Cross: Difference between revisions

[[File:Nazaret Kirke Copenhagen altar.jpg|thumb|The cross on the altar in a Catholic Church in Denmark]]

'''Cross''' is an image that most Christian churches use as a symbol of Christianity. However, it was not first introduced as a symbol of faith after [[Suffering on the Cross|Christ’s crucifixion]], but it had been worshiped in pagan religions since ancient times. The cross-shaped frame was also used as the execution tool for the death row inmates in the ancient Near East.

Christian churches began to use the cross as a symbol of Christianity from the time of Constantine I of the Roman Empire (reigned A.D. 306–337).<ref name="십자가">Cross, ''Baker's Dictionary of Theology'', Everett F. Harrison, Baker Book House, 1960 pg. 152</ref> This proves that the church had not set up the cross for almost 300 years after Jesus until the time of Constantine. Among the Romans, there was a general feeling of disgust that crucifixion was an instrument of execution only for the most notorious criminals. There was no danger of beautifying the cross by sentiment for the early Christians, surrounded by crucifixion as a grim fact of common experience.<ref name="십자가" /> This is because the cross was one of the instruments used by the Roman Empire to execute Christians while persecuting the early Church. It is said that Apostle Peter was also martyred, hanging upside down from the cross.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+21%3A18-19&version=NIV|title=John 21:18–19|quote=}}</ref><ref>Peter Is Crucified Upside Down, 1001 Days That Shaped the World, Michael Wood, ''Quintessence'', October 13, pg. 89</ref> It was in the time of Constantine that crucifixion was abolished.

The second of the Ten Commandments warns us not to make idols or worship them in any image.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+20%3A4-6&version=NIV|title=Exodus 20:4–6|quote=}}</ref> There is no record in the Bible that it is okay to make an exception to the image of a cross. Regardless of how much you worship a cross or depend on the image of the cross, making it to serve God itself is an act of rebelling against the commandment. God told us not to compare Him to any images. When it comes to worshiping God, we must never make anything with materials nor honor it.

The Bible shows that the salvation of mankind was not accomplished through the image of a cross, but through Jesus’ precious blood of sacrifice.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+1%3A7&version=NIV|title=Ephesians 1:7|quote=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+1%3A18-19&version=NIV|title=1 Peter 1:18-19|quote=}}</ref> The essence of the [[New Covenant]] that Jesus established with His precious blood is the [[Passover]]. So Apostle Paul, who said that he had nothing to boast about except the cross of [[Christ]], celebrated the sacrifice of Christ through the Passover of the new covenant, and preached it. If we want to boast about Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we shall keep and preach [[New Covenant Passover|the Passover of the new covenant]] not the image of the cross.