WHY OBJECT TO THE CROSS?

Why does our Church object to the use of the cross? Not the Cross but the material cross or crucifix which is regarded by millions as the sacred symbol of Christianity. World-wide publicity was given to the priest who rushed to place a cross on the body of the murdered Senator Kennedy of U.S.A. The Church of Rome and the Church of England make a lavish display of crosses, and the Church of Scotland is re-introducing them. Quite recently the Roman Catholic Bishop of Lancaster warned his flock that “The crucifix must be on the walls and in every Roman Catholic home”.

Now, in opposition to all this, our Synod, in 1919, protested against ‘The erection of Popish crosses, or Popish symbols of any kind, over the graves of Presbyterian soldiers’. And with good reasons, as a brief survey of the history of the cross will show.

Crucifixion was not a Jewish mode of punishment; it was introduced by their Roman conquerors. The Latin Cross, the Maltese Cross, the St. Andrew’s Cross, the German Swastika, etc., cannot all be true copies of the cross of Calvary. The fact is that the cross was a pagan pre-Christian symbol used in ancient times in Rome, Greece, Egypt, India and even in Mexico. The New Catholic Encyclopedia frankly admits that “The cross is found in both pre-Christian and non-Christian cultures”.

Although many true Christians were buried in the Catacombs of Rome during the first three centuries of our era, not a single cross is to be found on their tombs. “The apostles never used a material cross in preaching the Gospel … The cross was introduced first by placing it on the top of the church, then at the door, and at last it was taken inside. The devil is very cunning. First he stands on the top of the church or sits at the door, and says, ‘I am an ornament’, but when he gets inside he shows that he is more than an ornament”. It was not till the Council of Constantinople in 691 A.D. that crucifixes were authorised to be set up in churches. Thus a door was opened to floods of superstition and idolatry that have never yet abated.

The majority of our readers must have heard of the Wars of the Cross (Crusades), Indulgences, the Massacre of St. Bartholomew and the Slave Trade.

When the gallant but misguided Crusaders left Europe in the Middle Ages to drive the heathen Saracens out of the Holy Land, they wore crosses on their breasts; but in spite of these magic charms, and the blessings of several Popes, the Crusades were a magnificent failure.

At the dawn of the Reformation, Luther watched the wily Tetzel carrying a large red cross to induce the poor ignorant Germans to buy Papal Indulgences for their sins.

During the Massacre of St. Bartholomew in 1572 the streets of Paris ran red with the blood of Huguenots (French Protestants). The murderers wore white crosses on their caps. Their ‘Holy Father”, the Pope, was so delighted with the massacre that church bells were rung in Rome, and the Pope struck a medal to commemorate ‘the happy event’.

The West African Slave Trade with America was started by the Portuguese. Two Papal Bulls (Edicts) sanctioned that inhuman traffic, and so the Portuguese ships bore the sign of the cross on their sails.

Any one entering a Roman Catholic church today can see plenty of crosses, crucifixes, candles, statues and crude, imaginative pictures, but no Bible. Can we wonder that John Calvin, regarded by many as the greatest of the Reformers, once called the Church of Rome “Satan’s Masterpiece”? And its chief symbol is the cross.

Free Presbyterian Magazine

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