The Forked Cross

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Dan_Defender

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The gospels say that Christ died on a cross. But what shape did the cross have?
‘He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness’ 1 Peter 2:24.
In the Middle Ages, mystics and saints had visions of Christ crucified on the forked cross, which looks like a Y shaped tree, and this representation of the cross became popular in some countries.
 
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He probably did not die hanging on a “tree”. He could not have carried a “tree” to Golgotha.

The term tree for large wooden structures, particularly those used in executions, is quite old. The medieval term gallows-tree was in use as late as the 1800s.

ICXC NIKA
 
True… and the 1 Peter quote may refer to the shape of the cross, not to an actual tree
 
We have some ancient drawings from the earliest Christians, similar to this:

They provide some insight on what the first Christians thought His cross looked like.

I understand this may or may not have been made by a believer, but this is the only image I can find.
 
Interesting. Of particular note is the depiction of the shoulder wound, which Christ suffered from carrying the Cross, as revealed to St. Bernard.
 
Oh, is that what that is? I was wondering what those splotches could be. After seeing that, and the one on the chest, it makes sense.
 
Yes. According to St. Bernard, it was the most painful of all the wounds.
 
I don’t doubt that. I actually just ordered a holy card on the wound to help meditate on it.
 
Though you may not have meant this, it almost sounds like you’re saying this is from earliest Christians.
This is by a scoffer, making fun of Christ.

But, I wouldn’t be surprised if He had to carry the horizontal beam to a tree or something. That’s possible.
 
Dan_Defender said:
‘He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness’ 1 Peter 2:24.
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It may be worth bearing in mind that Hebrew has only a single word, etz (עץ), for both “tree” and “wood”. For instance, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Gen. 2 16-17, and the ark of the covenant to be made of acacia wood in Deut. 10:1-5.
http://biblehub.com/hebrew/6086.htm
 
Here are some very realistic representations of what the Crucifixion may have actually looked like, not stylised religious representations (nothing wrong with those, but they aren’t historically accurate):

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Kei said:
Though you may not have meant this, it almost sounds like you’re saying this is from earliest Christians.
This is by a scoffer, making fun of Christ.

But, I wouldn’t be surprised if He had to carry the horizontal beam to a tree or something. That’s possible.
Click to expand...
I realized this right after I posted it. I edited my post explaining it’s probably not Christian in origin.

It still serves the purpose of showing what the people closest to Christ’s time thought His cross looked like.
 
Kei said:
Though you may not have meant this, it almost sounds like you’re saying this is from earliest Christians.

This is by a scoffer, making fun of Christ.
Click to expand...
The fact that it was not drawn by a believer actually makes it more authentic. Someone who didn’t believe in Christ has no reason to fabricate or embellish details of His crucifixion.
 
So what is the proof that Jesus was crucified on a cross? For argument sake
 
Well what do you mean by “cross”? The traditional t? Or a cross period? In terms of proof, Scripture with all 4 Gospels having the cross and early Christianity all holding it to be a cross are actually pretty powerful in terms of historic backing even from a secular view.

Edit: Also, I think that second one might be an actual photograph. It does look way too real. (Though I’d guess the people to be actors of a sort, ie not actually getting crucified.)
 
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