Illustrated Manuscript

Why does Christendom teach that Jesus was impaled on a cross?

Because the earliest manuscripts do not teach this. I mean it seems kind of silly to wear someting that was used to kill someone if in fact it was even a cross. To illustrate if your son or daughter was shot with a 38 would you wear a little gold 38 around your neck, and wouldnt the veneration of a cross not be idolitry?

THE cross is loved and respected by millions of people. The Encyclopædia Britannica calls the cross “the principal symbol of the Christian religion.” Nevertheless, true Christians do not use the cross in worship. Why not?

An important reason is that Jesus Christ did not die on a cross. The Greek word generally translated “cross” is stau·ros′. It basically means “an upright pale or stake.” The Companion Bible points out: “Stauros” never means two pieces of timber placed across one another at any angle . . . There is nothing in the Greek of the New Testament even to imply two pieces of timber.”

In several texts, Bible writers use another word for the instrument of Jesus’ death. It is the Greek word “xylon”. (Acts 5:30; 10:39; 13:29; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24) This word simply means “timber” or “a stick, club, or tree.”

The apostle Paul says: “Christ by purchase released us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse instead of us, because it is written: ‘Accursed is every man hanged upon a stake [“a tree,” King James Version].’” (Galatians 3:13) Here Paul quotes Deuteronomy 21:22, 23, which clearly refers to a stake, not a cross. Since such a means of execution made the person “a curse,” it would not be proper for Christians to decorate their homes with images of Christ impaled.

There is no evidence that for the first 300 years after Christ’s death, those claiming to be Christians used the cross in worship. In the fourth century, however, pagan Emperor Constantine became a convert to apostate Christianity and promoted the cross as its symbol. Whatever Constantine’s motives, the cross had nothing to do with Jesus Christ. 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.” 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) With very good reason, therefore, true Christians do not use the cross in worship.

Making Manuscripts

Illuminated Wenzelbibel manuscript Photo Mugs A page from the illuminated manuscript known as the Wenzelbibel (or Wenzelsbibel), named after King Wenzel (Wenceslaus) IV of Bohemia. It contains some of the books of the Old Testament, and was written in German, translated from Latin. ….

Page from a Book of Hours Photo Mugs An illustrated page from a Book of Hours, written in Latin. ….

Page from a Troubadour poem Photo Mugs A page from a Troubadour poem, written in Italian and Provencal, with decorated initial letters and decorated margins. ….

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