what does the fish shape stand for in the christian religion?

Answer 1

It means a fisher of men.
As Christians we are to gather God's people and spread the good news.

Answer 2

The fish shape stands for "fish" in the Greek. In Greek, the letters that spell the word fish can each stand for something else. like NATO=North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The Greek word is ix(theta)us, Pronounced IKthus, which literally means fish.
i(yota)=Insous (sorry, I can't print Greek letters) Pronounced EEAYSOUS, Meaning Jesus
X (Greek letter Chi)=Xpistos (Christos)=Christ, the annointed one, or Messiah
Theta (an O with a horizontal line through it)=Theos which means God.
U=Uios (pronounced we-us) meaning son
S=SWTnp (poor Greek letter representation again) =SoTare. Translated this is Savior.

Sometimes you will just see the fish, and other times you will see the Greek word IX(TH)US in it.
When Christianity was still an outlaw religion, Christians would use the fish to identify themselves. It was sort of like a secret-fraternity handshake. Some retained the tradition even after Christianity became legal.

Answer 3

The symbol is called an ICTHUS.

Icthus is the Greek word for fish, looking in English similar to IXOYE. It's usage came out of the early Roman Empire when Christians were put to death for their faith in Christ. So, the drawing of the fish symbol in the sand became a way for one Christian to identify him/herself to another Christian without becoming the lions' next meal in the Colosseum. The word is further unique as Icthus is an acronym, each letter being respectively the first letter of the Greek words, Jesus, Christ, God, Son, Savior.

Answer 4

It stands for Pisces, which is ultimately what "spawned" (pun intended) Christianity. The new age of Pisces is what motivated the Jews to oppose Rome, since their apocalyptic ideals assumed it was the time for the messiah. Rome destroyed the temple as a result, and the Gospels were written as an allegorical story of destruction and rebuilding in response - and Christianity was born.

Answer 5

The Pirate fish stands for the Flying Spaghetti Monster dear.


Ramen !

Answer 6

I heard it was used as security to identify other Christians in a time when they were persecuted. It came from chi ro, the first two letters of "Christ" and also the first letters of "fish" It is a symbol of Christ and Christianity now.

Answer 7

I think it has to do with the translation of Jesus' name into Greek ends up the same as the word for fish hence the symbol

Answer 8

When Christians were put in jail for worshipping Jesus. they used to identify one another by drawing in the dirt with their staff a half of a fish ( then the other would draw the other half ) <>< that is how they identified oneanother without speaking.

Answer 9

The use of the Ichthys symbol by early christians appears to date from towards the end of the 1st century AD. Ichthus (ΙΧΘΥΣ, Greek for fish) is an acronym, which is a word formed from the initial letters of the several words in the name. It compiles to "Jesus Christ God's Son is Saviour" or "Jesus Christ God's Son Saviour", in ancient Greek "Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ"

-Iota is the first letter of Iesous (Ιησους), Greek for Jesus.
-Chi is the first letter of Christos (Χριστóς), Greek for "anointed".
-Theta is the first letter of Theou (Θεοῦ), genitive case of Θεóς "God".
-Upsilon is the first letter of Huios (Υἱός), Greek for Son.
-Sigma is the first letter of Soter (Σωτήρ), Greek for Savior

Answer 10

Originally, as a "sign" to identify oneself, and recognize others, as Christian in a hostile environment.

Later on, it took on the meaning of "fisher".