The Cross – Christian or Pagan?
I was having a conversation about this the other day with Christians. I was beaten down, they refused to see that the cross is a pagan symbol, a graven image. Their argument was that the cross with Jesus hanging on it was Catholic whereas the one without Jesus hanging on it was Christian and that it was the reminder to us of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for us.
However it is extremely important to note that no where in the Bible does it tell us that we must wear a symbol like a cross to remind us of who Jesus Christ is, or worse remind us that we are Christian, when we as Christians have the Holy Spirit who does just that for us on a daily basis.
John 14:26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
Babylon and Tammuz
“Centuries before the Christian era, the cross was honored as a religious symbol by the people of Babylon. It is seen on their oldest monuments. Historians say that it was a symbol associated with Tammuz”
(Babylonian Mystery Religion, p. 51).
From Babylon, the cross spread to other nations and was associated with paganism long before Jesus’ crucifixion in A.D. 31.
“It was not until Christianity began to be paganized that the cross came to be thought of as a Christian symbol. It was in 431 A.D. that crosses in churches and chambers were introduced, while the use of crosses on steeples did not come until about 586 A.D.”
(Babylonian Mystery Religion, p. 50).
A Pole or a Cross?
But now we have to ask the question, was Jesus Christ actually crucified on a wooden cross or a pole made from the wood of a tree? Strong’s give the following meaning of the word ‘cross’ in the bible:
G4716 σταυρός stauros (stav-ros’) n.
- a stake or post (as set upright).
I am reminded of scripture about Moses and the fiery serpent on the pole:
Num 21:7-9 (KJV)
7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
The cross has become a powerful symbol full of rich meaning for Christians. However, the cross is not supposed to remind you that you’re a Christian or show yourself as a Christian to others. Jesus taught His followers to display their spirituality through their actions and deeds y preaching the Gospel Truth to others. (Matthew 5:16)
Again, I say, no where in scripture are we told to wear a cross to symbolize we are Christians. There is not even scripture to show that any of Jesus Christ’s disciples wore a cross.
Dave Hunt from The Berean Call had this to say:
Anti-Christian elements in the secular world would like very much to do away with all public display of the cross. Yet it is still seen atop tens of thousands of churches and in religious processions, often made of gold and even studded with precious stones. Most frequently, however, the cross is displayed as popular jewelry hanging around necks or dangling from ears. One wonders by what strange alchemy the bloodstained, rugged cross of torment upon which Christ suffered and died for our sins became so sanitized and glamorized. No matter how it is displayed, even as jewelry or graffiti, the cross is universally recognized as the symbol of Christianity—and therein lies a serious problem. The cross itself rather than what transpired upon it 19 centuries ago has become the focus of attention, resulting in several grave errors. Its very shape, though devised by cruel pagans for punishing criminals, has become holy and mysteriously imbued with magic properties, fostering the delusion that displaying a cross somehow provides divine protection. Millions superstitiously keep a cross in their homes or on their person or make “the sign of the cross” to ward off evil and frighten demons away. Demons fear Christ, not a cross; and any who have not been crucified with Him display a cross in vain.
https://www.facebook.com/TheRealDaveHunt/posts/10163650845920175
As much as I love Dave Hunt, I have to respectfully disagree with the following comment “and any who have not been crucified with Him display a cross in vain“. The display of a cross, even for a genuine Christian’s is totally in vain as well.
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Any icon of whatever shape or form, including the cross as it is used, worn and displayed throughout the world, is idolatrous. And I fully agree “The display of a cross, even for a genuine Christian, is totally in vain as well.”
While being confined to my home during Covid-19, my Heavenly Father has convicted me of cleaning out items in my house which I thought was okay to have. Yes, the cross is very pagan! I have also been reading a lot. In G.H. Pember’s book, ” Earth’s Earliest Ages” on page 189, he quotes from another book called “Isis Unveiled” – “The vertical line being the male principle, and the horizontal the female, out of the union of the two at the intersection point is formed the cross – the oldest symbol out of the Egyptian history of gods.”…and also says, “the philosophical cross of the high-Masons.”
David W. Daniels explains the history of the cross with other religions centuries before Jesus in his book, “Babylon Religion” on page 212.
And if you need more proof, “The Two Babylons” by Alexander Hislop goes in depth of numerous so called Christian symbols that are actually pagan. Most Christmas and holiday decorations are pagan. I like the way Hislop explains everything. I was even convicted to get rid of an iron decoration of a dove with an olive leaf. Both Pember and Hislop explain how the dove is also pagan.
The Bible says in Exodus 20:4 “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.”
I am thankful that my Heavenly Father loves me enough that He has shown me things that never occurred to me that upsets Him. I do not want to anger God, nor do I want His wrath, so in obedience, I have thrown out crosses, almost completely all my holiday decorations (pagan ones), Mickey Mouse (yep, even Mickey – he is in an image form), most of everything that was Disney related, anything that was in an images form, such as dolphins, star fish, etc.
I am from Florida, so getting rid of Disney stuff and water figurines was the most difficult. However, once I started obeying and threw items out of my house into the garbage (instead of donating), I felt so relieved like a burden was being released and I began to feel free and definitely closer to my Heavenly Father!
Dear Lisa
Thank you so much for that comment. I felt exactly the same way.
Good afternoon Tom and Deborah, I hope everything is well?
This is a very intersting article, thank you. It’s funny, just this morning I was watching a video on youtube about how paganism is making a comeback in Europe and some other places in the world as well.
Actually I wanted to ask, have you guys heard of this fellow called Paul Anthony Wallis? I think he is Australian. I came acrros his videos yesterday and even watcehd one. I will paste the link to the video I watched. He has many other and even wrote some books as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdG5h4OOAZ4
Link to latest book:
https://www.amazon.com/Escaping-Eden-Genesis-Created-Engineered/dp/1789043875
I don’t now, to me he just looks like another new ager or progessive.
Dear Kobus :hi:
Thank you for your comment, yip we are well 🙂
Yes, Gentiles have basically returned to Paganism, as it was in the Old Testament. Now the times has come in these last days as God turns His attention back to the apple of His eye; Israel. To rescue those who will believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God from the coming antichrist.