Protestants and the Crucifix

[Lillith]

mellysue:

I saw the movie Passion of the Christ. It was fabulous. It was a great movie that showed the true (as close as cinema can come) horrors that our Saviour had to deal with. I cried and with each whiplash, nail hammering I felt every sin I had ever done that put him there. I do have one complaint.
After spending an hour on Christ’s suffering, the resurrection scene lasted 15 seconds.
This I feel is how most protestants (at least baptists) feel that Catholics see christ. They focus on his suffering and death and gloss over the resurrection. We focus on his resurrection and gloss over the suffering.
Jesus dying and suffering is nothing if he is not risen. I’m not saying Catholics don’t believe that, but can you see how we might see your focus to be different from our own?

MellySue…The cruicifix saved me.
My parents raised me Athiest. Not just we don’t care so we don’t talk about the subject, but sit down discussions about the Bible being a fairy tale and Christians being delusional, and that they should be pitied for their lack of intelligence. Not one discussion but many, and my father never told me any particular story of the Bible either. I never heard about Adam and Eve or Jesus Christ, and I believe this was so as not to feed my curiousity or to create a childhood fantasy. He wanted the doctrine to stick.

When I was eight years old, we moved into a rental house. The people who lived there left some belongings in the house in a box in the basement, and as I was nosing through the box I came upon something that really disturbed me greatly. There was a man who appeared to be nailed to two pieces of wood. There was blood pouring from his hands and feet. He apparently had some torturous device shoved upon his head, and hard too because there was blood streaming into his eyes. He also had been stabbed by something as he had blood coming drom his side. I was transfixed, staring at the man. I went upstairs to my mother and asked what it was and who he was, and she told me that the man was Jesus Christ and that Christians believe he was G-d.

I had heard the word of G-d unbeknownst to my mother. I took that crucifix and stuck it under my pillow. I fell in love with the Christ and daydreamed that he was my husband. I used to pretend that I was at the crucifixion and that I saved his life, and that he loved me too. By the terms that the folks who have a problem with the crucifix I was saved. I had Jesus in my heart all to myself, without hearing or reading the Bible…the crucifix saved me.

Would I have had the same reaction if it had been just a cross? I would not. Would I have had the same reaction years later, let’s say when I saw the Passion of the Christ? Yes, most likely…but that is my point don’t you see? The crucifix IS the passion of the Christ…way before we had the ability to make movies

When I turned sixteen I followed my crucifix all the way to the Catholic Church.

PHEW…I feel better

 

[ahimsaman72]

Lillith:

MellySue…The cruicifix saved me.
My parents raised me Athiest. Not just we don’t care so we don’t talk about the subject, but sit down discussions about the Bible being a fairy tale and Christians being delusional, and that they should be pitied for their lack of intelligence. Not one discussion but many, and my father never told me any particular story of the Bible either. I never heard about Adam and Eve or Jesus Christ, and I believe this was so as not to feed my curiousity or to create a childhood fantasy. He wanted the doctrine to stick.

When I was eight years old, we moved into a rental house. The people who lived there left some belongings in the house in a box in the basement, and as I was nosing through the box I came upon something that really disturbed me greatly. There was a man who appeared to be nailed to two pieces of wood. There was blood pouring from his hands and feet. He apparently had some torturous device shoved upon his head, and hard too because there was blood streaming into his eyes. He also had been stabbed by something as he had blood coming drom his side. I was transfixed, staring at the man. I went upstairs to my mother and asked what it was and who he was, and she told me that the man was Jesus Christ and that Christians believe he was G-d.

I had heard the word of G-d unbeknownst to my mother. I took that crucifix and stuck it under my pillow. I fell in love with the Christ and daydreamed that he was my husband. I used to pretend that I was at the crucifixion and that I saved his life, and that he loved me too. By the terms that the folks who have a problem with the crucifix I was saved. I had Jesus in my heart all to myself, without hearing or reading the Bible…the crucifix saved me.

Would I have had the same reaction if it had been just a cross? I would not. Would I have had the same reaction years later, let’s say when I saw the Passion of the Christ? Yes, most likely…but that is my point don’t you see? The crucifix IS the passion of the Christ…way before we had the ability to make movies

When I turned sixteen I followed my crucifix all the way to the Catholic Church.

PHEW…I feel better

(He wipes his tears from his face as he begins to type)
I am blessed to have heard such a moving personal account of your life - so real, so honest - full of love and compassion. I thank you for sharing this very personal part of your life - your conversion with us. It gives me hope - pure and simple.

G’d bless you…

 

[kamz]

I know a lutheran minister who wears a wooden cross.

 

[Al_Masetti]

I used to keep a small crucifix pinned to the wall of my cubicle at work. If a lapsed Catholic came by to visit and saw the crucifix (it could ONLY be seen if they were inside the cube), and if they started a conversation about it, I would take it down and give it to them. The most popular crucifix was the ornate Damiano Cross.

One of my Protestant friends (Episcopalian) saw it and commented that they used a plain cross because Jesus was resurrected. Not on the cross any more.

One time, I visited a local Catholic book store to buy a new crucifix and they didn’t have any of the small ones; all sold out.

The following Sunday was Palm Sunday. Seated next to me was a family with small children. One of the kids was fidgeting and spent the Mass weaving a cross out of palms. When the family left after Mass, the cross was left behind. I waited until the church was empty and they didn’t come back for the cross. So I picked it up and used it as my new cube cross. I figured the Lord was guiding the hands of that little child.