Question:  Dear Greg,

            One of the 10 Commandments is to worship no other gods or carved images before God.

            How can the crucifix/cross NOT be an idol?  It seems to me that many people worship it and hold it in high regard (superstition maybe?).  I really don’t understand why people would want to glorify the object that was used so prominently (and painfully) in the death of Jesus Christ.  I realize that by dying on that cross Jesus made it possible for us to be saved…but do you really think it’s appropriate to hold the cross in such high regard?  Wouldn’t Jesus want us to remember HIS SACRIFICE and not the method that was used to achieve it?  I have been to Catholic churches that have a life-size statue of Jesus hanging from the cross at the front of the church!  I found it to be depressing, cold and creepy instead of hopeful and forgiving.

            Thank you for taking the time to answer my question.  May God continue to bless you and Plain Truth Ministries.

            Sincerely,

            Daniele

Answer:  Dear Daniele,

            The use of the cross in Christianity is a symbol, not as an idol.  Do people worship the cross?  I am sure that some do—but most Christians do not.  I wear a cross around my neck.  Do I worship it?  No, it is a symbol, a reminder to me of what Christ did for me and that he owns me.  It is like a ring that couples give each other at marriage.  Some Christians (not the majority, but there are some) believe that rings are idols and that we should not wear them.  Many Americans have bumper stickers and banners that read 9/11/01, some with photos of the collapsed twin towers of the World Trade Center.  That date and that place are objects of enormous pain, but those people want to remember.  I don’t think such symbols are idolatry.

            Must Christians wear or display a cross?  No.  Nothing in the Bible tells us that.  Protestants generally favor the empty cross for many of the reasons that you advance.  The cross is the term used for an empty cross (after all, he isn’t on that cross anymore, just as he isn’t in the empty tomb anymore), while a crucifix is the term for a cross with a human figure on it.

            This is a brief overview.  If you have more questions on this topic, or another for that matter, we’ll try to be of help.  May God bless you, Daniele.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht