Why isn't the cross considered an idol?

[Headcasey669]

Exodus 20:1-15 ESV

And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me

 

[Blake H]

Luke 14:27 (MEV) "And whoever does not bear his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple."

 

[Headcasey669]

Luke 14.27 doesn't go quite like that.. And that not it's meaning anyway ... Its not a verse to turn us all into idol worshipers

 

[Samson2020]

The cross is the POWER OF GOD unto those of us who are saved. It is the place where our carnal mind is to be crucified. The mind that categorizes everything into good or evil, both of these from the tree of death. I consider the cross to be a symbol of salvation although some indeed take it too far by making jewelry and such as a sign of their faith. Question is does the inside reflect what they claim on the outside by the wearing of such. And as this is the place where Jesus paid the price for our sin it's hard to not look towards that image as a place where our punishment was paid for by him. But in seeing what his reward for that sacrifice was we willfully sacrifice our carnal selves on our own cross in order to attain to the same reward. In short it's impossible to separate the process of the cross from Christianity as it is the power of God to those of us who understand its application.
We worship an invisible God in spirit and truth and anything that is seen is indeed not to be worshiped because it is not the Father. But the Father brought the cross into the world for our salvation with Jesus being the forerunner to show us the way physically for a spiritual application.
To a majority I would agree that it is just an image and they have no idea what the application process is, but this is what they are appointed to for now.

You ask a hard question indeed!

 

[Hekuran]

I've been thinking about this since the question was posted. I guess a carving of the cross could become an idol, but in nearly every case I can think of it's a sign and a proclamation.

With an idol, there's the belief that a divine being somehow inhabits a statue or an image. A crucifix doesn't do that - it points beyond itself to Christ and his sacrifice.

 

[Samson2020]

Kinda like a sign post

 

[Blake H]

The cross is a symbol that identifies us as Christian, and also a reminder that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. We don't worship and give offerings to it. The cross is an object not a person or a god, so I don't see how it can be an idol.

 

[BlessedBeyondBelief]

I see both see both sides. It being a sign of Christians today. We seek things to hold onto commemorate what God has done. This sort of thing is can be seen here in Genesis 35:7 , where Abraham gathers stones, makes on altar and names it because God appeared to him there. Establishing something physical because of the spiritual experience.

I can also see how it can be viewed as an idol. We always seek tangible things because we are material people worshiping an invisible God. But the cross is not even exclusive to Jesus. Its a punishment created by Romans that they used before and after Jesus ( He wasn't even the only one crucified on that day). If he were hung or stabbed, would we bear those methods of execution as a sign of our belief? It is not in of itself holy, but people bow down before them to pray at come churches and personal altars. I know prayers are not necessarily directed to the physical object, but that imagery does denote the symbol having some power if it elicits a response from those coming before it.

I don't look at anyone with a cross with any judgement because I understand the modern context. I just personally don't care for them because they don't bring any comfort or serve a purpose for me.

 

[Ivan Chamurliev]

Exodus 20:1-15 ESV

And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me

Well, I'll give you a simple answer. If it is a carved wooden ( it doesn't matter the material )cross and people pray to it then I think it is an idolatry. Because we should pray and believe in an invisible God. The one that created everything, the visible and invisible things, the heavens and the earth. The cross is just a symbol with a great meaning. It is actually a matter of believing what happened on it, than to just have it. I currently live in a country with strong catholic tradition and there a lots of people are having or carrying cross, but maybe few of them meditate on what actually happened there. The same can happen with many other people obviously. The problem sometimes is not to carry a cross with us, but thinking that we are saved or protected just by having it with us. The same with the Bible. We are not receiving something just by having it, but by reading and believing it. This is what I think about the matter.

 

[spiriteddove05]

cross is not a decoration but a decloration!!

 

[Sue D.]

It's the Empty cross that can remind us of Jesus Christ being the Risen Savior. He did Die for our sins., was buried and then rose again the 3rd day according to Scripture.

A declaration. Declaring the risen Savior.


Anything can Become an idol.

And the cross Could become an idol to a person. It depends on a person's attitude Towards it.

 

[Curtis]

The "brazen serpent" in which God told Moses to put on a "staff" so that if anyone was bitten by a serpent in the desert if they looked upon it they would not die.

It was not an 'idol" at first but later became an "idol" so God told the prophet "Hezekiah" to destroy it because Israel worshipped it.

2Ki 18:3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.
2Ki 18:4 He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).

 

[Hekuran]

The "brazen serpent" in which God told Moses to put on a "staff" so that if anyone was bitten by a serpent in the desert if they looked upon it they would not die.

It was not an 'idol" at first but later became an "idol" so God told the prophet "Hezekiah" to destroy it because Israel worshipped it.

2Ki 18:3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.
2Ki 18:4 He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).

I'd forgotten that incident. Really helpful to remember it in this conversation.