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Was Jesus Crucified on a Cross or Stake?
No one can be certain of the precise form of the cross upon which Jesus died. The Gospels simply state that "they crucified him." In any event, it was a gruesome method of death. But the most important thing is that Christ died for our sins and arose for our justification (1 Cor. 15:34).
Notice how the stake is referred to in these scriptures:
Acts 5:30 "Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree"
Acts 10:39 "whom they slew and hanged on a tree"
Acts 13:29 "they took him down from the tree"
Peter 2:24 "who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree"
Galatians 3:13 "Christ... being made a curse upon us... Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree"
Following is Mr. Armstrong's answer to this question:
Re: Cross. The NT was not written in English. The Greek word used everywhere for "cross" is "stauros". The exhaustive concordance says, "A stake or post (as set upright), i.e., a POLE or cross as an instrument of capital punishment." The X is a pagan symbol, found in dozens of nations from ancient Babylon to modernday Germany. There was a placard above Jesus' head with an inscription, but not a cross member. See Bullinger's companion Bible, in the notes next to the words "cross" and his appendix on the subject. Luke quoted Peter as having said they affixed Christ to a "tree" (Acts 5:30;10:39). If he had meant a cross, he would have used a word connoting it. There is no etymological connection between "stauros" and "crux", in the Latin, from which the English "cross' derives, any more than there is a connection between soil or sky.
The reason they broke the legs was to hasten death, because the agony of heaving oneself upright to breathe would have caused suffocation. Since no sacrifice could have been "strangled", and the sacrificial Lamb was to have its blood shed, Christ had to die by His shed blood, not suffocation. The shoulders would be virtually pulled out of their sockets with both arms pinioned overhead by a single spike through the wrists. Any research into the ENGLISH word "cross" will only lead you to various uses of the symbol in history, and Catholic contentions that it was the instrument of Christ's death. That the great false Babylon Mystery religion uses the cross as its primary symbol is a significant clue in itself.
Is the Cross a pagan symbol? What is its origin?
The sign of the cross and the cross itself is of pagan origin. Go to this web site for a full explanation:
http://www.piney.com/His56.html.
The Two Babylons The Sign of the Cross Alexander Hislop
What is the origin and/or history of this means of death?
There are some good sites on the Internet that discuss this means of putting one to death. They also show that Christ did not die on a cross (stake with cross beam).
http://centuryone.com/crucifixion2.html
Crucifixion in Antiquity
http://hector3000.future.easyspace.com/cross.htm
A Cross An Idol Around Your Neck
The following is from information posted by the Jehovah's Witnesses. The current Jehovah's Witness objections to the cross are:
1. The Biblical Greek doesn't suggest a cross, but rather a "pole" or "stake."
2. The cross was a pagan symbol later adopted by the "apostate" church.
3. Archaeology proves that Jesus died on an upright stake rather than a cross.
4. The cross is to be shunned rather than mentioned or displayed.
Let's consider the answer to these objections one by one:
JW: THE GREEK "stauros" DOESN'T REFER TO A CROSS.
As the years went by, "proof" was supplied by the WT to substantiate its position on the cross. In 1950 with the release of the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, the appendix (pages 768771) first argues that the Greek words stauros (Matt. 10:38) and xylon (Acts 5:30) do not mean a cross, and stated that these words only mean an upright stake without a crossbeam, and that there is no proof to the contrary.
The Greek stauros has the primary meaning of a pole or stake, as the WT points out. What they don't mention is that the word often refers to more complex constructions, such as the cross. The Latin word crux usually translated "cross," was also at times used to refer to a mere stake. What the WT specifically ignores is that the Romans DID execute prisoners on crossesan issue they are careful to sidestep in their presentation. The horizontal bar of such crosses was called the patibulum, and the slaves to be executed were customarily made to carry the patibulum to the place of execution. (Seneca, De Vita Beata 19:3; Epistola 101:12; Tacitus, Historiae, IV, 3)2
Authoritative lexicons give the definition of stauros as a "stake sunk into the earth in an upright position; a crosspiece was often attached to its upper part."3
Xylon, like stauros, can also be used to refer to a cross, a fact carefully sidestepped by the WT in their effort to prove their point. They thus fail to prove anything with regard to stauros and xylon. Therefore we must look to the historical record for more decisive proof on the method of crucifixion.
JW: "THE CROSS WAS A PAGAN SYMBOL LATER ADOPTED BY THE CHURCHES"
Whatever usage of the cross existed before or after the time of Christ is irrelevant to the issue. Additionally, there is no conclusive evidence that 1st century Jews or Christians looked upon the crucifixion cross as a symbol of false worship. It was used as a means to an endthe punishment or death of a criminal. Symbols mean different things at different times. Furthermore, Jesus did not choose his instrument of death.
