The cross, two lines crossing each other at right angles is a symbol used in the East and West as a pagan religious symbol long before the Lord Jesus was ever crucified in one.
One of the most infamous of all cross for obvious reasons is the crux gammata.
swastika,
equilateral cross with arms bent at right angles, all in the same rotary direction, usually clockwise. The swastika as a symbol of prosperity and good fortune is widely distributed throughout the ancient and modern world. The word is derived from the Sanskrit svastika, meaning “conducive to well-being.” It was a favourite symbol on ancient Mesopotamian coinage. In Scandinavia the left-hand swastika was the sign for the god Thor’s hammer. The swastika also appeared in early Christian and Byzantine art (where it became known as the gammadion cross, or crux gammata
What about its use in Christianity?
The sign of the cross, represented in its simplest form by a crossing of two lines at right angles, greatly antedates, in both the East and the West, the introduction of Christianity. It goes back to a very remote period of human civilization. In fact, some have sought to attach to the widespread use of this sign, a real ethnographic importance. It is true that in the sign of the cross the decorative and geometrical concept, obtained by a juxtaposition of lines pleasing to the sight, is remarkably prominent; nevertheless, the cross was originally not a mere means or object of ornament, and from the earliest times had certainly another — i.e. symbolico-religious — significance. The primitive form of the cross seems to have been that of the so-called “gamma” cross (crux gammata), better known to Orientalists and students of prehistoric archæology by its Sanskrit name, swastika.
At successive periods this was modified, becoming curved at the extremities, or adding to them more complex lines or ornamental points, which latter also meet at the central intersection. The swastika is asacred sign in India, and is very ancient and widespread throughout the East. It has a solemn meaning among both Brahmins and Buddhists, though the elder Burnouf (“Le lotus de la bonne loi, traduit du sanscrit”, p. 625; Journ. Asiatic Soc. of Great Britain, VI, 454) believes it more common among the latter than among the former. It seems to have represented the apparatus used at one time by the fathers of the human race in kindling fire; and for this reason it was the symbol of living flame, of sacred fire, whose mother is Maia, the personification of productive power (Burnouf, La science des religions). It is also, according to Milani, a symbol of the sun (Bertrand, La religion des Gaulois, p. 159), and seems to denote its daily rotation. Others have seen in it the mystic representation of lightning or of the god of the tempest, and even the emblem of the Aryan pantheon and the primitive Aryan civilization. Emile Burnouf (op. cit., p. 625), taking the Sanskrit word literally, divided it into the particles su-asti-ka, equivalents of the Greek eu-estike. In this way, especially through the adverbial particle, it would mean “sign of benediction”, or “of good omen” (svasti), also “of health” or “life”. The particle ka seems to have been used in a causative sense (Burnouf, Dictionnaire sanscrit-français, 1866). The swastika sign was very widespread throughout the Orient, the seat of the oldest civilizations. The Buddhist inscriptions carved in certain caves of Western India are usually preceded or closed by this sacred sign (Thomas Edward, “The Indian Swastika”, 1880; Philip Greg, “On the Meaning and Origin of the Fylfot and Swastika”). The celebrated excavations of Schliemann at Hissarlik on the site of ancient Troy brought to light numerous examples of the swastika: on spindle-racks, on a cube, sometimes attached to an animal, and even cut upon the womb of a female idol, a detail also noticeable on a small statue of the goddess Athis. The swastika sign is seen on Hittite monuments, e.g. on a cylinder (“The monuments of the Hittites” in “Transactions of the Soc. of Bibl. Archæology”, VII, 2, p. 259. read more here.
When was it adapted by the Roman Catholic Church? In the second century! Long after the Apostles died and the books of the bible were written. Therefore, the cross as a Christian symbol is another one of those Catholic inventions.
The cross as a Christian symbol or “seal” came into use at least as early as the second century (see “Apost. Const.” iii. 17; Epistle of Barnabas, xi.-xii.; Justin, “Apologia,” i. 55-60; “Dial. cum Tryph.” 85-97); and the marking of a cross upon the forehead and the chest was regarded as a talisman against the powers of demons (Tertullian, “De Corona,” iii.; Cyprian, “Testimonies,” xi. 21-22; Lactantius, “Divinæ Institutiones,” iv. 27, and elsewhere). Accordingly the Christian Fathers had to defend themselves, as early as the second century, against the charge of being worshipers of the cross, as may be learned from Tertullian, “Apologia,” xii., xvii., and Minucius Felix, “Octavius,” xxix. Christians used to swear by the power of the cross (see Apocalypse of Mary, viii., in James, “Texts and Studies,” iii. 118). Nevertheless Jewish teachers in the Middle Ages declared that Christians must be believed when swearing by the cross, as, in reality, they swear by the true God (Isaac of Corbeil, in “Sefer Miẓwot Ḳaṭan,” 119, quoted by Güdemann, “Gesch. d. Erz. u. Cultur in Italien,” 1880, i. 90). The fact, however, that the cross was worshiped as an idol during the Middle Ages caused the Jews to avoid (compare Ex. xxiii. 13) the very word “Cross,” as well as all derivatives of it; for instance, “kreuzer” they called “ẓelem” or, abbreviated, “ẓal”; and the town “Kreuznach” they called “Ẓelem-Maḳom.”
