Why are Protestants opposed to Crucifixes?

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I can vouch for the rosary. It has amazing grace-giving properties, as long as you pray it with your heart. Especially preventative grace. I found that once I prayed the rosary every day, I could stand up to a certain temptation I used to give into alot easier. I praise God for the gift of the rosary.
By the way, I know a United Methodist pastor who uses the rosary, and Lutherans use a Wreath of Life rosary I think. And of course I still pray the Anglican rosary now and then, which has 33 beads.
 
Qui,

Thanks for your story.

Without downplaying our differences at all, I just want to say that I rejoice and am grateful to God for all that we share.
 
Metaron said:
I can vouch for the rosary. It has amazing grace-giving properties, as long as you pray it with your heart. Especially preventative grace. I found that once I prayed the rosary every day, I could stand up to a certain temptation I used to give into alot easier. I praise God for the gift of the rosary.
By the way, I know a United Methodist pastor who uses the rosary, and Lutherans use a Wreath of Life rosary I think. And of course I still pray the Anglican rosary now and then, which has 33 beads.
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The Rosary is the greatest and most powerful prayer tool I know of. I don’t pray it enough.
 
Confessional Lutherans have crucifixes. Luther had to fight against the iconoclastic Protestants who saw this as opposing the Old Testament ban on all graven images.
 
Metaron said:
Exactly. My father the rabid Fundamentalist (Got to love 'im though) openly admitted that he was against the sign of the Cross and sacramentals are because they’re too Catholic, and thus they are vile and “superstitious” in his view.
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Hey, Metaron-

Did you tell him Catholics brush their teeth? Maybe he will stop that too.🤷 For no valid reason, other than we do it.:cool:
 
Madaglan said:
Confessional Lutherans have crucifixes. Luther had to fight against the iconoclastic Protestants who saw this as opposing the Old Testament ban on all graven images.
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And Calvin made it evil.
Apparently the incarnation was not clear enough for the man.:confused:
 
Metaron said:
I’ve always wondered why Protestants always have an empty cross instead of an image of the crucifix, even though Saint Paul said, “…We preach Christ crucfied…” Even Lutherans I thought had crucifixes. Some say that the cross emphasizes the ressurection, but the cross to me represents the crucifixion, without going into the gory details like the crucifix. Besides, there was a symbolic “crucifix” in the Bible, a serpent on a cross-shaped pole that Moses made for people to look to and be saved from snake-poison. Does anyone know if they have any ligitimate objection to the crucifix?
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Paul does say that. I think in general though that we do not do that because it is a reaction from ages ago to what was perceived as an overuse of images. I am just speculating of course.
Now, it would be more cultural and experience. I know most people in the church would be as uncomfortable with putting one up as you would be taking one down. You get used to something a certain way.
Because this is in the realm of tradition, preferences play heavy into this.🤷
 
If you’re against graven images:

Don’t open a magazine.
Don’t go to an art museum.
Don’t display any family pictures in your home.
Don’t watch television.
Don’t watch movies.
Don’t go to Washington, D.C.
etc.
 
Hi

I am an Ahmadi peaceful Muslim. It does not look nice to me to see repeating the horrible and cruel scene inflicted upon the innocent Jesus by hands of the Jews.

This is out of love of Jesus.

I respect your religion.

Thanks
 
paarsurrey said:
Hi

I am an Ahmadi peaceful Muslim. It does not look nice to me to see repeating the horrible and cruel scene inflicted upon the innocent Jesus by hands of the Jews.

This is out of love of Jesus.

I respect your religion.

Thanks
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By the hands of SOME Jews, and the Roman Empire.

I thought you played much nicer with Jewish people than with us dogs.
Oh, thats right- they call us dogs too.

Heck- I dont see a thing wrong with the crucifix.

Jesus was God in the flesh who dwelt amoung us.
 
paarsurrey said:
Hi

I am an Ahmadi peaceful Muslim. It does not look nice to me to see repeating the horrible and cruel scene inflicted upon the innocent Jesus by hands of the Jews.

This is out of love of Jesus.

I respect your religion.

Thanks
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That’s because Islam has no concept of redemptive suffering. You said that your view is out of “love of Jesus” as a prophet. But the crucifix sharpens our contemplation as we partake of His divine Body and Blood in the Most Sublime Gift, the Eucharist.
If you understand the Eucharist, it makes it a lot easier to see why we contemplate Christ conquering sin on the Cross. When he appeared weakest, he was actually strongest, vanquishing and expiating the sins of the world.
 
