Why do "most" Protestants not use the Sign of the Cross?

[sunnier]

To cross or uncross that's the BIG question. Either one as I see it . For God looks at the heart not at our outward motions.

[oldzimm]

Wow it seems like we are getting wrapped around the axle on this one, If anyone wants to use the sign of the cross so be it, I won't look down on you, never did, never will.

Ask yourselves this Question. Lets say you die (and we all will) and you are before God (and we will be), God says to you why should I allow you into the Kingdom of Heaven? What will your answer be?

Will it be-

1. I made the signs of the cross everyday.

2. I read and studied your word everyday.

3. I was raised a good Christain in a good Christain home.

4. I wore the right cloths and lived the right way.

5. I believe Jesus Christ is my lord and savior.

The first four answers are good but they are of pride, God isn't too fond of pride, only one is the true answer and that is number five. We can do whatever we want to feel right with ourselves and God, but without the belief of Jesus as our Lord an Savior we get a no-go into heaven.

Romans 11:20 Granted, but they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.

[Botz]

I was looking into the origin of crossing oneself, and I found this.

You might want to research this.

The Cross

A tradition of the Church which our fathers have inherited, was the adoption of the words "cross" and "crucify".

These words are nowhere to be found in the Greek of the New Testament. These words are mistranslations, a "later rendering", of the Greek words stauros and stauroo. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says, "STAUROS denotes, primarily, an upright pole or stake ... Both the noun and the verb stauroo, to fasten to a stake or pole, are originally to be distinguished from the ecclesiastical form of a two-beamed cross.

The shape of the latter had its origin in ancient Chaldea (Babylon), and was used as the symbol of the god Tammuz (being in the shape of the mystic Tau, the initial of his name) ... By the middle of the 3rd century A.D. the churches had either departed from, or had travestied, certain doctrines of the Christian faith.

In order to increase the prestige of the apostate ecclesiastical system pagans were received into the churches apart from regeneration by faith, and were permitted largely to retain their pagan signs and symbols. Hence the Tau or T, in its most frequent form, with the cross piece lowered, was adopted .

Dr. Bullinger, in the Companion Bible, appx. 162, states, "crosses were used as symbols of the Babylonian Sun-god ... It should be stated that Constantine was a Sun-god worshipper ... The evidence is thus complete, that the Lord was put to death upon an upright stake, and not on two pieces of timber placed at any angle."

Rev. Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons, pp. 197-205, frankly calls the cross "this Pagan symbol ... the Tau, the sign of the cross, the indisputable sign of Tammuz, the false Messiah ... the mystic Tau of the Cladeans (Babylonians) and Egyptians - the true original form of the letter T the initial of the name of Tammuz ... the Babylonian cross was the recognised emblem of Tammuz."

In the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, vol. 14, p. 273, we read, "In the Egyption churches the cross was a pagan symbol of life borrowed by the Christians and interpreted in the pagan manner." Jacob Grimm, in his Deutsche Mythologie, says that the Teutonic (Germanic) tribes had their idol Thor, symbolised by a hammer, while the Roman Christians had their crux (cross). It was thus somewhat easier for the Teutons to accept the Roman Cross.

Greek dictionaries, lexicons and other study books also declare the primary meaning of stauros to be an upright pale, pole or stake. The secondary meaning of "cross" is admitted by them to be a "later" rendering. At least two of them do not even mention "cross", and only render the meaning as "pole or stake".

In spite of this strong evidence and proof that the word stauros should have been translated "stake", and the verb stauroo to have been translated "impale", almost all the common versions of the Scriptures persist with the Latin Vulgate's crux (cross), a fallacious "later" rendering of the Greek stauros. Why then was the "cross" (crux) brought into the Faith?

Source and more information here

Apart from the slightly amusing idea that many Believers who have adopted the cross as a symbol of hope/sanctification/identity etc have been using the wrong symbol....I wonder how crucifixion could have taken place without involving at least two sections of wood....bearing in mind that both hands were nailed, and that in Jesus' case there was a notice for everyone to read written in three languages above His head....this would have been an impossibility as far as I can see, if the Tau-type T-bar was adopted, or if a simple single stake was used.

