If you would like to read the Bible , I could show you some excellent verses that prove that this is not idolatry.
I'd be interested in some verses.
I've been studying this topic myself and have some conclusions that I'd like scripture to challenge/strengthen. Here's the beef that I have with the cross symbol:
1- Shameful to ChristEven though the act upon it was glorius and powerful, Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Christ
despised the shame of the cross. Was the despised shame of His lifetime really something He wants us to symbolize; as our identity as His followers? To Christ, this object was an insult He had to endure, yet we decorate our lives with it. I think we're wrong in doing so, for one: because He despised it.
2- Not to be madeBack to the commandment in the Old Testament; the versions of the symbol that we carry are both
graven (such as a necklace) AND
standing (like the ones all around most church buildings). Lev. 26:1 gives the command to
not even make either of these kinds of images, yet the Christian culture is
decorated with them.
3- Pagan Symbol= not to be used to worship GodA Roman ruler who was raised in paganism (Constantine), decided that Christ was actually the incarnation of the sun god Apollo, and thus, should be worshiped for the symbol of a previous name for Apollo: the same sun god named Tammuz. Tammuz's symbol is the tao (
"†") cross. This has been a pagan symbol long before Christ (“The Two Babylons”, 1959, p. 198-199, 204-205 -and-
"The Dictionary of Mysticism and the Occult" ). Meanwhile
we’re told to not worship the Lord how pagans worship their gods (Deut. 12:30).
4- Wrong Shape?The meanings of the "cross" words in the Bible
aren't defined by "two intersecting beams". Christ's cross wasn't even referred to as such a shape until about 300 years after His death... when pagan and Christian cultures we're trying to make peace with eachother (“The Encyclopedia Britannica”, 11th ed., 1910, Vol. 7, p. 506). Early Christians were able to hide thier faith behind a symbol that non-Christian citizens and rulers were pleased by. I'd think that if the Lord intended on me honoring His son with the cross, it'd be imporant enough of a specific shape to mention in His Word.
5- Celebrating the Darkness of Messianic TortureGod's people are now represented by a tool of torture and execution. I'd at least like to use one that's not a pagan symbol, if that's what the Messiah
really wants. I believe Satan is enjoying the continual mockery of Christ's brutal death, even thousands of years later, at the hands of the Messiah's own followers, using a demonic symbol. The death of Christ alone would have been insignificant, short of His following resurrection as the true Messiah. The beauty of Christianity isn't the brutality of Him being slain and tortured, but the fact that He alone could conquer sin and death. Celebrating the shameful symbol of Christ's physical pain is a very carnal view of a completely glorious spiritual process. Is a wedding about the loneliness of two not yet married, or is it about the joining of two into one? Are graduation ceremonies held to dwell on the long hours spent on education, or are they held to rejoice in such an education being completed? In the same way, we shouldn't focus on a negative aspect of a savior by symbolizing and worshiping Him for is His death.
The resurrection was the physical aspect of Christ that showed His power, not His death. Anyone can die. It's just a part of life. The cross was only Satan's attempt to eliminate The Son (which was used by Christ as an opportunity to show His power over darkness). Why remember Christ for just a symbol of darkness; because He faced it? Maybe we should remember Christ for His temptation. He faced that darkness too.
((I realize I need to support this section with some scripture)) 6- A Wrong FocusThe more emphasis that's put on somehting that's not a
worthy aspect of our culture Biblically (the cross), the less emphesis we tend to put on aspects that God has created to honor Him with. We easily trade white-washed culture for divine instruction. People tend to not search for things if they feel they already have them. If we remove less-important ideals, we'll find the hunger to search for what is ideal by studying scripture. Cross symbols simply make us feel more secure spiritually because we can see a characteristic that associates us with Christ. Without this illusion of safety, we might actually loose apathy towards studying God's Word. These are just my conclusions based on the little study I have done. If I'm way off Biblically, I'd love to know it. I'm not looking for any arguments, but I do want insight that challenges these reasons I'm cautious of the cross in it's current form and use. Maybe I can be "won back" to the symbol if these perspectives don't fit His perspectives. hehe. Any input?