Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

To: Nifster; GOPJ

For those who don’t know, the wearing of the cross is a voluntary act, not a coerced act. A cross wouldn’t be mentioned in the Old Testament because the New Testament hadn’t happened yet. Crosses were adopted following the death of Christ, along with lamb and fish symbols. Crosses can be worn as jewelry by nonbelievers; Christians shake the dust of those nonbelievers off their sandals and keep walking on by. Haijbs can’t be worn by nonbelievers without mohamadeans burning the house down and killing all the occupants along with the person selling the hijab in the first place, for blasphemy:

History:
“The practice of wearing crosses around the neck dates from the early church. The precise reason why Christians began wearing crosses has to do with martyrdom, specifically beheading. In the early centuries of the church, when many Christians were put to death as a result of confessing belief in Christ, the most common way to die (sometimes following a series of tortures) was by beheading. The wearing of the cross about the neck (and keep in mind that the cross would usually have been tucked in where nobody could see it) was a reminder to the wearer of the kind of confession he or she may be asked to give. It was also a symbol that the wearer was willing to give that kind of confession—-that the wearer would indeed confess Christ even to the point of beheading or any other kind of martyrdom....

“...Crosses were so venerated in the church that there are even early canons forbidding the placement of crosses in tile work on the floors of churches (so that they would not be stepped on!). This alone shows their respect and veneration for the cross. Some modern Christians have asserted that the cross is a hideous reminder of the death of Christ. But early Christians viewed it as the altar upon which the most beautiful sacrifice was made—a sacrifice of love made by God for his people. It is in this sense that the making of the sign of the cross over one’s self continues to be for many Christian groups the sign of the friendship between God and man.”

“...Added: It is common to read or hear that early Christians did not use or wear the cross. This is not accurate. Christians both used and wore the cross quite often. Both Tertullian and Minucius Felix (2nd century writers) refer to early Christians as “devotees of the cross” and make it clear that they used it extensively. To Felix in particular this was somewhat scandalous and strange (he was not a Christian).

“...To where do we attribute the idea that Christians did not use the cross? This comes from a confusion of a standard cross with a crucifix, the latter having a likeness of the body of Christ on it. The 82nd canon of the 3rd general assembly held at Constantinople (6th Oecumenical) [680 AD] makes it clear that while crucifixes were not unknown, they were not the most common expression of the cross. Up till that time, most crosses seem to have had a lamb in front of them to represent Christ. Commentary on the canon suggests that the practice of using the lamb started as a way to disguise the meaning of the cross from unbelievers.

“...As for those who wore the cross, the earliest example I can think of off the top of my head would be that of St. Anthony the Great.[251-356AD aka ‘father of all monks’] Sources differ as to whether the cross was worn around the neck or stitched onto his tunic. It may even be both. Of course, his was a T shaped cross (I say “of course,” because many call this form “St. Anthony’s cross”). Clement of Alexandria and Paulinus of Nola in the two centuries following also mention the devotion to the cross on the part of the church, so that it appears to have had a long, continuous history.”

https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/28075/why-do-some-christians-wear-crosses

https://www.biblestudytools.com/galatians/6-14.html


15 posted on 03/21/2019 3:06:48 AM PDT by blueplum ("...this moment is your moment: it belongs to you... " President Donald J. Trump, Jan 20, 2017)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies ]


To: blueplum

Thank you so much for your interesting reply...


16 posted on 03/21/2019 10:17:22 AM PDT by GOPJ
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson