The study of symbols is called “semiotics.”
Symbols are actually more powerful than words, because many symbols exert instant effect on the subconscious psyche. This is why marketers try so hard to link a potent symbol to their product…think of the trademarked Nike slash as an example.
In semiotics, a flat line ( — ) is termed a “universal negative” because it connotes low energy. Indeed, we find this symbol universally employed in electronics as the low energy symbol. The symbol ( I )…a vertical line is more positive than a flat line. An ( X ) is a universal negative, even more negative to the subconscious than a flat line.
A cross (+) is a UNIVERSAL POSITIVE symbol. Quite apart from its association with Jesus Christ in religion, the (+) symbol is associated with positivity in electrical currents, medical care (hospitals), in earliest Chinese ideography it was a symbol for perfection or the number 10. On maps (+) may represent a boundry, shoal, north direction, North Pole, and clockwise rotation.
In Christianity, the cross is linked historically to Jesus’ passion, but spiritually, the horizontal (—) crossbar represents the earthly plane, while the upright vertical ( I ) represents the spiritual plane between Heaven and hell. At the intersection of these two lines, is Jesus Christ, himself, who reconciles all things to himself. The positivity of the ( + ) symbol on the human psyche is probably a spiritual projection of the spirit Jesus Christ.
The Chinese Communists will never eradicate the positivity of the ( + ) cross. The fact that they attempt to do so tells us much more about their own spiritual negativity. Hitler wanted to replace the cross with a potent negative symbol, the swastika. The Communists want to replace it with the hammer and sickle, another negative symbol. These efforts are all doomed to eventual failure, as the cross lives on in perpetuity.