While the Catholic church may have later capitalized on the imagery of the cross, and some people even today regard it as an idol, that does not affect the earlier, Biblical usage of the cross as a symbol of the gospel (see the fourth objection). Evidence reveals that as early as the first century there were Christians who used the cross as a symbol for Christianity. The Romans even mocked them by depicting Jesus as an ass on a cross (see appendix for illustration). Apparently the cross did not readily remind the first century Christians of previous pagan meanings, but stood for Christ and his message as far as believers and even nonbelievers were concerned. Today it is much the same. People usually consider the cross a sign of Christianity.
JW: ARCHEOLOGY SHOWS THAT JESUS DIED ON A STAKE, NOT A CROSS."
In the 1950 and 1969 editions of the New World Translation (in their appendix), the WT reproduces one of sixteen woodcut illustrations by the 16th century writer Justus Lipsius, who authored a work called De Cruce Liber Primus, Secundus and Tres. They reproduce his picture of a man impaled on an upright stake, failing to mention that Lipsius produced fifteen other illustrations (most of which picture various crucifixions on crosses). The WT makes the statement: "This is the manner in which Jesus was impaled." They then refer to an article in the Catholic Ecclesiastical Review of 1920 that states that the cross was not used until after A.D. 312 as the sign of the crucifixion.
The 1950 New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures (Appendix, p.770) states: "Rather than consider the torture stake upon which Jesus was impaled a relic to be worshiped, the Jewish Christians like Simon Peter would consider it to be an abominable thing." They then quote Paul's reference to Deut. 21:22,23 at Galatians 3:13 to prove that the cross was an abomination. They continue, "Hence the Jewish Christians would hold as accursed and hateful the stake upon which Jesus had been executed." The NWT makes its final point in stating,
The evidence is, therefore, completely lacking that Jesus Christ was crucified on two pieces of timber placed at a right angle. We refuse to add anything to God's written Word by inserting the pagan cross into the inspired Scriptures, but render stauros and xylon according to the simplest meanings. . . . The passing of time and further archaeological discoveries will be certain to prove its correctness. Even now the burden rests upon all who contend for the religious tradition to prove that Jesus died on more than a simple stake. (p.771)
In 1969 the Kingdom Interlinear translation's appendix contained much the same information, as does the 1984 New World Translation Reference Bible and the 1985 revision of the Kingdom Interlinear. The 1985 edition adds comments by Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words that supports the view that pagans before the time of Christ used the symbol T representing the Babylonian god Tammuz, and that this practice apparently influenced the Catholic Church in the issue of cross worship. Vine claims the Catholic ecclesiastical system adapted the symbol of the cross as a holdover from paganism.
The most amazing thing of all is that the WT could make a statement such as "evidence is completely lacking" that Jesus was crucified on a cross, when the VERY BOOK they use as "proof" to support their claims SAYS JESUS DIED ON A CROSS! One of the woodcuts of Lipsius not mentioned by the WT, shows a crucifixion on a cross. A partial translation of the Latin text alongside this woodcut says: In the Lord's cross there were four pieces of wood, the upright beam, the crossbar, a tree trunk (piece of wood) placed below, and the title (inscription) placed above.
Also they hand down (this account by) Irenaeus: "The construction of the cross has five ends, two on the vertical and two on the horizontal, and one in the middle where the person attached with nails rested." (De Cruce Liber Secundus, pg. 661)
The earlier (1950 and 1969) editions of the NWT, after referring to Lipsius' picture of a man on an upright stake stated, "This is the manner in which Jesus was impaled." They thereby attempted to convey the idea that Lipsius' book was proving their point. Since then the exposure of their dishonesty induced them to leave this statement out of the 1984 and 1985 versions of the NWT; but they STILL use Lipsius' illustration to make their point, while failing to tell the real story!
They are intentionally avoiding the truth.
Furthermore, their reference to the Catholic Ecclesiastical Review (1920) is outdated, as there have been further archaeological finds that indicate otherwise, such as mentioned in Biblical Archaeology Review of Jan./Feb. 1985.
This brings up another very embarrassing issue for the WTthat of recent archaeological finds. In the earlier editions (1950 and 1969) of the NWT they had said, "The passing of time and further archaeological discoveries will be certain to prove its correctness. . . ." Why did they omit this statement from the 1984 and 1985 versions of the New World Translation? Precisely because of the more recent archaeological finds! While the WT has made use of obscure and longoutdated sources in an attempt to prove their point, the bulk of the historical finds as well as the most recent excavations reveal substantial proof for the traditional crucifixion story, as long held by the churches.