[~Shalhevet~]

The 2nd Commandment:

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above,

Do you think this commandment also applies to crucifixes/crosses and other images of Jesus/God/Holy Spirit?

[mizzdy]

I was looking into the origin of crossing oneself, and I found this.

You might want to research this.

The Cross

A tradition of the Church which our fathers have inherited, was the adoption of the words "cross" and "crucify".

These words are nowhere to be found in the Greek of the New Testament. These words are mistranslations, a "later rendering", of the Greek words stauros and stauroo. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says, "STAUROS denotes, primarily, an upright pole or stake ... Both the noun and the verb stauroo, to fasten to a stake or pole, are originally to be distinguished from the ecclesiastical form of a two-beamed cross.

The shape of the latter had its origin in ancient Chaldea (Babylon), and was used as the symbol of the god Tammuz (being in the shape of the mystic Tau, the initial of his name) ... By the middle of the 3rd century A.D. the churches had either departed from, or had travestied, certain doctrines of the Christian faith.

In order to increase the prestige of the apostate ecclesiastical system pagans were received into the churches apart from regeneration by faith, and were permitted largely to retain their pagan signs and symbols. Hence the Tau or T, in its most frequent form, with the cross piece lowered, was adopted .

Dr. Bullinger, in the Companion Bible, appx. 162, states, "crosses were used as symbols of the Babylonian Sun-god ... It should be stated that Constantine was a Sun-god worshipper ... The evidence is thus complete, that the Lord was put to death upon an upright stake, and not on two pieces of timber placed at any angle."

Rev. Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons, pp. 197-205, frankly calls the cross "this Pagan symbol ... the Tau, the sign of the cross, the indisputable sign of Tammuz, the false Messiah ... the mystic Tau of the Cladeans (Babylonians) and Egyptians - the true original form of the letter T the initial of the name of Tammuz ... the Babylonian cross was the recognised emblem of Tammuz."

In the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, vol. 14, p. 273, we read, "In the Egyption churches the cross was a pagan symbol of life borrowed by the Christians and interpreted in the pagan manner." Jacob Grimm, in his Deutsche Mythologie, says that the Teutonic (Germanic) tribes had their idol Thor, symbolised by a hammer, while the Roman Christians had their crux (cross). It was thus somewhat easier for the Teutons to accept the Roman Cross.

Greek dictionaries, lexicons and other study books also declare the primary meaning of stauros to be an upright pale, pole or stake. The secondary meaning of "cross" is admitted by them to be a "later" rendering. At least two of them do not even mention "cross", and only render the meaning as "pole or stake".

In spite of this strong evidence and proof that the word stauros should have been translated "stake", and the verb stauroo to have been translated "impale", almost all the common versions of the Scriptures persist with the Latin Vulgate's crux (cross), a fallacious "later" rendering of the Greek stauros. Why then was the "cross" (crux) brought into the Faith?

Source and more information here

Apart from the slightly amusing idea that many Believers who have adopted the cross as a symbol of hope/sanctification/identity etc have been using the wrong symbol....I wonder how crucifixion could have taken place without involving at least two sections of wood....bearing in mind that both hands were nailed, and that in Jesus' case there was a notice for everyone to read written in three languages above His head....this would have been an impossibility as far as I can see, if the Tau-type T-bar was adopted, or if a simple single stake was used.

From what I have read that Yeshua carried the top portion and the stake it was set on was a permante, already in the ground and that the ones being crucified had to carry the top beam.

[Guest man]

The 2nd Commandment:

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above,

Do you think this commandment also applies to crucifixes/crosses and other images of Jesus/God/Holy Spirit?

I believe it does.

Deuteronomy 4

15

[humbleseeker]

I do not see anything wrong with it. We raise our hands, sing and if we want to sighn the cross so be it. Jesus be praised.

