how did the cross become the symbol of christianity

(ibid. However, its use as a Christian symbol is a product of syncretism, that is, the blending of pagan traditions and methods of worship with the true worship of God, something God strongly condemns. For an overview of the literature and history of crucifixion, see the excellent study by John Granger Cook, Crucifixion in the Mediterranean World (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014); also the classical study by Martin Hengel, Crucifixion (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1977). The Christians of early times were wont to trace, in things around them, hidden prophetical allusions to the truth of their faith, and such a testimony they seem to have readily recognized in the use of the cross as a religious emblem by those whose employment of it betokened a belief most repugnant to their own. The earliest crucifixes (crosses containing a representation of Christ) depict Christ alive, with eyes open and arms extended, his Godhead manifest, even though he is pierced and dead in his manhood. . India, Syria, Persia and Egypt have all yielded numberless examples, while numerous instances, dating from the later Stone Age to Christian times, have been found in nearly every part of Europe. . Material evidence suggests that a person’s feet were nailed separately on each side of the vertical beam of the cross. According to Verres, the Roman citizen named P. Gavius was guilty of espionage. Because of His voluntary sacrifice, God has imputed Jesus' righteousness to those who have faith in that sacrifice. 2.

(ibid. The Romans primarily reserved crucifixion for criminals and rebellious foreigners. . The crucifix, however, is almost entirely confined to private devotional use. Emphasis ours.). One of these sins was lamenting for a pagan god named Tammuz. After all, Jesus was crucified on a cross, was He not? Corrections? Does it matter? Perhaps the earliest portrayal of the cross by Christians occurred in the iconography of their papyrus manuscripts, specifically the Staurogram, or shape of the cross made by the overlapping of the Greek letters “Rho” and “Tau” ().11 A more obvious depiction of the cross is seen in a third-century gem in the British Museum, which depicts a crucified Jesus with an inscription that lists various Egyptian magical words. In both of these the criminal was first of all usually stripped naked, and bound to an upright stake, where he was so cruelly scourged with an implement, formed of strips of leather having pieces of iron, or some other hard material, at their ends, that not merely was the flesh often stripped from the bones, but even the entrails partly protruded, and the anatomy of the body was disclosed. After Constantine converted to Christianity, he abolished crucifixion as a death penalty and promoted, as symbols of the Christian faith, both the cross and the chi-rho monogram of the name of Christ. 13. 430–435. 1, p. 825). 4. To die on the cross was not only humiliating, but a slow and agonizing experience—sometimes lasting days. …church the sign of the cross was not considered a glorification of suffering but a “sign of victory” (, In Ireland, monumental crosses represented the Celtic Christian tradition, and similar Anglo-Saxon crosses may be found in England. The Bible mentions the cross many times, in both literal and figurative terms, as symbolizing the meaning of true Christianity as well as the sacrifices and trials that a true Christian must endure in this life to be true to the faith. Of course, when the Romans crucified rebels and criminals, the cross was more than a penalty; it was also a deterrent. What Is the Origin of the Symbol of the Cross? They were positioned side by side in rows to form fencing or defensive palisades around settlements, or singly they were set up as instruments of torture on which serious offenders of law were publicly suspended to die (or, if already killed, to have their corpses thoroughly dishonored). Simply put, Constantine’s public endorsement of the cross changed its connotation from a repulsive device for executing slaves, foreigners, and Roman citizens of low social standing into a revered, public symbol. Of course, in order to maximize the amount of pain inflicted on an individual, the Romans typically tortured the victim before fastening them to the cross. So, is the sign of the cross really an emblem of true Christianity or is it something far different? Josephus quotes Mnaseas of Patras (second century B.C.E.) According to historian Alexander Hislop, Tammuz was intimately associated with the Babylonian mystery religions begun by the worship of Nimrod, Semiramis and her illegitimate son, Horus. 7. In his history of the Christian Church written in the fourth century, Eusebius of Caesarea recounts that the gesture of outstretched hands used by Christian martyrs in the arena represented Jesus’s crucifixion (History of the Church 8.7.4). Even the early Christians of North Africa rejected the wooden cross … In the 20th century a new emphasis emerged in Roman Catholicism, especially for crucifixes in liturgical settings. This sarcastic insult may certainly reflect the attitude of Jewish and Greco-Roman audiences when they first heard Paul and other early Christians preach in the first century. See Matthew W. Maslen and Piers D. Mitchell, “Medical Theories on the Cause of Death in Crucifixion,” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 4.99 (April 2006), pp. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Two of the forms of the pre-Christian cross which are perhaps most frequently met with are the tau cross, so named from its resemblance to the Greek capital letter T, and the svastika or fylfot, also called "Gammadion" owing to its form being that of four Greek capital letters gamma G placed together. We must assure ourselves that it does not transgress any of God's laws and that it follows the traditions and practices of the early New Testament church. Till then its employment had been restricted, and private among the Christians themselves. The British Museum has a statue of the Assyrian king Samsi-Vul, son of Shalmaneser with a perfect Maltese cross. Constantine’s prayer was answered, and a most marvelous sign appeared to him from heaven. See Longenecker, The Cross Before Constantine, pp. How then did the Roman punishment "cross" became a holy symbol to Christians? The Cross in the Roman World. 28–29; for another opinion, see Bruce W. Longenecker, The Cross Before Constantine: The Early Life of a Christian Symbol(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2015), p. 11. But, interestingly, most scholars believe that early Christians did not use the cross as an image of their religion because crucifixion evoked the shameful death of a slave or criminal.1, Scholars believe that the first surviving public image of Jesus’s crucifixion was on the fifth-century wooden doors of the Basilica of Santa Sabina, which is located on the Aventine Hill in Rome.2 Since it took approximately 400 years for Jesus’s crucifixion to become an acceptable public image, scholars have traditionally believed that this means the cross did not originally function as a symbol for Christians.3. 10. For an analysis of his ankle bone that was pierced with a nail, see Joseph Zilas and Eliezer Sekeles, “The Crucified Man from Giv’at Ha-Mivtar: A Reappraisal,” Israel Exploration Journal 35 (1985), pp. The swastika, called crux gammata, composed of four Greek capitals of the letter gamma, is marked on many early Christian tombs as a veiled symbol of the cross. This incident recorded in Cicero’s speech against Verres reveals that, at least for Roman elites, crucifixion was extremely rare to witness or suffer. The second method of crucifixion involved a stake with a crossbar to which the condemned individual's hands were tied or nailed. Omissions?
The Reformed churches, however, resisted such use of the cross until the 20th century, when ornamental crosses on church buildings and on communion tables began to appear. Greek and Roman elites continued to criticize Christians because of their veneration of the crucified Jesus in the second century. Although the image of Jesus on the cross was not very popular in the second and third centuries, still scholars have identified at least a few instances in which Christians depicted it. Did the apostles use it? The cross (crucifix, Greek stauros) in this period was represented by the letter T.