JW: "THE BIBLE DOESN'T SAY THAT JESUS DIED ON A CROSS."
There is even greater evidence than Lipsius' works for the traditional crucifixion story, though, and this evidence comes from the Bible itself. When Jesus reappeared to his disciples in his resurrected body, he still bore the marks left by the nails in his hands. The disciples were afraid that this was a spirit form rather than their Lord in the flesh. Luke 24:37 tells us that "they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit." Jesus spoke up:
Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have. (Luke 24:38,39)
The WT, incidentally, would have us believe that Jesus WAS a spirit at that time and actually DID just materialize a body so as to comfort them. How much better to believe the Word for what it says, that it WAS Jesus' body, and his hands still had the marks of the nails.
This brings up the most conclusive passage of all, which reveals that Christ was not killed as the WT portrays in their publications. The apostle John tells us that Thomas, who was not there when Jesus first appeared to the rest, refused to believe it was actually Jesus (he thought it must have been a spirit, too!). He told the others,
Unless I see in His HANDS the imprint of THE NAILS, and put my finger into the place of THE NAILS, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe. (John 20:25, emphasis added)
Note that Thomas knew there was more than one nail that punctured Jesus' hands. Yet, the WT always pictures Jesus as having ONE NAIL through both hands! When Jesus reappeared for the sake of Thomas, he showed him his hands so that Thomas could see and believe (John 20:26,27).
Apparently feeling that they needed to respond to this challenge, a "Questions From The Readers" article appeared in The Watchtower of April 1, 1984 (p. 31). They cloud the issue with a partial quote from The Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature (which doesn't support their claim) in an effort to make it appear as a "waste of time" to speculate on how many nails Jesus was affixed with. (They are right: We don't know; but we do know that there were at least two in his hands!) Then they try and imply that Thomas was sloppy in his speechsaying that even though Thomas only mentions the nail holes in his hands, he might have been referring to the nails in Jesus' feet as well.
The article concludes with the statement: Thus, it is just not possible at this point to state with certainty how many nails were used. Any drawing of Jesus on the stake should be understood as artists' productions that offer merely a representation based on the limited facts that we have. Debate over such an insignificant detail should not be permitted to becloud the allimportant truth that "we became reconciled to God through the death of his Son." Rom. 5:10.
It appears that since the evidence has swung against them, they are resorting to their old technique of accusing the opposition of what they themselves are guilty of. They are the ones that have made statements such as "evidence is lacking . . ." that Jesus died on a cross.
As usual, they shift the blame to cover themselves. Remember, they are the ones who accuse people of "false worship" for using the symbol of the cross. As far as Christians are concerned, the exact method of crucifixion is not a big issue. Rather, the emphasis that the Bible puts on the cross is the real issue!
JW: "THE TORTURE STAKE (cross) WAS SHAMEFUL AND SHOULDN'T BE GIVEN ATTENTION."
It is true that the Jews viewed execution by the cross as an accursed way to die, for it meant shame, and no hope for a resurrection. Similarly, the WT views the whole concept of Christ dying on a stake in a negative light. Note these statements in the Awake! magazine of Nov. 8, 1972: How would you feel if one of your dearest friends was executed on false charges? Would you make a replica of the instrument of execution, say a hangman's noose or an electric chair? Would you kiss that replica, burn candles before it or wear it around your neck as an ornament? "Of course not," you may say.
To the Jews and the Romans the manner in which Jesus died was humiliating and shameful. He was executed like a criminal of the lowest sort, like the wrongdoers impaled alongside him. (Luke 23:32) His death therefore misrepresented him in the worst way possible. To Christians the instrument of execution itself would therefore have been something very repulsive. Venerating it would have meant glorifying the wrong deed committed on it the murder of Jesus Christ. (p. 27)
The WT is again confusing the issue by classing those who "venerate" or worship a cross with those who consider the cross as a symbol of Christianity. Certainly there is no justification for worshipping before a cross or kissing it; but there IS justification for considering the cross as a symbol of Christianity.
Look now to An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words by W. E. Vine. Under his listing of the word, he defines and comments at length: "Stauros denotes, primarily, an upright pale or stake. On such malefactors were nailed for execution. Both the noun and the verb stauroo, to fasten to a stake or pale, are originally to be distinguished from the ecclesiastical form of a two beamed cross. The shape of the
latter had its origin in ancient Chaldea, and was used as the symbol of the god Tammuz (being in the shape of the mystic Tau, the initial of his name) in that country and in adjacent lands, including Egypt. By the middle of the third century A. D. the churches had either departed from, or had travestied, certain doctrines of the Christian faith. In order to increase the prestige of the apostate ecclesiastical system, pagans were received into the churches apart from regeneration by faith, and were permitted largely to retain their pagan signs and symbols. Hence the Tau or T, in its most frequent form, with the crosspiece lowered, was adopted to stand for the cross of Christ. As for the Chi, or X, which Constantine declared he had seen in a vision leading him to champion the Christian faith, that letter was the initial of the word "Christ" and had nothing to do with "the Cross" (for xulon, a timber beam, a tree, as used for the stauros, see under TREE)."
