Why do Catholics keep Jesus crucified on the cross?

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I have been asked this question a few times since my conversion…please help me with how I should be responding to this question. My reply has been:

The crucifix IS the epitome of love. We must always remember God didn’t simply forgive our sins although He could have, He sacrificed Himself and willingly suffered for us…denying Himself for love of us and we are called to do the same. Jesus showed us we can trust God even when we are called to suffer in our walk with God…pick up our cross, deny our will and live in obedience to the will of God.

Sometimes I elaborate more, but this is the gist.

What do you think?
 
That is great! The crucifixion was the greatest act of love in the history of the universe. Why not have a reminder of that act around?
 
“For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:22-24).
 
Vincent said:
“For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:22-24).
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:amen:

It is the fundamental truth of Christianity. God loved us so much that he literally died for us - miserably - on a cross. Why do protestants hide from this Truth by taking Christ off of their crosses?

Jesus is God before, during, and after the crucifiction. Why deny any part of His life, especially the point of His life where he displayed the depth of His love. To gloss over the crucifiction by taking Christ off the cross is to gloss over His sacrifice.

Peace and Charity.
 
Vincent said:
“For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:22-24).
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Oh yes, good. Thank you for that.
 
Great job, Convert! I usually say that the crucifix/cross quibble is a non-issue. No Crucifixion/no Resurrection. No Resurrection/the Crucifixion would be vain. And don’t forget, the Catholic Church requires a crucifix to be placed prominently near the altar as an emblem of the Sacrifice of the Mass, which is the Sacrifice of Calvary. I wouldn’t hit Protestants with that at the outset, because they find that threatening. They need to be carefully guided (as you know).
 
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CONVERT:
I have been asked this question a few times since my conversion…please help me with how I should be responding to this question. My reply has been:

The crucifix IS the epitome of love. We must always remember God didn’t simply forgive our sins although He could have, He sacrificed Himself and willingly suffered for us…denying Himself for love of us and we are called to do the same. Jesus showed us we can trust God even when we are called to suffer in our walk with God…pick up our cross, deny our will and live in obedience to the will of God.

Sometimes I elaborate more, but this is the gist.

What do you think?
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I like this so much that I am going to write this on the inside of my bible! 👍 My family is all Protestant, so this will come in handy.
 
That’s a great answer. Sometimes, it’s effective to turn the queston around. Ask why Protestents have an empty cross.
It could be any cross. It could be the cross before Jesus was cricified.
I always say, first, that we don’t keep our Lord in his deepest agony (I’ve been accused of that), but we commemorate the instant of redemption - Jesus’ death on the cross.
I also emphasize that we do not pray to the crucifix, but use the symbol to remind us of just what our Lord did for us.
Keep up the good work.
 
I think that Jesus wanted us never to forget exactly how far he would go for His love for us. One very speaking thing that he did was still have the impressions of his sufferings on him AFTER He Resurrected. He didn’t say, “Oh, now I have risen, forget I’ve suffered.”
 
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mercygate:
And don’t forget, the Catholic Church requires a crucifix to be placed prominently near the altar as an emblem of the Sacrifice of the Mass, which is the Sacrifice of Calvary.QUOTE]

I didn’t know it was required…thank you for sharing that.
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mercygate:
And don’t forget, the Catholic Church requires a crucifix to be placed prominently near the altar as an emblem of the Sacrifice of the Mass, which is the Sacrifice of Calvary.QUOTE]

I didn’t know it was required…thank you for adding this.
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Protestants are usually very big on salvation. Remind them that salvation occurred when Jesus took the sins of the world on Himself and died. If they want a symbol of the resurrecton, why not an empty tomb rather than an empty cross. After all, Jesus’ body was removed from the cross by people who placed Him in the tomb. Nothing unusual or miraculous about that.
 
Because it was only His love that kept His body and corpse up on that Cross for all to see.
 
I honestly think most protestants take issue with the crucifix simply because it’s a “Catholic” thing. They want to eliminate anything that could possibly be connected with Catholicism.
 
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masondoggy:
I honestly think most protestants take issue with the crucifix simply because it’s a “Catholic” thing. They want to eliminate anything that could possibly be connected with Catholicism.
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Having been raised protestant, I can say that in my experience there was never anything negative towards catholics or the crucifix. I will offer you my fiancee’s explanation of why you guys have a crucifix: without Jesus on the cross, it’s just wood.
 
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CONVERT:
I have been asked this question a few times since my conversion…please help me with how I should be responding to this question. My reply has been:

The crucifix IS the epitome of love. We must always remember God didn’t simply forgive our sins although He could have, He sacrificed Himself and willingly suffered for us…denying Himself for love of us and we are called to do the same. Jesus showed us we can trust God even when we are called to suffer in our walk with God…pick up our cross, deny our will and live in obedience to the will of God.

Sometimes I elaborate more, but this is the gist.

What do you think?
Click to expand...
I think you’ve done a great job. I also have entered into the frey with Protestants over this issue. Here’s the link:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=16703&page=16&pp=100

Just go to post #1504.
It’s such a silly reason for disagreement.
In the final analysis an empty cross is just that. Christ may or may not have been on it. There were at least 2 other empty crosses at the time of his Crucifixion. In addition, we all seem to forget that the image of the brutalized Christ on the Cross is a glimpse of just how much God detests sin - how holy he is.

Phil
 
I almost forgot one other point! All Christians celebrate Good Friday. A crucifix is the ultimate reminder of Good Friday. How can someone who celebrates Good Friday condemn you for doing the same all year?

Phil
 
then why do some catholic churches have a Risen welcoming Jesus in the center of the Church, rather than a crucified one?
 
Check Revelation 5:6. One of John’s visions of Christ in Heaven is rather bloody if you stop think about exactly what the sacrificed Lamb would look like.

– Mark L. Chance.
 
WHen I was attending a Independent Baptist Church, I found a website that claimed that Catholics were wrong for remembering Jesus in his most humiliating moment. That Catholics were somehow responsible for degrading Jesus by having him up on the cross. Yes, I know that is silly and I will try and find the site. My pastor had some weird idea that Catholics didn’t believe in the resurrection. He was a very sweet guy, but he refused to believe that he was wrong.

On the plus side, I do think that most Protestant accept the crucifix as a symbol and not something that they should get upset about. Unfortunately, the ones that get out of shape about the crucifix are the loudest.
 
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