Under Constantine it became the acknowledged symbol of Christianity. Thus, the Book of Revelation possibly refers to the cross as a Christological identity marker.9. Rather the image of the cross had already transformed from an execution device to a symbol of Christianity. In an attempt to deceive the world and lead people into worshipping a false Christ, the Devil made the cross a popular symbol of worship. Before entering the land of Canaan, God told the Israelites, . 9. As we have seen, an enormous body of evidence proves that the cross is not a Christian symbol but has its roots in rank paganism. “Yes, a cross,” says Cicero, was prepared for this “broken sufferer, who had never seen such an accursed thing till then” (Against Verres2.5.162).5 Worst of all, Verres ordered for Gavius to be crucified on the shore facing the Italian mainland since he claimed Roman citizenship. 3. This abolishment certainly changed the Roman perception of the cross. Emphasis ours.). CIL 4.2082. What most people do not fully realize is that Satan has deceived this whole world (Revelation 12:9). Interestingly, Paul may have deliberately focused on the modality of Jesus’s death on the cross for at least two reasons. "The ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol of life—the ankh, a tau cross surmounted by a loop and known as crux ansata—was adopted and extensively used on Coptic Christian monuments." The abstracted decoration recalls the relief style in Italy, but here the surface is not a flat plane but is packed with round, knoblike projections that create a plastic rather…. God instructs His true followers to worship Him in Spirit and in truth (John 4:23). Was Jesus Crucified on a Cross or Stake (Matthew 27:35)? Sign up for The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment, and have Biblical truth delivered to your inbox. If Eusebius’s account is historically accurate, then the gesture of outstretched arms was widely recognized by Christians and non-Christians alike.
The cross is thus a sign of both Christ himself and of the faith of Christians. For instance, the Romans crucified Spartacus and his rebellious slaves on the Appian Way for everyone to see from Capua to Rome (Appian, The Civil Wars 1.120). 11, p. 532).

For some Christians, the cross is part of their daily attire worn around their necks. Romanesque crucifixes often show a royal crown upon Christ’s head, but later Gothic types replaced it with a crown of thorns. Since the Romans identified Christians as a branch of Judaism, this mean that they were likewise accused of worshiping a donkey; see Minucius Felix, Octavius 9.28; Tertullian, First Apology 16. Cross, the principal symbol of the Christian religion, recalling the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the redeeming benefits of his Passion and death. Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. God tells us to prove all things (I Thessalonians 5:21). This is the argument of Sheckler and Leith, “Crucifixion Conundrum.”. His research focuses on early Christian worship, architecture, and art. in Mesopotamian religion, god of fertility embodying the powers for new life in nature in the spring" (Vol. The Bible does not specifically state which method the Romans used in the crucifixion of Christ. So reads the chorus to a very popular Christian hymn that churches have sung for many years. . (The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. ( Log Out /  506.

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