We admit that those two scholars were not inspired, but neither is history or tradition.
There are about two dozen common forms representing the cross out of more than four hundred shapes that have been devised. No other symbol has been so artfully pictured. Yet none of the forms are represented as a stake or pale. A stake would not be very decorative on a building, on letterheads, or dangling on a piece of jewelry.
Whether you believe that Jesus died on a traditional cross or a stake is of no concern. The efficacy of the atonement is not affected by the shape of the wood. I am bringing this to your attention hoping to challenge you to question inherited ideas and traditional practices. When we can investigate without being defensive, many surprising truths come to cheer us, and our faith will become founded more firmly.
The Cross - An Idol Around Your Neck
"What do you believe?"
"I believe in Jesus Christ. And that he died on a cross. What about you?"
"Oh, I believe in Christ Jesus, but I don't think he died on a cross."
"You don't! Why not?"
"Let me tell you why. The reason Jesus didn't die on a cross is...."
What did Jesus die on? As we looked into this conversation we noticed that one believed Jesus died on a two beamed cross, the other did not. What did they believe Jesus died on then? A simple wooden stake, like you would use for building a fence. But why does this person believe this and not the traditional cross that many "Christians" use? Let us examine this and learn more.
The Origins of the Cross
What were the origins of the cross? Everything had a start, so what was the start of the cross?
It all dates back to the evil nation that Nimrod had set up in defiance of God. The nation of Babel, or Babylon. Yes, the very center of pagan worship. Nimrod was the great grandson of Noah, the faithful worshipper of Jehovah God. He and six others were spared when the great global Flood washed all the evil off the earth. They were kept safe in the Ark that Noah spent upwards of 40 years building.
Nimrod is called "mighty hunter in opposition to Jehovah." (NWT) He was skilled in the art of killing. He killed many animals for fun, for game. Not to eat, but just to kill. It has even been suggested that he even hunted humans for sport. In Genesis chapter 10 we read how Nimrod set up his kingdom, the kingdom of Babel (Babylon), starting with the tower of Babel. Here was the beginnings of the pagan teachings that later spread all over the world like wildfire.
At that tower of Babel, Nimrod organized all the people into one general area, a means of keeping them there so that they could be his subjects and he could be their king. This did not set well with Jehovah God Almighty, so he confused the languages.
The people were split up by the loss of the mother tongue. Groups were formed with those who spoke the same language, and since no one could understand each other, the building of the tower was abandoned. Many dispersed, but when they did they took their religious ideas with them. Things such as the immortal soul, eternal punishment and things of that sort.
So, here was Nimrod, his construction project was halted, his people were leaving, and all because of Jehovah God. How did this make him feel? Not very happy. He stepped up his efforts to become a mighty king. His city grew and subjects grew, his religion got worse. It is said that Nimrod married his mother, and fathered some children. When he died, his motherwife proclaimed that he had become a mighty pine tree. Some suggest that the god Tammuz is actually Nimrod deified. The mystic symbol for the god Tammuz was the Tau, or T. This T became the symbol used in all religious worship in Babylon. As Babylon got bigger its ideas spread more over the earth, and the symbol Tau, (T) was even found in ancient Aztec ruins.
The Tau was the basis for what is now called the "cross" taken from the Latin "crux". "The shape of the [twobeamed cross] had its origin in ancient Chaldea, and was used as the symbol of the god Tammuz (being in the shape of the mystic Tau, the initial of his name) in that country and in adjacent lands, including Egypt. By the middle of the 3rd cent. A.D. the churches had either departed from, or had travestied, certain doctrines of the Christian faith. In order to increase the prestige of the apostate ecclesiastical system pagans were received into the churches apart from regeneration by faith, and were permitted largely to retain their pagan signs and symbols. Hence
the Tau or T, in its most frequent form, with the crosspiece lowered, was adopted to stand for the cross of Christ."An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (London, 1962), W. E. Vine, p. 256.
We can see that the Babylonians were the first to use a cross in worship. This is much the same as with today, the Catholic Church and many Protestant and Orthodox churches use the cross, they either wear it around their neck, or display it in their buildings. "It is strange, yet unquestionably a fact, that in ages long before the birth of Christ, and since then in lands untouched by the teaching of the Church, the Cross has been used as a sacred symbol. . . . The Greek Bacchus, the Tyrian Tammuz, the Chaldean Bel, and the Norse Odin, were all symbolized to their votaries by a cruciform device."The Cross in Ritual, Architecture, and Art (London, 1900), G. S. Tyack, p. 1.
