DU Christians, random question

[nemo137]

do you prefer (maybe that's not the right word) a cross with the body of Jesus on it or without? you can answer it from either an aesthetic or religious angle, i guess.

i prefer an empty cross, since, i guess, the point isn't that he died but that he rose again, and is no longer dead.

[gayrebel83]

1. Honestly could not say...

because I've never really thought about it. I suppose it depends on the situation. I do think I like your own position the best, though.

[greyl]

2. I think it's a morbid and sneakily sick

symbol whether a body is impaled on it or not.

[murielm99]

3. It is a cross when Jesus is not on it...it symbolizes His resurrection.

It is a crucifix when he is on it. The Catholics use the crucifix, not Protestants.

[corporatewhore]

17. yep when i was a catholic ithought crosses and crucifixs wer macbre

i prefered images like of the virgen de guadalupe so full of life and creative and feminine energy

[regnaD kciN]

4. Personally...

...I like the "Christus Victor" crucifix.



While it is a crucifix, Christ does not appear nailed to it as a victim. Rather, he stands before it in his resurrected glory, arms extended as if to welcome all humanity.

[corporatewhore]

5. ex catholic never liked crosses i still wear virgin de guadalupe pendants

found Mary as a symbol of life birth full of femine and creative energy wereas found crosses and crucifixs to be macabre

[lyrical di]

6. plain cross

Grew up in a Methodist prairie town with the very simplest of crosses. That way you could picture yourself on that cross. Now in the Episcopal church we attend there is an ornate fancy crucifix with Christ on it. Not in agony, but just there as if it was a simple thing to hang around.
It's hard to view that with the same emotion.

[DerekG]

7. I prefer cross, not crucifix...

The former is a symbol for love transcending death; the triumph that a pacifist revolutionary survived the agents of a despotic government.

The cross is Life.

Bear in mind, the crucifix is just as powerful, reflecting the painful truth that our prophets and peace-makers are sacrificed on the altar of violence.

[izzie]

8. Cross vs crucifix (with Jesus)I have been picked up on this many times.

Prot. go for cross and Roman church crucifix.I have been told in both churches to get my terms right.

[xchrom]

9. both

they convey different meanings.
without is the resurrection.
with is the struggle and acceptance of the night spent in the garden.
i am always reminded that with christ -- he boils the ten commandments down to two -- love god: body, mind and spirit.
and love your neighbor much the same.
the crucification is the antithesis of the neighbor thing.
but for me christianity is a spiritual road -- so the symbols are important.

[Shrek]

10. Without

In my particular denomination, we don't use images of Christ because of the second commandment.

[rasputin1952]

11. Symbolism is powerful across any religious spectrum...

While the Cross, The Crucifix, The Star of David and The Crescent come to mind immediately, it is much more important, IMHO, to try to walk the walk of whatever religion one decides to adhere themselves to.

Symbols are important to an extent, so that a common thread runs through the community, and one can readily see who is who in the religious world; but one can just as easily tell a truly religious individual by the way they act as well. bush is not a Christian, he enjoys death and destruction...just as many mullahs haven't got the faintest idea what Islam is about.

It is a dark world we live in, and so many make it darker by misrepresenting their religions.

O8)

[UrbScotty]

12. I like it without Jesus on it, for that reaon. (nt)

[citizen snips]

13. I prefer an empty cross.

n/t

[ButterflyBlood]

14. empty

n/t

[camero]

15. Neither

I don't like to use symbols. I would prefer that actions speak for themselves.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

16. My Protestant upbringing leaves me with a preference for

plain crosses, not crucifixes.

[Taverner]

18. As a Christian, I never understood the fixation on the cross

I've always felt the fish sign made a better symbol for Christianity, especially since the Cross fixates on Christ's death.

Kind of like how Bill Hicks said Christians wearing crosses is kind of like JFK mourners wearing a bullet around their necks...

[Padraig18]

19. Crucifix.

:)