The Christian cross is the best known symbol of Christianity today. But it was by no means the earliest. The catacombs under Rome is the burial place for thousands of early Christians (150-410 A.D.) The underground passages contain crude drawings and colorful frescoes on the walls.
The earliest symbols of Christianity are:
1)Chi-Rho (first two letters of Christ in the Greek, X stamped on the bottom stem of a P)
2)The fish symbol (ichthus) (very popular today)
3)The boat anchor symbol (one of the earliest and expressed the firm expectation of eternal life "an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast"
4)The Good Shepherd symbol (usually carrying a sheep over his shoulders)
5)The dove symbol (olive branch in mouth signifying peace and happiness of the soul)
The cross became the more prominent symbol of faith from the 5th century on, but for early Christians, the Chi-Rho, the fish, and the anchor were most often used for not only identification, but for denoting meeting places.
NOTE: I don't have a problem with people wearing crosses. Some object to it and say, "Would you wear a necklace or tie tack with an electric chair? Or a syringe needle?"
As long as the cross is a reminder of Jesus and His great love, it perhaps serves a good purpose.
If it is worshipped, I suppose it becomes an idol.
Idolatry and graven images are easy to make. For example, would we feel as though we insulted God if we burned a cross. If so, why? Was God in it? Did God make that image holy? Same idea with moving a pulpit, tearing down a church building and rebuilding, or even throwing away or tearing up a Bible.
ReplyDeleteIf I didn't know you bro. James...I might be concerned with the insinuation that cross burning was ok? Could you perhaps make your point a little clearer?
ReplyDeleteI am guessing that you refer to throwing things away. There is a proper way to do so...for example...the US Flag is to be discarded in a particular manner. The union is to be cut out, each star removed and each stripe seperated. Then it ceases to be a flag and is fabric to be discarded.
I am curious what is the sufficient way to discard of an old tattered Bible. Should it sit on a shelf and gather dust or be donated (old junky stuff is never good to be given away) should the pages be seperated and cover torn off and then it be burned?
Anyway...I am wondering what modern day symbols there are of Christianity...