The people of the ancient lands used the cross in worship, some, like the Egyptians used it in Phallus worship, or, worship of the male sex organ. It was used as a symbol of fertility. "Various figures of crosses are found everywhere on Egyptian monuments and tombs, and are considered by many authorities as symbolical either of the phallus [a representation of the male sex organ] or of coition. . . . In Egyptian tombs the crux ansata [cross with a circle or handle on top] is found side by side with the phallus."A Short History of SexWorship (London, 1940), H. Cutner, pp. 16, 17; see also The NonChristian Cross, p. 183.
As I have said before, the cross was used in pagan lands, The Ancient Church by clergyman W. D. Killen says, on page 316: "From the most remote antiquity the cross was venerated in Egypt and Syria; it was held in equal honour by the Buddhists of the East; and, what is still more extraordinary, when the Spaniards first visited America, the wellknown sign was found among the objects of worship in the idol temples of Anahuac. It is also remarkable that, about the commencement of our era, the pagans were wont to make the sign of a cross upon the forehead in the celebration of some of their sacred mysteries." The origin of the cross is indeed very pagan.
Author BaringGould in his book Curious Myths of the Middle Ages: "In the state of Oaxaca [Mexico], the Spaniards found that wooden crosses were erected as sacred symbols . . . In South America, the same sign was considered symbolical and sacred. It was revered in Paraguay. In Peru the Incas honoured a cross made out of a single piece of jasper . . . Among the Muyscas at Cumana the cross . . . was believed to be endued with power to drive away evil spirits; consequently newborn children were placed under the sign." The cross has been accredited as having mystic powers all over the world.
"Various objects, dating from periods long anterior to the Christian era, have been found, marked with crosses of different designs, in almost every part of the old world. India, Syria, Persia and Egypt have all yielded numberless examples . . . The use of the cross as a religious symbol in preChristian times and among nonChristian peoples may probably be regarded as almost universal, and in very many cases it was connected with some form of nature worship."Encyclopędia Britannica (1946), Vol. 6, p. 753.
It is interesting to note the similarities between the Catholic Pope parading down the street holding that big ol' crucifix of his on a stick and what the Egyptian priests did. "The cross in the form of the 'Crux Ansata' . . . was carried in the hands of the Egyptian priests and Pontiff kings as the symbol of their authority as priests of the Sun god and was called 'the Sign of Life.'"The Worship of the Dead (London, 1904), Colonel J. Garnier, p. 226.
This was during large gatherings and such. So, as we can see the origins of the cross are pagan. They were used in pagan religions long before the death of Christ. The cross that we know now is actually the first letter of the Babylonian Tammuz, the Tau, which was carried by the Babylonian priest so many years ago. Why is there such a similarity between today's "Christian" churches and those of Egypt, Babylon, and others? Let us now examine what the Greek word for "cross" really means.
The Greek Word What it Really Means
First, what is the Greek word for "cross"? The Greek word for cross is stauros. That word literally means a stake, an upright pole that you would use to hang something on. But, if that is what it means, then why do the modern crosses have twobeams that intersect? Mainly because of the pagan religions that abounded in the early years of Christianity.
The History of Christianity, by Peter Eckler said: "If Paganism was conquered by Christianity, it is equally true that Christianity was corrupted by Paganism...Many of the pagan tenets, invented by the Egyptians and idealized by Plato, were retained as being worthy of belief." So, we can see that things such as the cross were kept because the former pagans who are now bishops in what was suppose to be Christianity felt that their old beliefs were still good enough to keep, and guess what, they kept them. So, let us now look at what the Greek word stauros and the Latin
crux really mean.
The Companion Bible Part V. The Gospels, published by the Oxford University Press, then turn to its Appendix No. 162 entitled "The Cross and Crucifixion" (page 186). After a lengthy discussion of considerable evidence the article concludes: "The evidence is thus complete, that the Lord was put to death upon an upright stake, and not on two pieces of timber placed at any angle."
The Encyclopędia Britannica, 11th Edition, says: "Lipsius and other writers speak of the single upright stake to which criminals were bound as a cross, and to such a stake the name of crux simplex has been applied." It was this simple stake that Jesus was hanged on with his hands nailed above his head.
