Why don't some Protestants like the cross?

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Recently I caught part of a broadcast on TBN where Demond Wilson (remember Lamont on Sanford & Son? He’s born again and preaching now) was talking about how when Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ” came out, he was happy that it put some focus on Jesus in the secular press but he was annoyed that it focused on the crucifixion instead of the resurrection.

And while, yeah, without the resurrection we’ve got nothing to put our faith in…why is it that some Protestants seem to belittle the cross or want to ignore it altogether?
 
Most Protestants don’t even want to be called Protestants.
Lot’s of Protestant Sunday schools teach some very anti-Catholic viewpoints.

One of my families favorite jokes is when ever we are invited to a church service by Protestants (and I am supprised how often that is actually) if they ask “so what do you think about our church?”
We always say…“gee…there are no statues of Mary for us to worship”. That usually get’s a rise out of them.

I knew a Church of Christ member who used to hound me about what a cult the Catholic church was and how I was destined to spend eternity in hell for not joining his religion…he even had literature. My kid got the same stuff at public school…I got him out of there.

I guess my point here is…why should you even care why they don’t like this thing or that thing?
I had Jehovas Witnesses in my living room for hours discussing theology and their misconseptions about Catholicism. They came back every Sunday with more and more of them, it started to be a class in Catholic for them. So one of their elders came and put a stop to that. But through their questions I got the answer to yours.

They asked why we use the symbol of Christs death and drew a comparison to wearing a gun if Jesus was shot instead of crucified.
That is what they think, that we take glory in his death rather than his life…it’s like the common sense is sucked out of their brains.:rolleyes:
 
Most Protestants accept the cross as a symbol, but object to the crucifix. I’ve never understood this because it was Christ’s death, not his resurrection, which freed us from the bondage of original sin. His resurrection proved He was God and that our faith in Him was not misplaced, but did not “save” us, to use their terminology.
 
geezerbob said:
Most Protestants accept the cross as a symbol, but object to the crucifix. I’ve never understood this because **it was Christ’s death, not his resurrection, which freed us from the bondage of original sin. **His resurrection proved He was God and that our faith in Him was not misplaced, but did not “save” us, to use their terminology.
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I will need clarification on this one. I never heard or believed that the passion death and resurrection could be seperated like that.

James
 
It’s a very strange thing. I have seen scores of worship centers where the Christian flag and the American flag are proudly on display but no sign of a cross anywhere (except the cross on the Christian flag). It also seems that they are more willing to adorn the exterior of their buildings with images of the cross than to put crosses on display inside.
 
(I’m Catholic, so I’m just guessing) I think its because they don’t know why Catholics have a cross/crucifix at all. Without Jesus’ death on the Cross, there WOULD be no Resurrection would there? And its a grim reminder of what our sins did - he died for US.

I have a crucifix on my bedroom wall, just above my light switch, as I enter the room.
 
jediliz said:
(I’m Catholic, so I’m just guessing) I think its because they don’t know why Catholics have a cross/crucifix at all. Without Jesus’ death on the Cross, there WOULD be no Resurrection would there? And its a grim reminder of what our sins did - he died for US.

I have a crucifix on my bedroom wall, just above my light switch, as I enter the room.
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Agreed…my Methodist friends were totally floored by The Passion of the Christ because, as one said, “I just never thought about how awful it was before!” Incredibily, she asked me for pamphlet on how to pray the Rosary when I told her that we meditate on the entire Passion when we pray it on Fridays. This is not a new idea! But I’m glad to see one more person “get it”.

My former pastor told a story about sitting in our church talking with a Protestant minister friend. The minister asked if they could talk elsewhere, away from the large crucifix, because “I’m just not comfortable with Him up there.” Father, bless him, responded “Well, we’re not supposed to be comfortable, are we?”

Telling about feel good religion!..and maybe part of why we Catholics get the stereotype of having lots of guilt all the time.
 
It is difficult to look back on the pain in our own lives. That carries over to remembering the pain that our loved ones endure in their lives. So it should carry over to remembering the extreme pain that Christ endured for us. Maybe this is why some Protestants do not like the cross. But, there is great joy attached to Christ’s suffering. It was the ultimate act of love for us.

Dying You destroyed our death
Rising You restored our life
Lord Jesus, come in glory!
 
The problem is not the cross among us protestants, it is a cross with Jesus still on it because he is resurrected and victorious over death.
 
Nobody likes the cross! I certainly think Jesus didn’t like the cross. People have the cross to remind thamselves that Jesus has given His life for us on the cross. We do ot wear crosses and crucifixes because we ‘like’ them. They are to help us to keep Jesus in mind.
 
It is true, Jesus rose from the dead. But it is also true that, while He is certainly not being ‘recrucified’ daily, that in the sense that he died for you, or me, His Death (as it impacts us, today) has the effects (salvation) going on today. . .and tomorrow–and as long as the world shall last. So in THAT sense, I believe, wearing or beholding a crucifix reminds us that both in that ‘recorded instant’ of time in approximately 29 AD, as well as ever since then, for every person who has ever lived or ever will live, Christ hung ON THAT CROSS FOR ALL.

Think of it this way. How many people really tend to downplay Christ’s sacrifice while focusing on the ‘results’ of the resurrection? It’s much happier to think, “Yay, I’m saved, now I can go to heaven” than to think about what Christ must have SUFFERED.

