken. As Paul says in verse 24, Christ crucified is the "power of God".

1 Cor 2:2, "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." Again, didn't Paul know that Jesus had risen from the dead? Of course, he did.

Paul preaches Christ crucified because an empty cross has no power. The cross that bears the beaten, battered, and bloodied body of Jesus Christ, however, that cross is the "power of God". This is why, we "keep Jesus on the cross," because we, too, preach Christ crucified. The Crucifix reminds us not only of God's power, but also His love for us - giving His only begotten Son up for suffering and death.

Also, here in this life we do not share so much in the glory of the Resurrection, as we do in the suffering of Jesus on the cross; after all, we must take up our cross daily if we are to follow Jesus, as it says in Lk 9:23.

And, we must die with Christ in order to live with Him as Romans 6:8 tells us. Where did Christ die? On the cross. The Crucifix serves to remind us of these things.

One other passage to keep in mind is Galatians 3:1, "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?" Did you catch that? Jesus was publicly portrayed, before their "eyes", as being crucified. Sounds kind of like they may have been looking at a Crucifix, doesn't it?

Answer 2

Why don't more protestants have crucifixes - note how that is spelled- in their churches? Do they think that the pain and sacrifice is worth remembering?

Catholics remember the totality of the sacrifice and resurrection. They remember the betrayal, the trial, the torture and the death that make the resurrection even more glorious. It's easy to remember the good. Remembering the pain makes the betrayal caused by sin much more personal. Catholics remember well the words "Crucify him!" They recall that it was the people who he came to save who uttered those words. They remember that it was we who betrayed him. It is our sins that brought about the need for the sacrifice.

The crucifix is the symbol of the pain that was suffered, and ultimately the damage wrought by the sins of all mankind. It keeps Catholics humble. How does one find humility without recognizing the pain that sin caused? How does one remain humble while forgetting the sacrifice? If one focuses on only the resurrection and redemption, it seem smuch like the little rich kid who gets everything they want from mommy and daddy and has no idea of the value of what is given them.

Answer 3

A better question would be, "why don't Protestants have crucifixes in their churches?" I think the bare cross replaced the crucifix during the Protestant Reformation, particularly with John Calvin and other Iconoclasts who saw any sort of representative imagery in church as idol worship. So, the Catholic Church originally had the image of Jesus on the cross to represent his sacrifice, and the Calvinists got rid of it and replaced it with the bare cross. They would actually go into churches and smash all the statues -- "iconoclast" means "breaking icons," because, as I said, they were rejecting everything that they saw as idolatry. I think the explanation that the cross is bare because Jesus is risen came later.

Answer 4

Matthew sixteen:18: "you're Peter, and upon this rock i will build my church" St Peter grew to become into our first Pope. we've an unbroken line of Popes by using fact that then. Catholic actually potential "familiar" and it nonetheless is a familiar church. The Sacraments, our sacred Doctrine, confident . . . it quite is from the time of Christ, subsequently the magnitude of the final Supper. Rosary got here later. No Catholic is "compelled" to choose the Rosary. No Catholic is compelled to ask Mary or the Saints to intercede on our behalf. Statues and artwork have long been effectual coaching strategies, rather as Christianity unfold to factors the place language grew to become right into a barrier. provided that ninety 9% of the inhabitants could not study you need to be sure how photos of the crucifixion may be important. Or the Stations of the circulate. Or the main gamers. i don't understand why you're utilising "shouty caps" appropriate to the Roman Catholic Church being at one hundred% at present. nicely of course -- yet why might it stay surely caught in a international of two,000 years in the past collectively as humanity moved on, superior and grew? The Church has moved authentic alongside with the international, albeit slightly slower while it includes making important statements appropriate to Doctrine or Dogma.

Answer 5

Of course Catholics know Jesus is risen. But this does not change the fact Christians must "preach Christ Crucified (1Cor1:23)".

Answer 6

For a Roman Catholic, Jesus' suffering is perpetual. The crucifix represents His ongoing suffering for sin on the cross and is a reminder of the dear price paid for our forgiveness. During the Roman Catholic Eucharist, Jesus is incarnate once again and continually until the Second Coming.

http://ksks.essortment.com/catholicswhata_ohi.htm

Answer 7

As Catholics we believe that the fact that Jesus died for our sins is very important as well as the fact that he rose. There would be no resurrection without a crucifixion. Jesus also told us to take up our crosses and follow him. We have crucifixes to remind us of God's love for us as and to remind us that we must endure our crosses patiently and perseveringly for love of him and in order to get to Heaven.

I would suggest that next time you have a question about Catholicism, go to the Catechism of the Catholic Church which has all the teachings of the Church in it, or go to http://catholic.com/ for your answers. Please don't go to Yahoo Answers because there are many people here have no clue what the CC teaches or try to distort what the CC teaches for their own purposes. By the way, Deirdre H and Free2getready are not those people. They both apparantly understand quite well why we have crucifixes. Please go to direct and reliable resources for your Catholic questions. I would also recommend you to http://www.biblechristiansociety.com/ which is a very good site as well.

Answer 8

Symbolism is there to remind us of something. If it's an effective reminder, then it is. If it isn't then it isn't. Is Mel Gibson's movie a good reminder? Or is it then too a false-idol? A false idol must first be "false," right? And who's to say Jesus is false? even if you're Protesting.

Answer 9

Yes they do. They were the first Christians. I am a Protestant and I still love the art of the Catholic Church

Answer 10

Thanks for the prejudice.

I was raised Catholic, and they did believe in the resurrection. Learn before you bash. The crucifix to Catholics is the Passion movie to Evangelicals -- a way to focus on the sacrifice they believe was given by a particular man.

Lots of Protestants wear crucifixes around their necks, as well. Is this any different?

I don't believe in the supernatural, but I at least learn about their philosophies before I criticize.