The book The NonChristian Cross, by J. D. Parsons (London, 1896), says: "There is not a single sentence in any of the numerous writings forming the New Testament, which, in the original Greek, bears even indirect evidence to the effect that the stauros used in the case of Jesus was other than an ordinary stauros; much less to the effect that it consisted, not of one piece of timber, but of two pieces nailed together in the form of a cross. . . . It is not a little misleading upon the part of our teachers to translate the word stauros as 'cross' when rendering the Greek documents of the Church into our native tongue, and to support that action by putting 'cross' in our lexicons as the meaning of stauros without carefully explaining that that was at any rate not the primary meaning of the word in the days of the Apostles, did not become its primary signification till long afterwards, and became so then, if at all, only because, despite the absence of corroborative evidence, it was for some reason or other assumed that the particular stauros upon which Jesus was executed had that particular shape."Pp. 23, 24; see also The Companion Bible (London, 1885), Appendix No. 162.
A GreekEnglish Lexicon, by Liddell and Scott, defines this as meaning: "Wood cut and ready for use, firewood, timber, etc. . . . piece of wood, log, beam, post . . . cudgel, club . . . stake on which criminals were impaled . . . of live wood, tree." It also says "in NT, of the cross," and cites Acts 5:30 and Ac 10:39 as examples. (Oxford, 1968, pp. 1191, 1192)
The Imperial BibleDictionary acknowledges this, saying: "The Greek word for cross, [stau×ros'], properly signified a stake, an upright pole, or piece of paling, on which anything might be hung, or which might be used in impaling [fencing in] a piece of ground. . . . Even amongst the Romans the crux (from which our cross is derived) appears to have been originally an upright pole."Edited by P. Fairbairn (London, 1874), Vol. I, p. 376.
An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words by W. E. Vine states on page 256 of volume one: "Stauros denotes, primarily, an upright pale or stake. On such malefactors were nailed for execution. Both the noun and the verb stauroo, to fasten to a stake or pale, are originally to be distinguished from the ecclesiastical form of a two beamed cross. The shape of the latter had its origin in ancient Chaldea, and was used as the symbol of the god Tammuz."
The Companion Bible, published by the Oxford University Press. On page 186 in the
"Appendixes" it says: "Homer uses the word stauros of an ordinary pole or stake, or a single piece of timber. And this is the meaning and usage of the word throughout the Greek classics. It never means two pieces of timber placed across one another at any angle, but always of one piece alone. Hence the use of the word xulon [which means a timber] in connection with the manner of our Lord's death, and rendered tree in Acts 5:30; 10:39; 13:29; Gal. 3:13; 1 Pet. 2:24. . . . There is nothing in the Greek N.T. even to imply two pieces of timber. . . . The evidence is thus complete, that the Lord was put to death upon an upright stake, and not on two pieces of timber placed at any angle." Das Kreuz und die Kreuzigung (The Cross and the Crucifixion), by Hermann Fulda, Breslau, 1878, p. 109, says: "Trees were not everywhere available at the places chosen for public execution. So a simple beam was sunk into the ground. On this the outlaws, with hands raised upward and often also with their feet, were bound or nailed." After submitting much proof, Fulda concludes on pp. 219, 220: "Jesus died on a simple deathstake: In support of this there speak (a) the then customary usage of this means of execution in the Orient, (b) indirectly the history
itself of Jesus' sufferings and (c) many expressions of the early church fathers."
The New Bible Dictionary says: "The Gk. word for 'cross' (staurós, verb stauróo) means primarily an upright stake or beam, and secondarily a stake used as an instrument for punishment and execution." The Latin word used for the instrument on which Christ died was crux which, according to Livy, a famous Roman historian of the first century C.E., means a mere stake. The Cyclopędia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature says that the crux simplex was a "mere stake 'of one single piece without transom [crossbar].'" Concerning the execution of punishment upon Jesus, P. W. Schmidt wrote on pp. 387389: "Beside scourging, according to the gospel accounts, only the simplest form of Roman crucifixion comes into consideration for the infliction of punishment upon Jesus, the hanging of the unclad body on a stake, which, by the way, Jesus had to carry or drag to the execution place to intensify the disgraceful punishment. . . . Anything other than a simple hanging is ruled out by the wholesale manner in which this execution was often carried out: 2000 at once by Varus (Jos. Ant. XVII 10. 10), by Quadratus (Jewish Wars II 12. 6), by the Procurator Felix (Jewish Wars II 15. 2), by Titus (Jewish Wars VII. 1)."
A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Original Greek Words with their Precise Meanings for English Readers states: "STAUROS . . . denotes, primarily, an upright pale or stake. On such malefactors were nailed for execution." Similarly, the book
The NonChristian Cross observes: "There is not a single sentence in any of the numerous writings forming the New Testament, which, in the original Greek, bears even indirect evidence to the effect that the stauros used in the case of Jesus was other than an ordinary stauros [pole or stake]; much less to the effect that it consisted, not of one piece of timber, but of two pieces nailed together in the form of a cross."