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RESBAK:”The worship and adoration of the cross has no biblical basis. It was never practiced by the Apostles who where there when the Lord Jesus was crucified.
The worship and adoration of the cross is another invention of your so-called “Church fathers“.”
1 CORINTHIANS 1: 18 – 19
“For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.
The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
The “cross” is not the literal cross. And nothing in the verse said worship or adore the cross. The cross mentioned in the verse is the “yoke” or burden of carrying on a life of holiness in spite of the evil surrounding the people of God.
The cross was use in years ago for torture, it was used by pagans and now embraced by the “mother of harlots” as an holy something that when they see it with jesus christ, they bow and pray for it. The cross also can be seen as MARK on every church of the mother of harlots right?^_^ another christianization from pagans.
By the way Brad,
may i ask you, do you know “truthfinder”?
Nope. Not yet anyway
kc, nung pagnagreresearch ako, madalas sya nandun, kunwari sa mga forum.. kumbaga “tagasagot” ng mga katanungan ng iba. tapos my website pa sya about INC teachings, kaya lang nawala kc sa yahoo nya gnawa. sobrang sayang^_^
baka lang naencounter nyo na sya. un ang username nya e… syang din ung knowldge nya s church.
wala lang^_^
baka tiwalag LOL. wala yun.
RESBAK:”The worship and adoration of the cross has no biblical basis. It was never practiced by the Apostles who where there when the Lord Jesus was crucified.”
WORSHIP? ADORE? We do not worship or adore the CROSS! You professed to know the answers before you even asked the questions.You failed to understand the REAL reasons Catholics love the crucifix,or the making the sign of the cross.
Really now? It seems you don’t even know what you’re church is making you do.
RESBAK:”The worship and adoration of the cross is another INVENTION of your so-called “Church fathers“, which you shouldn’t be doing because it is not Christian.”
INVENTION? Really. Again,you are just relying on your PRESUMPTIONS.
SCRIPTURES says:
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” – MATTHEW 16:24-25
Was the Lord Jesus speaking of a literal cross? If he was, they you too are not following his command because if you take the in the verse as a literal cross that the Lord Jesus carried they you should be carrying a literal cross everyday. And not only carry it, but be crucified to it until you die. We all know you don’t do that.
RESBAK:”Tertullian is not an Apostle, and his teachings are contrary to what the Apostles teach. You make a choice who to follow and obey, the Lord Jesus and the Apostles? or a pagan named Tertullian? ”
Do you even know the background of Tertullian? He was the son of a centurion in the proconsular service. He was evidently by profession an advocate in the law-courts, and he shows a close acquaintance with the procedure and terms of Roman law, though it is doubtful whether he is to be identified with a jurist Tertullian who is cited in the Pandects. He knew Greek as well as Latin, and wrote works in Greek which have not come down to us. A pagan until middle life, he had shared the pagan prejudices against Christianity, and had indulged like others in shameful pleasures. His conversion was not later than the year 197, and may have been earlier. He embraced the Faith with all the ardor of his impetuous nature. He became a priest, no doubt of the Church of Carthage.
Tertullian is a pagan who introduced pagan doctrines to the Catholic church. Compare his teachings with that of Apostle Paul.
Apostle Paul:
Tertullian
from Resbak:” In the second century! Long after the Apostles died and the books of the bible were written.”
That’s the whole charge: that the sign of the cross was not “invented” until well into the Christian era. In reality, we can show that Christians were making the sign of the cross at a much earlier date. The theologian Tertullian, writing in A.D. 211, said that “In all our travels and movements in all our coming in and going out, in putting of our shoes, at the bath, at the table, in lighting our candles, in lying down, in sitting down, whatever employment occupieth us, we [Christians] mark our foreheads with the sign [of the cross]” (The Chaplet [Crown] 3). Making the sign of the cross was already an old custom when he wrote. It may well have been common even while the apostles were alive.
Tertullian is not an Apostle, and his teachings are contrary to what the Apostles teach. You make a choice who to follow and obey, the Lord Jesus and the Apostles? or a pagan named Tertullian? You choice.
The crux of the matter is NOT when the cross was first started to be in use BUT WHY is the cross revered? It is because the Cross is a reminder or symbol of our REDEMPTION!
The Lord Jesus didn’t mention any cross when he said “do this, in remembrance of me”. The worship and adoration of the cross is another invention of your so-called “Church fathers“, which you shouldn’t be doing because it is not Christian.
Resbak,you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ right? And he died for our sins through crucifixion. So how can be the Cross so “UN” Christian? When the cross is a REMINDER that he died FOR US.
The worship and adoration of the cross has no biblical basis. It was never practiced by the Apostles who where there when the Lord Jesus was crucified.
The worship and adoration of the cross is another invention of your so-called “Church fathers“.