Waswe, Jesus Dae Long Cross?

WANFALA encyclopedia sei: “Cross hem main saen bilong olketa Christian religion.” Staka lotu piksa and karving showim Jesus dae long cross. Why nao staka church wea sei olketa Christian iusim cross? Waswe, Jesus dae long cross?

Staka pipol sei ansa hem stap long Bible. Olsem example, King James Version sei bifor Jesus dae olketa pipol tok spoelem hem and talem hem for “kam daon from datfala cross.” (Matthew 27:40, 42) Staka Bible transleison talem sem samting tu. Today’s English Version talem olsem abaotem Simon wea kam from Cyrene: “Olketa soldia forcem hem for karem cross bilong Jesus.” (Mark 15:21) Long olketa verse hia, olketa transleitim datfala word “cross” from wanfala Greek word staurosʹ. Waswe, “cross” hem stretfala transleison for datfala Greek word? Wanem nao mining bilong datfala Greek word staurosʹ?

Waswe, Hem Wanfala Cross?

Wanfala Greek savveman William Edwin Vine sei staurosʹ “hem minim wanfala post or pis timba wea olketa standimap. Olketa savve nilam olketa criminal long post. Datfala noun staurosʹ and verb stauroō, wea minim for nilam samting long post or pis timba, hem difren from sheip bilong cross wea olketa church iusim.”

The Imperial Bible-Dictionary sei datfala word staurosʹ “minim post, pis timba wea olketa standimap, . . . wea olketa savve hangem eni samting long hem.” Dictionary sei tu: “Long tingting bilong pipol long Rome bifor, datfala crux (Latin word wea iumi transleitim cross) hem wanfala post wea olketa standimap.” The Catholic Encyclopedia sei: “Iumi barava savve datfala cross bifor hem wanfala post wea olketa standimap wea antap long hem, hem sharp.”

Olketa man wea raetem Bible iusim nara Greek word, xyʹlon, for explainim samting wea Jesus dae long hem. A Critical Lexicon and Concordance to the English and Greek New Testament sei datfala word xyʹlon hem “wanfala pis timba or post.” Olsem datfala word staurosʹ, datfala buk sei xyʹlon “hem minim wanfala post wea olketa standimap or pis timba wea olketa long Rome nilam olketa man long hem.”

Diswan agree witim wanem King James Version talem long Acts 5:30. Hem sei: “Iufala killim dae Jesus taem iufala nilam hem long tree [xyʹlon], bat God bilong olketa grani bilong iumi mekem hem for laef bak.” Nomata olketa nara Bible transleitim staurosʹ olsem “cross,” olketa transleitim xyʹlon olsem “tree.” Long Acts 13:29, The Jerusalem Bible sei olsem abaotem Jesus: “Bihaen olketa duim long Jesus evri samting  wea olketa holy raeting sei bae kasem hem, olketa aotem hem from datfala tree [xyʹlon] and berem hem.”

Critical Lexicon and Concordance sei olsem abaotem mining bilong tufala Greek word staurosʹ and xyʹlon: “Tufala word hia no agree witim idea wea pipol distaem garem abaotem cross, wea hem stap long olketa piksa.” Taem olketa man wea raetem olketa Gospel iusim datfala word staurosʹ, olketa no minim datwan hem wanfala cross wea pipol tingim distaem. Dastawe New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures transleitim datfala word staurosʹ long Matthew 27:40-42 olsem “post” and olketa transleitim olsem tu long olketa nara verse wea garem datfala word staurosʹ. Complete Jewish Bible tu iusim datfala word “post.”

Wei for Iusim Cross Start Long Wanem Taem?

Olketa church olsem Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox sei olketa teachim pipol abaotem Bible and followim datwan. So sapos Bible sei Jesus no dae long cross, why nao olketa church hia iusim cross and decoratem long church bilong olketa? Why nao staka church iusim cross olsem main saen bilong olketa?

Hem no olketa wea go long church nomoa wea iusim cross long worship bilong olketa, bat pipol long bifor kam wea no followim Bible tu iusim cross long worship. Olketa hia iusim cross staka handred year bifor olketa church kamap. Staka buk bilong religion sei pipol long bifor iusim olketa difren kaen cross. Olsem example, pipol long Egypt bifor karvem olketa piksa abaotem olketa god and woman god bilong olketa. Olketa god hia holem cross wea sheip olsem T wea garem circle antap. Olketa kolem datfala cross, ansate, or cross wea garem handol, and olketa sei datwan minim laef. Gogo Coptic Church and olketa nara church iusim kaen cross olsem.

The Catholic Encyclopedia sei “luk olsem firstfala cross wea pipol long bifor iusim hem datfala ‘gamma’ cross (crux gammata). Olketa wea studyim history bilong Asia and olketa wea studyim olketa oldfala samting kolem datfala cross long Sanskrit languis, swastika.” Olketa Hindu long India and olketa Buddhist long staka ples long Asia iusim datfala cross. Olketa decoratem tu long plande samting wea olketa wakem.