Paul Wilhelm Schmidt, who was a professor at the University of Basel, in his work Die Geschichte Jesu (The History of Jesus), Vol. 2, Tübingen and Leipzig, 1904, pp. 386394, made a detailed study of the Greek word stau×ros'. On p. 386 of his work he said: "staurV [stau×ros'] means every upright standing pale or tree trunk."
New Bible Dictionary of 1985 under "Cross," page 253: "The Gk. word for 'cross' (stauros; verb stauroo . . . ) means primarily an upright stake or beam, and secondarily a stake used as an instrument for punishment and execution."
W. E. Vine says on this subject: "STAUROS (staurV) denotes, primarily, an upright pale or stake. On such malefactors were nailed for execution. Both the noun and the verb stauroo, to fasten to a stake or pale, are originally to be distinguished from the ecclesiastical form of a two beamed cross." Greek scholar Vine then mentions the Chaldean origin of the twopiece cross and how it was adopted from the pagans by Christendom in the third century C.E. as a symbol of Christ's impalement.Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, 1981, Vol. 1, p. 256.
The Latin dictionary by Lewis and Short gives as the basic meaning of crux "a tree, frame, or other wooden instruments of execution, on which criminals were impaled or hanged."
The book Dual HeritageThe Bible and the British Museum states: "It may come as a shock to know that there is no word such as 'cross' in the Greek of the New Testament. The word translated 'cross' is always the Greek word [stau×ros'] meaning a 'stake' or 'upright pale.' The cross was not originally a Christian symbol; it is derived from Egypt and Constantine."
If this is not enough, then please take a look at what Vines Expository Dictionary of the New Testament says concerning the cross. Under the heading, "Cross, Crucify" we read: "A1, stauros, [Noun, 4716] denotes, primarily, "an upright pale or stake." On such malefactors were nailed for execution. Both the noun and the verb stauroo, "to fasten to a stake or pale," are originally to be distinguished from the ecclesiastical form of a two beamed "cross." The shape of the latter had its origin in ancient Chaldea, and was used as the symbol of the god Tammuz (being in the shape of the mystic Tau, the initial of his name) in that country and in adjacent lands, including Egypt. By the middle of the 3rd cent. A.D. the churches had either departed from, or had travestied, certain doctrines of the Christian faith. In order to increase the prestige of the apostate ecclesiastical system pagans were received into the churches apart from regeneration by faith, and were permitted largely to retain their pagan signs and symbols. Hence the Tau or T, in its most frequent form, with the crosspiece lowered, was adopted to stand for the "cross" of Christ.
As for the Chi, or X, which Constantine declared he had seen in a vision leading him to champion the Christian faith, that letter was the initial of the word "Christ" and had nothing to do with "the Cross" (for xulon, "a timber beam, a tree," as used for the stauros, see under TREE).
The method of execution was borrowed by the Greeks and Romans from the Phoenicians. The stauros denotes (a) "the cross, or stake itself," e.g., Matt. 27:32; (b) "the crucifixion suffered," e.g., 1 Cor. 1:17,18, where "the word of the cross," RV, stands for the Gospel; Gal. 5:11, where crucifixion is metaphorically used of the renunciation of the world, that characterizes the true Christian life; Gal. 6:12,14; Eph. 2:16; Phil. 3:18.
The judicial custom by which the condemned person carried his stake to the place of
execution, was applied by the Lord to those sufferings by which His faithful followers
were to express their fellowship with Him, e.g., Matt. 10:38."
So, we can see that the Greek word for "cross" really means an upright stake, without a crossbeam of any kind. The pseudochristianity that arose after the death of the apostle John, the last living apostle, decided to adopt the pagan symbol for the god Tammuz and keep it and use it for worship in their socalled "church." We can see the pagan ties between the socalled Christian church and the ancient pagan church.
The Apostate Church
At the beginning of the third century Minucius Felix [an early Church father] wrote to the pagans in Octavius and revealed the attitude that early Christians had toward the cross up to that time.
He said: "Crosses, moreover, we neither worship nor wish for. You, indeed, who consecrate gods of wood, adore wooden crosses perhaps as parts of your gods. . . . Your victorious trophies not only imitate the appearance of a simple cross, but also that of a man affixed to it." (The AnteNicene Fathers, Vol. 4, p. 191)
Notice, that this early church father said that they did not worship the cross. The pagans at that time still used it, but this person Minucius Felix told them that they do NOT hold their cross in honor in anyway. They did not have crosses and never thought of having one. Then how did true Christianity become so pagan?
