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On occasions I have had Protestants friends or others as
me why I wear a necklace with the image of Christ on the cross. The
most common position I have heard is that he or she opposes such an idea
since Christ is risen and no longer on the cross.
Additionally, Protestants tend to site the Old Testament prohibition
against "graven images", as do current day Jews and
Muslims.
Response:
First, it must be clarified that in the Old Testament God did not reveal
himself to humanity in human form. I believe Moses saw Him as a
burning bush. The Golden Calf made by the Israelites while Moses was
visiting with God on mountaintop was a graven image that clearly was
created to replace the relationship with God through Moses. It was a
clear violation of the commandment, "You shall have no other
gods".
With the Incarnation of the Word made present by
Jesus Christ, conditions changed. The Word became incarnate so that
we might know God. (Gospel of John). If God was opposed to us seeing
the human form of God he would not have come in human form. Even if
artists throughout the ages have varied in the quality of their renditions
of Jesus Christ, the principal remains the same. God came in the
form of a man so that He might have an intimate relationship with created
mankind.
The following statements of St. Paul seem to make clear
the value of Christ on the Cross:
Gal 6:14: “But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
1 Cor 2:2: “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
To be complete, I know of no Catholic Church teaching or dogma stating
that I as an individual must display, demonstrate, or wear the crucifix.
My own office has a framed image of the risen Christ taken from a stained
glass window in my church. Additionally, to my knowledge,
Orthodox Christians do not routinely display Christ crucified, and I
certainly respect their consistency with the original faith shared with
Catholic Christians for 1000 years. To this day there exists few or
no essential differences of doctrine between the two churches.
However, I would propose that anyone disapproving of the
crucifix is not living consistent with the above cited scriptures and is
hesitant to remain totally mindful of the price paid by Jesus Christ for
the salvation of the world.
C. Gleason, DVM
In order to serve this topic greater justice I am linking
to a document "The Cross and the Crucifix", by Steve
Ray. This document is a MS Word document.
Click here to read more
history and insight.
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