I think this best sums it up
where did you find this, this is the internet please post links to the source material so we know if this comes from a scholarly site or just some nut in his basement blogging:
There is no evidence that for the first 300 years after Christ’s death, those claiming to be Christians used the cross in worship.
According to Wikipedia: A symbol similar to the cross, the staurogram, was used to abbreviate the Greek word for cross in very early New Testament manuscripts such as P66, P45 and P75, almost like a nomina sacra. The cross symbol was already associated with Christians in the 2nd century, as is indicated in the anti-Christian arguments cited in the Octavius[7] of Minucius Felix, chapters IX and XXIX, written at the end of that century or the beginning of the next,[8] and by the fact that by the early 3rd century the cross had become so closely associated with Christ that Clement of Alexandria, who died between 211 and 216, could without fear of ambiguity use the phrase τὸ κυριακὸν σημεῖον (the Lord's sign) to mean the cross, when he repeated the idea, current as early as the apocryphal Epistle of Barnabas, that the number 318 (in Greek numerals, ΤΙΗ) in Genesis 14:14 was interpreted as a foreshadowing (a "type") of the cross (T, an upright with crossbar, standing for 300) and of Jesus (ΙΗ, the first two letter of his name ΙΗΣΟΥΣ, standing for 18),[9] and his contemporary Tertullian could designate the body of Christian believers as crucis religiosi, i.e. "devotees of the Cross".[10] In his book De Corona, written in 204, Tertullian tells how it was already a tradition for Christians to trace repeatedly on their foreheads the sign of the cross.[11] It is important to note that the crucifix, that is a cross upon which an image of Christ is present, is not known to have been used until the 6th century AD.[12] (you can check my copy paste here)
In the fourth century, however, pagan Emperor Constantine became a convert to apostate Christianity
who determined his brand of Christianity was apostate and when did they determine that and promoted the cross as its symbol. Whatever Constantine’s motives, the cross had nothing to do with Jesus Christ
except for that little part about he was crucified on one. The cross is, in fact, pagan in origin. The
New Catholic Encyclopedia admits: “The cross is found in both pre-Christian and non-Christian cultures
Wow someone figured out how to cross two pieces of wood at right angles without any Christian influence, must mean that everything we find outside of Christian influence must be pagan and evil.” Various other authorities have linked the cross with nature worship and pagan sex rites.
Why, then, was this pagan symbol promoted? Apparently, to make it easier for pagans to accept “Christianity.” Nevertheless, devotion to any pagan symbol is clearly condemned by the Bible. (
2 Corinthians 6:14-18) The Scriptures also forbid all forms of idolatry. (
Exodus 20:4, 5; 1 Corinthians 10:14)
Loosing Occam's razor on this argument: maybe the Christians adopted the symbol of the cross because Jesus died on one and they recognized both the unique significance of his death and how that was the most pivotal and important thing he did in his life. So they adopted the instrument of his death as a remembrance of the price God was willing to pay to rescue them. The cross is mentioned in scripture over and over again, most notably in 1 Cor 1 where Paul talks about fearing the cross of Christ would lose it's power and then in chapter two he says he wouldn't talk about anything except Jesus and him crucified. Sounds like the cross was pretty central to Paul's message so why would anyone think it was a pagan addition.
Failure for anyone (including me) to do proper homework before standing firm on a position, is why most arguments get heated
actually, a little thing called PRIDE is usually to blame for most of the nastiness on here, people who aren't willing to listen and can't conceive that they are wrong . I am not a nut or confrontational
Oh I would say you are rather confrontational , nor insane for standing by what I believe to be truth, backed by homework and historical fact
Or at least some opinions you read on the internet. I do not believe one is saved or not saved by doing anything in particular ( wearing a cross) -that was not the push of this thread. It is up to the individual to seek out what may or may not be right
Then why have you carried on this debate so long to convince us all of how weird it is to wear a cross?
