The cross is pagan

[RobinSebas]

The cross is pagan and Our Lord had to borrow it from the pagans to die on and now the Cross is Holy.

 

[bpbasilphx]

I won’t argue with that.

Isn’t that the whole message of the Gospel and the purpose of Christianity: to take something (or someone) that was originally alienated from God and redeem it and use it (or him or her) to His glory?

 

[Crepusculum]

Amen.

The cross is the perfect symbol of contradiction: a symbol of one personal death becomes a symbol of everlasting life for the entire world.

 

[VociMike]

Christ makes all things new. Even the cross.

 

[tommiatkins]

If I understand this, you are saying that the cross, either as a torture/execution method of antiquity is now “Holy”, whatever the definition of that would be?

If Jesus had died by shooting aka St Sebastian, would the shortbow or arrows be Holy. Not just the shortbow which was used in the execution, but all shortbows for all time? The Electric Chair? A Firing Squad wall?

By chance of history Christians are not wearing little walls or chairs around their neck.

 

[drforjc]

If I understand this, you are saying that the cross, either as a torture/execution method of antiquity is now “Holy”, whatever the definition of that would be?

If Jesus had died by shooting aka St Sebastian, would the shortbow or arrows be Holy. Not just the shortbow which was used in the execution, but all shortbows for all time? The Electric Chair? A Firing Squad wall?

By chance of history Christians are not wearing little walls or chairs around their neck.

Christians believe that Christ’s death was referred to/ prophesied in the Old Testament. Therefore, it is pretty difficult to state definitively that the instrument of execution, namely the cross, was not eternally chosen by God. We cannot read His mind.

 

[FCEGM]

If I understand this, you are saying that the cross, either as a torture/execution method of antiquity is now “Holy”, whatever the definition of that would be?

If Jesus had died by shooting aka St Sebastian, would the shortbow or arrows be Holy. Not just the shortbow which was used in the execution, but all shortbows for all time? The Electric Chair? A Firing Squad wall?

By chance of history Christians are not wearing little walls or chairs around their neck.

Very wise and insightful the view expressed by St. Andrew (Bishop) of Crete; ca. A.D. 660-740:

“So great and outstanding a possession is the cross that he who wins it has won a treasure. Rightly could I call this treasure the fairest of all fair things and the costliest. . .

“Had there been no cross, Christ could not have been crucified. Had there been no cross, life itself could not have been nailed to the tree. And if life had not been nailed to it, there would be no streams of immortality pouring from Christ’s side, blood and water for the world’s cleansing. The legal bond of our sin would not be canceled, we should not have obtained our freedom, we should not have enjoyed the fruit of the tree of life and the gates of paradise would not stand open. Had there been no cross, death would not have been trodden underfoot, nor hell despoiled.

“Therefore, the cross is something wonderfully great and honorable. It is great because through the cross the many noble acts of Christ found their consummation – very many indeed, for both his miracles and his sufferings were fully rewarded with victory. The cross is honorable because it is both the sign of God’s suffering and the trophy of his victory. It stands for his suffering because on it he freely suffered unto death. But it also is his trophy because on it he freely suffered unto death. But it also his trophy because it was the means by which the devil was wounded and death conquered; the barred gates of hell were smashed, and the cross became the one common salvation of the whole world.

“The cross is called Christ’s glory; it is saluted as his triumph. We recognize it as the cup he longed to drink and the climax of the sufferings he endured for our sake. As to the cross being Christ’s glory, listen to his words: ‘Now is the Son of Man, glorified, and in him God is glorified, and God will glorify him at once.’ And again: ‘Father, glorify me with the glory I had with you before the world came to be.’ And once more: ‘Father, glorify your name. Then a voice came from heaven: I have glorified it and will glorify it again.’ Here he speaks of the glory that would accrue to him through the cross. And if you would understand that the cross is Christ’s triumph, hear what he himself also said: ‘When I am lifted up, then I will draw all men to myself.’ Now you can see that the cross is Christ’s glory and triumph.”

So, as with St. Paul, the writer isn’t ashamed of the cross: “But as for me, it is out of the question that I should boast at all, except of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world,” Galatians 6:14.