Iumi no barava savve wanem taem nao olketa church start for iusim cross. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words sei: “Long midol long mek-thri century, olketa church teachim difren samting from wanem Jesus teachim or nating followim wanem hem talem. For mekem pipol tinghae long  wanem olketa church hia teachim, olketa church acceptim olketa heathen nomata olketa no garem faith long olketa Christian teaching. Olketa letem olketa for keepim olketa heathen saen,” wea wanfala nao hem cross.

Samfala buk storyim samting wea Constantine sei hem happen long 312 C.E. Constantine hem man wea worshipim sun. Hem sei taem hem go for faet, hem lukim long vision wanfala cross stap long sun and hem garem Latin toktok “in hoc vince” (disfala saen bae mekem iu win). Bihaen hem lukim datfala vision, hem putim wanfala “Christian” saen long olketa flag, shield, and nara samting wea army bilong hem iusim for faet. (Piksa long left saed.) Nomata Constantine sei hem kamap Christian, 25 year bihaen nao hem just baptaes taem hem redi for dae. Pipol kwestinim samting wea hem duim. Datfala buk The Non-Christian Cross sei: “Constantine no followim olketa teaching bilong Jesus bat hem trae for changem olketa teaching hia mekem olketa heathen acceptim.”

Start long datfala taem pipol iusim olketa cross wea garem olketa difren kaen sheip. Olsem example, The Illustrated Bible Dictionary storyim cross wea Saint Anthony iusim wea “garem sheip olsem kapitol T. Samfala pipol tingse datfala cross hem saen bilong Tammuz, god bilong [Babylon], wea hem nao datfala leta tau.” Saint Andrew tu garem cross wea sheip olsem leta X, and nara cross wea staka church iusim hem luk olsem smol leta t and olketa kolem datwan Latin cross. Hem nao “cross wea staka church sei Lord bilong iumi dae long hem” bat samting wea olketa bilivim hem no stret.

Wanem Olketa Christian Long First Century Bilivim

Bible storyim hao long first century, staka pipol wea herem wanem Jesus teachim biliv long hem and tinghae long wei wea hem dae for olketa. Bihaen aposol Paul preach long olketa Jew long Corinth for pruvim Jesus nao datfala Christ, Bible sei “bigman bilong sinagog, wea nem bilong hem Crispus, and evriwan wea stap long haos bilong hem, olketa biliv long Lord. Staka nara pipol long Corinth wea herem gud nius, olketa biliv and baptaes tu.” (Acts 18:5-8) Paul no talem olketa Christian for iusim eni saen or idol long worship bilong olketa, bat hem talem olketa for “ranawe from wei for worshipim idol” and from eni nara samting wea join witim heathen worship.—1 Corinthians 10:14.

Olketa man wea studyim history and olketa wea duim research sei olketa no faendem eni pruv wea showimaot olketa Christian long first century iusim cross. Datfala buk History of the Cross storyim kwestin wea wanfala man long mek-17 century askem. Hem sei: “Waswe, bae Jesus hapi for lukim olketa disaepol mekhae long samting wea [pipol sei] hem dae long hem or for iusim datfala samting long worship bilong olketa?” Wanem nao tingting bilong iu long datfala kwestin?

Iumi no need for iusim olketa idol for mekem God acceptim worship bilong iumi. Paul sei: “Hem hard tumas for olketa idol stap insaed temple bilong God.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16) No eni scripture long Bible sei olketa Christian shud iusim samting wea Jesus dae long hem long worship bilong olketa.—Comparem Matthew 15:3; Mark 7:13.

Hao nao bae pipol luksavve long olketa tru Christian? Bae pipol luksavve long olketa no from olketa iusim wanfala cross or saen bat from olketa showimaot love. Jesus talem olketa follower bilong hem: “Mi givim wanfala niu law long iufala. Iufala mas lovem iufala evriwan. Mi lovem iufala, and iufala tu mas lovem iufala evriwan long sem wei. Sapos iufala lovem iufala evriwan, pipol bae savve iufala olketa disaepol bilong mi.”—John 13:34, 35.

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Olketa man wea raetem Gospel minim difren samting from cross wea pipol tingim distaem

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Piksa from buk “De Cruce,” wea Lipsius raetem wea showim man dae long wanfala staurosʹ long mek-17 century

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Olketa piksa long Egypt bifor (c. 14th century B.C.E.) wea garem ansate cross wea minim laef

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© DeA Picture Library/Art Resource, NY

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Gamma cross long Laxmi Narayan Hindu temple

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From buk The Cross in Tradition, History, and Art (1897)