[nebula]

Apart from the slightly amusing idea that many Believers who have adopted the cross as a symbol of hope/sanctification/identity etc have been using the wrong symbol....

Right, that is a major problem I have with crossing oneself.

I wonder how crucifixion could have taken place without involving at least two sections of wood....bearing in mind that both hands were nailed, and that in Jesus' case there was a notice for everyone to read written in three languages above His head....this would have been an impossibility as far as I can see, if the Tau-type T-bar was adopted, or if a simple single stake was used.

As posted above, I've heard about the cross beam being placed on top of an already standing beam.

A separate small board with a sign could have been nailed to the top cross beam, could it have not?

[sheya joie]

I was looking into the origin of crossing oneself, and I found this.

You might want to research this.

The Cross

A tradition of the Church which our fathers have inherited, was the adoption of the words "cross" and "crucify".

These words are nowhere to be found in the Greek of the New Testament. These words are mistranslations, a "later rendering", of the Greek words stauros and stauroo. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says, "STAUROS denotes, primarily, an upright pole or stake ... Both the noun and the verb stauroo, to fasten to a stake or pole, are originally to be distinguished from the ecclesiastical form of a two-beamed cross.

The shape of the latter had its origin in ancient Chaldea (Babylon), and was used as the symbol of the god Tammuz (being in the shape of the mystic Tau, the initial of his name) ... By the middle of the 3rd century A.D. the churches had either departed from, or had travestied, certain doctrines of the Christian faith.

In order to increase the prestige of the apostate ecclesiastical system pagans were received into the churches apart from regeneration by faith, and were permitted largely to retain their pagan signs and symbols. Hence the Tau or T, in its most frequent form, with the cross piece lowered, was adopted .

Dr. Bullinger, in the Companion Bible, appx. 162, states, "crosses were used as symbols of the Babylonian Sun-god ... It should be stated that Constantine was a Sun-god worshipper ... The evidence is thus complete, that the Lord was put to death upon an upright stake, and not on two pieces of timber placed at any angle."

Rev. Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons, pp. 197-205, frankly calls the cross "this Pagan symbol ... the Tau, the sign of the cross, the indisputable sign of Tammuz, the false Messiah ... the mystic Tau of the Cladeans (Babylonians) and Egyptians - the true original form of the letter T the initial of the name of Tammuz ... the Babylonian cross was the recognised emblem of Tammuz."

In the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, vol. 14, p. 273, we read, "In the Egyption churches the cross was a pagan symbol of life borrowed by the Christians and interpreted in the pagan manner." Jacob Grimm, in his Deutsche Mythologie, says that the Teutonic (Germanic) tribes had their idol Thor, symbolised by a hammer, while the Roman Christians had their crux (cross). It was thus somewhat easier for the Teutons to accept the Roman Cross.

Greek dictionaries, lexicons and other study books also declare the primary meaning of stauros to be an upright pale, pole or stake. The secondary meaning of "cross" is admitted by them to be a "later" rendering. At least two of them do not even mention "cross", and only render the meaning as "pole or stake".

In spite of this strong evidence and proof that the word stauros should have been translated "stake", and the verb stauroo to have been translated "impale", almost all the common versions of the Scriptures persist with the Latin Vulgate's crux (cross), a fallacious "later" rendering of the Greek stauros. Why then was the "cross" (crux) brought into the Faith?

Source and more information here

I don't see how the translation of 'impale' fits with the descriptions given in the Gospels of the death of the LORD - particularly the spear in the side (why spear Him in the side when they already impaled Him?) and Thomas later saying that he wouldn't believe unless he could put his finger into the holes in the LORD's hands and feet - holes in the hands and feet don't gibe with impalement.

[Botz]

A separate small board with a sign could have been nailed to the top cross beam, could it have not?

Yes I think it is a possibility come to think of it...so hard to get rid of the traditional images that take up unnecessary thought space...I always envisioned it as being 'hung' above the L-rd's head, but it could just have well been nailed on a post to the back of the T form...I know that tradition dictates several other forms of crosses...hence the X on which Andrew was supposed to have died.