An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words by W. E. Vine states on page 256 of volume one: "By the middle of the 3rd century A.D. the churches had either departed from, or had travestied, certain doctrines of the Christian faith. In order to increase the prestige of the apostate ecclesiastical system pagans were received into the churches apart from regeneration by faith, and were permitted largely to retain their pagan signs and symbols. Hence the Tau or T, in its most frequent form, with the crosspiece lowered, was adopted to stand for the cross of Christ.
"In the Egyptian churches, the cross was a pagan symbol of life borrowed by the Christians and interpreted in the pagan manner." The Encyclopodia Britannica.
EvangelicalLutheran State Church of SchleswigHolstein, Die kirche der Heimat (The Church of the Homeland), remarked in its issue of August 2, 1951: "Whether the cross on Golgotha had a crossbar or not or whether it was just a plain stake, whether it had the Tform or whether it had a crossbar placed across the upright stake is hardly possible to determine now."
The New Catholic Encyclopedia says: "The representation of Christ's redemptive death on Golgotha does not occur in the symbolic art of the first Christian centuries. The early Christians, influenced by the Old Testament prohibition of graven images, were reluctant to depict even the instrument of the Lord's [death]. . . . The cross comes to be represented in the time of Constantine." "THE sign of the cross has been a symbol of great antiquity, present in nearly every known culture. Its meaning has eluded anthropologists, though its use in funerary art could well point to a defense against evil. On the other hand, the famous crux ansata of Egypt, depicted coming
from the mouth, must refer to life or breath. The universal use of the sign of the cross makes more poignant the striking lack of crosses in early Christian remains, especially any specific reference to the event on Golgotha. Most scholars now agree that the cross, as an artistic reference to the passion event, cannot be found prior to the time of Constantine."Ante PacemArchaeological Evidence of Church Life Before Constantine (1985), by Professor Graydon F. Snyder, page 27.
"There was no use of the crucifix," says one historian of the early Christians, "and no material representation of the cross." History of the Christian Church, J. F. Hurst, Vol. I, p. 366.
FLEE! RUN!!
Flee from Idolatry: Abandon the PseudoChristian Churches Symbol If you love your Christ, and any of this has touched you then you need to heed the warning in 1Cor. 10:14 it states: "My beloved ones, flee from idolatry." Idolatry is exactly what venerating the cross is. If you hold it in high regard, hold it in your hands while you pray, bow your head to it or wear it around your neck, then you are committing idolatry. We are told many times by God that idolatry is wrong, and goes against him. Second Corinthians 6:17 says: "You come out through the midst of them, and you be separated, says the Lord, and of the unclean thing do not touch, and I will take you in."
Do not touch the unclean thing, the cross, whose pagan origins are so deeply ingrained in them you can not remove it. Flee from the kingdom of pseudoreligion. "Come out of her my people in order that you should not share together her sins and so that you should not receive her plagues." Come out of false religion, the ones that teach you that a pagan symbol for sex worship and a pagan god is what we should respect. "Do not be mislead" admonished the apostle Paul, but "guard yourselves from idols."1Cor. 15:33; 1John 5:17.
The early Christians did not think to have a crucifix or a cross hanging on their doors or in their places of meeting. New Catholic Encyclopedia says: "The representation of Christ's redemptive death on Golgotha does not occur in the symbolic art of the first Christian centuries. The early Christians, influenced by the Old Testament prohibition of graven images, were reluctant to depict even the instrument of the Lord's Passion."(1967), Vol. IV, p. 486
A History of the Christian Church says: "There was no use of the crucifix and no material representation of the cross."(New York, 1897), J. F. Hurst, Vol. I, p. 366.
To use an illustration: If your best friend was stabbed in the heart and killed, or shot in the head, would you wear a knife or a gun around your neck? Would you wont to hang that knife or gun up on your wall? Most likely not. You would despise that weapon, you would never think about doing that, but why is this different than the socalled "cross"?
We know for one thing that Jesus did not die on a twobeamed cross, so the churches have lied to us there. And we know its pagan origins, which the churches try to cover up, yet another lie on their part. Why would we wear one or even own one? Please, lets not wear any symbol that is supposed to stand for our Lords method of death, he being our very best friend.
I have given you the truth about the matter, now it is up to you to decide what is best for you, but head the warning of the apostle Peter: "For it was better for them not to have accurately know the way of righteousness than having accurately known and turned away from the holy commandment delivered to them. The saying of the true proverb has happened to them: 'The dog has returned to his own vomit and the sow having been bathed to rolling in dung.'" 2 Peter 2:22
Yes, just remember this; that if "anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin." (James 4:17, NRSV) Yes, you now know what is right, and if you don't do it then you, my friends, are committing a sin.
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