Originally Posted by Hellisreal:
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And Calvin made it evil.
Apparently the incarnation was not clear enough for the man.:confused:
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Apparently THIS IS MY BODY was not clear enough for him either.

Calvin, in his own model, failed to distinguish between Law and Gospel properly.
 
Madaglan said:
Apparently THIS IS MY BODY was not clear enough for him either.
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Nor was: “…He who eats Me lives because of Me.” or “My Body is food indeed, and My Blood is drink indeed.”

By the way, did you know that Calvin called the people whom he considered predestined to eternal suffering the “hated of God”? Seriously, I think his dad must of beat him or something when he was a child… :whacky:
 
Psalm 5:6 (NAB)
the arrogant cannot stand before you. You hate all who do evil;

Similarly, over fourteen times in the first 50 Psalms, the Psalmist says he hates the wicked and it is always understood that he, in doing so makes common cause with God.

The Bible maintains no distinction between persons and the things they do though the subtleties of theologians may prefer to.

It should surprise no one that an All-Holy God should hate sin and the sinners who do them.

This causes me no trouble at all though I am no Calvinist.
 
I read it in a book (albeit a pro-Catholic one). I think it was a quote from Calvin’s Institues. I’ll check into it though.
 
To Metaron and others…

I was raised Catholic, but converted to the Baptist faith 5 years ago. For a long time I was treated a little “differently” because of my Catholic background but in general I was greeted with more curiousity than anything else. It really used to bother me when I heard misconceptions about the catholic faith. So, I have always done my best to clear up those misconceptions in our church.

So let me clear up one for you…on the crucifix issue as explained to me by my pastor.

Protestants (at least in our church) believe in the resurrected Lord… thus the empty cross. No more… no less… no deep meaning… just the way it is.
So respect it as we respect your beliefs.

It troubles me that some of you in this forum are acting in a manner that was a contributing factor in my leaving the Catholic faith. Obviously some of you have never bothered to crack a Bible open and read this passage. 1st Peter 3:15-16 states:

“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander”.

As for the eating together and stuff in our assembly halls…

As Baptists (protestants) we are deeply commited to “fellowship” with each other. Something that I was never taught as a Catholic. In all my years as a Catholic all I ever heard was “Lets go to Father so-and-so’s service because he says a quick Mass”. Going to church was a chore, an obligation to be completed to avoid Hell… and I hated every minute of it.

When I get up to go to church now I am going because it is where I want to be and I am sad when the service is over…

So lets lay off the “cracks”… ok? I consider myself to be in a unique position as someone who knows both side of the fence. Believe me… there is a lot of stupidity on both sides… If ALL Christians spent one tenth of the time worrying about the incursion of the Muslims into our society, and serving the non-believers out there as we do over petty squabbles like this one, the world would be a much better place.

Sorry for the diatribe but it just bugged me…
 
Steadfast said:
…It should surprise no one that an All-Holy God should hate sin and the sinners who do them.

This causes me no trouble at all though I am no Calvinist.
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Yes, in a certain way, you can say that sinners are hated by God. But he loves them too. This seems like a paradox, but it is not. But to outright claim that a lump of people were hated of God from the beginning and he gets some sadistic pleasure from torturing them in Hell is perverted, I think. I believe that’s where Calvin was going; the Westboro Cult loved to accuse God of hating people too, and they’re highly Calvinistic (They say so on their site).
 
Metaron said:
Yes, in a certain way, you can say that sinners are hated by God. But he loves them too. This seems like a paradox, but it is not. But to outright claim that a lump of people were hated of God from the beginning and he gets some sadistic pleasure from torturing them in Hell is perverted, I think. I believe that’s where Calvin was going; the Westboro Cult loved to accuse God of hating people too, and they’re highly Calvinistic (They say so on their site).
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  1. Calvinists also maintain that God showers his “common grace” upon both the elect and the non-elect and that there is in this grace the love of the Creator for His creation so that they would agree that He is able to both love and hate the same object.
  2. Calvinism does not nor has it ever maintained that God takes pleasure in the punishment of the wicked. They do say that His justice is maintained therein and that therefore he is glorified in it. But they never say He takes pleasure in it.
  3. Westboro may be predestinarian but they certainly aren’t Reformed. They may be an example of what can happen to Calvinists when they leave the reservation, but there are Catholic examples of that sort of thing and we shouldn’t blame the Pope for Archbishop Feeney, should we?
 
I totally agree with you, Steadfast. I did not mean to say that Calvin and the Westboro Cult are the same, I was just using them as an example of taking Calvinism to the extreme.
 
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