I know that most Christians really do understand and appreciate Christ’s sacrifice, but you have probably heard a lot of non Christians, some of them very insulting too, snark about how it wasn’t a BIG DEAL for Christ to die because, “he knew he was going to rise”. Or they start in to list atrocities of people suffering and dying and claiming that THEIR suffering was EQUAL TO or GREATER than Christ’s suffering. They have been desensitized by today’s climate where we either inflate suffering (if it’s OURS) as being enough to make us worthy WITHOUT Jesus coming into it, or where we downplay it (if it’s somebody else’s, particularly JESUS) as being NO BIG DEAL because EVERYBODY suffers.
 
Daniel_Marsh said:
The problem is not the cross among us protestants, it is a cross with Jesus still on it because he is resurrected and victorious over death.
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I Cor 1:23 - But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumblingblock, and unto the Gentiles foolishness:

I Cor 2:2 - For I judged not myself to know anything among you, but Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

Gal 3:1 - O senseless Galatians, who hath bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been set forth, crucified among you?

An empty cross is simply a torture device. Countless people were crucified during that time in history. The cross with my Saviour on it means something else entirely:

1 Peter 2:21-24 - For unto this are you called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example that you should follow his steps.
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22Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.

23Who, when he was reviled, did not revile: when he suffered, he threatened not: but delivered himself to him that judged him unjustly.

24Who his own self bore our sins in his body upon the tree: that we, being dead to sins, should live to justice: by whose stripes you were healed.
 
Tantum_ergo said:
I know that most Christians really do understand and appreciate Christ’s sacrifice, but you have probably heard a lot of non Christians, some of them very insulting too, snark about how it wasn’t a BIG DEAL for Christ to die because, “he knew he was going to rise”.
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Uh - we know that we’re going to rise from the dead, too - don’t we? 🤷

But I don’t see that as a reason to downplay suffering - I think it’s okay to acknowledge that we have pain, and that dying is darned uncomfortable. (I don’t see a need to wallow in it, either, mind you.)
 
I think that protestants prefer to focus on the risen Jesus. I do not think it is a big deal per se. It becomes a problem when you blame those who focus on the death of Jesus as well.
 
To me this appearsto be at least three differnt questions:
  1. Why don’t some Protestants like focusing on the Crucifixion?
    Because it is painful and many people are easily overwhelmed by pain and sorrow.
  2. Why don’t most Protestants approve of crucifixes?
    Because they believe the crucifix makes the death of Christ the “end of the story” symbolistically rather than going on to display the resurrection, generally speaking. That’s how I heard it.
  3. Why is there a small faction in Protestantism that doesn’t use the cross as a symbol, celebrate Christmas, use new Bible versions, or many other common Christian traditions?
    Because a handful of persuasive people in modern times spread rumors about those things having origins outside Christianity. Most of those individuals who started it had grudges against the Catholic Church, for example defrocked ex-priests.
 
bakhita said:
Recently I caught part of a broadcast on TBN where Demond Wilson (remember Lamont on Sanford & Son? He’s born again and preaching now) was talking about how when Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ” came out, he was happy that it put some focus on Jesus in the secular press but he was annoyed that it focused on the crucifixion instead of the resurrection.

And while, yeah, without the resurrection we’ve got nothing to put our faith in…why is it that some Protestants seem to belittle the cross or want to ignore it altogether?
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In all honesty, as a protestant once upona time, the only thing they told us was that we needed to focus on the resurrected christ, not the sacrificial christ on the cross, and when I was a protestant, it always annoyed me. Whenever i raised the issue they said it “wasn’t important anyway.” In all honesty, I think the removal of crucifixes was done just because it looked “too catholic.” Which alot of protestants did back in the day. It’s sad too.
 
Delphinus85 said:
In all honesty, as a protestant once upona time, the only thing they told us was that we needed to focus on the resurrected christ, not the sacrificial christ on the cross, and when I was a protestant, it always annoyed me. Whenever i raised the issue they said it “wasn’t important anyway.” In all honesty, I think the removal of crucifixes was done just because it looked “too catholic.” Which alot of protestants did back in the day. It’s sad too.
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I think you hit the nail on the head! 👍

Because it’s "too Catholic"
 
Daniel_Marsh said:
The problem is not the cross among us protestants, it is a cross with Jesus still on it because he is resurrected and victorious over death.
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. . . as if you can separate them and still have the Christianity.

The “war” over a crucifix or a bare cross is just plain STUPID! Both are valid signs of the faith.

I believe the resistance to crosses (and/or crucifixes) among some Protestants stems from 1) Daniel Marsh’s observation that the plain cross represents the resurrection (although every cross was “bare” after the victim was removed, and none of them got up two days later) and 2) the fear of “graven images.”
 
strngrnrth said:
  1. Why don’t most Protestants approve of crucifixes?
    Because they believe the crucifix makes the death of Christ the “end of the story” symbolistically rather than going on to display the resurrection, generally speaking. That’s how I heard it.
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Nail hit on the head. 👍 Symbolically an empty Cross shows the victory over Death Christ has and his death and resurrection are tied together and free us from the bondage of Death and original sin.

To keep Christ on the Cross says that everything stop there and the rest doesn’t matter that much. Yet the victory and the crushing of the serpents head wasn’t just the Cross it was also Christ rising from the Grave and reigning at the right hand of the Father.

O Death where is your victory, o grave where is your sting!
 
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