Re: The Opinions of the Cross -- Mamusz' Restoration Forum

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Date Posted: 20:16:54 04/05/11 Tue
Author: George
Subject: Re: The Opinions of the Cross
In reply to: Lois 's message, "Re: The Opinions of the Cross" on 10:17:45 04/05/11 Tue

>>So what do people think of the cross? More
>>specifically, what do they think of the cross as it
>>relates to Christ? That's where the symbol comes from,
>>and that's where the real discussion begins. Why did a
>>beautiful life have to come to such a terrible end?
>>What was in His mind? What should now be in ours? Here
>>are some of the explanations people give for the death
>>of Christ.
>>
>>It is an example of nonresistance. Some people
>>feel that when Jesus died on the cross He was giving
>>us the ultimate example of how to live in a violent,
>>hostile world. They say that His death shows us how to
>>live successfully by being strong enough to let others
>>have their way.
>>
>>It means whatever you want it to mean. Those
>>who take this approach generally believe that Christ
>>did not actually accomplish anything when He died on
>>the cross. Since it has become such a part of our
>>awareness, it can be used to symbolize many different
>>things.
>>
>>It has no real meaning. Some people say that
>>the significance of Christ was in His life -- not in
>>His death. They believe that he came to live a
>>flawless life on earth so that we could know what God
>>is like. But that was all God sent Him to do. His
>>death, they say, was not related to His mission on
>>earth.
>>
>>It represents failure. Those who hold this view
>>say that Jesus had a noble and global plan for earth,
>>but that He died before He could carry it out. His
>>mission was aborted when the Roman soldiers nailed Him
>>to the cross like a commmon criminal. When Christ
>>died, these people say, it meant that He had
>>failed.
>>
>>From: Why Did Christ have to Die?
>> c. 1986 Radio Bible Class, Grand Rapids,
>>Michigan pp 3-4.
>>
>>What is your opinion of the cross?
>>
>>What opinion do those have whom you are relying upno
>>to teach you about Jesus Christ?
>>
>>George
>
>George,
>
>The people who believe and teach the above do not
>believe in God. They do not believe in justice.
>
>Jesus died on the cross for a very specific reason.
>Humanity sinned and as a result was not fit to ever be
>in God's presence ever again. No unclean thing can
>abide in God's presence. That may be an
>incomprehensible concept to many of us, but that is
>how it is.
>
>The only way this could be remedied is for a price to
>be paid. The price was so high that none of us could
>pay it. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the only one
>valuable enough, good enough, righteous, that He is
>the only one qualified to pay the price.
>
>That is why He died on the cross. Other denominations
>seem to understand better what the blood of Christ
>means. We think of blood as being dirty, which when it
>leaves our body is dirty. But Jesus's blood cleans us.
>That means that he sacrificed his life and blood to
>save us.
>
>But his blood, shed on the cross, only saves us if we
>choose to accept his sacrifice. We choose to accept by
>having faith in him and repenting of our sins. His
>blood is ineffectual on the unrepentant.
>
>Lois

Lois, those who do not believe in repentance should wear crucifixes instead of crosses, because as far as their life goes, they will never let Jesus off the cross. He will have to suffer through eternity to excuse each sin they continue to commit voluntarily and without thought.

I think that Paul referred to it as putting Jesus to an "open shame."

There are a great many who believe that Jesus was just a wandering holy man. Those in this category who are honest, at least, do not pretend to have divine right to run any Christian organizations.

As for blood being dirty, it is. It contains all sorts of blood-borne diseases, which was the cause that the Law of Moses forbade types of sexual relationships that astronomically increased the likelihood of transmission.

Jesus' blood, though, is pure from a spiritual standpoint, if not a physical one. There was a very odd liberal in my former institutional branch whom I hold in high regard as a person, but not as a priest. She once used white grape juice for communion to symbolize the fact that Jesus' blood is pure. But being traditional and well aware of the purported color of the ichor flowing through the veins of pagan Greek gods, I did not care for that at all. I agreed with the idea 100%, but found the means of expressing the idea to be unacceptable from a ritual and symbolic standpoint.

George

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