# Why do some faiths have Jesus on the Cross and others don't? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 27, 2016, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-faiths-have-jesus-on-the-cross-and-others-dont/769853 "2016-10-27T15:55:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-faiths-have-jesus-on-the-cross-and-others-dont/769853/41 "2016-10-29T19:20:08Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > It’s always struck me as bizarre that Christianity has the instrument used to torture Jesus to death as their symbol. Yeah yeah “his suffering was necessary to redeem our sins”, it’s all rather morbid. Personally I find the main buddhist symbols of the buddha peacefully meditating rather more inspiring. The cross was the instrument of humanity’s salvation- why wouldn’t you use it as your symbol? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-faiths-have-jesus-on-the-cross-and-others-dont/769853/42 "2016-10-29T23:18:40Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > Thats a crucifix. > > Its just the sanitised sects avoid the morbid look of the crucifix. They also don’t have actual nails in hands any re-enactment… Note that crucifixes are sanitized too. The Romans didn’t put a delicate little loincloth on people before they nailed them to a cross – they were crucified completely naked. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-faiths-have-jesus-on-the-cross-and-others-dont/769853/43 "2016-10-29T23:34:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > So, there’s this Jewish kid who’s doing terribly in math. His teachers all say that he’s got a lot of potential, but that nothing motivates him to actually do his work. So his parents try offering rewards for him doing his homework. They try punishing him for bad grades. They try putting him in charter schools, and home school, and private schools. They try everything. Finally, they enroll him in a Catholic school. > > Imagine their surprise when, a month later, he comes home with a 97% on his first math test! They ask him what the Catholic school is doing that finally made the difference. “Well”, he says, “when I saw that guy nailed to the plus sign on the wall, I knew they meant business!”. The neighbor lady told that to my mother when I was about 4 years old. It horrified my mother and I had no clue what it meant. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-faiths-have-jesus-on-the-cross-and-others-dont/769853/44 "2016-10-29T23:45:57Z")
Originally, Christians didn’t even use a cross or a crucifix – they used the [Chi Rho](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi_Rho). Most Catholic churches still use it in addition to the crucifix. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-faiths-have-jesus-on-the-cross-and-others-dont/769853/45 "2016-10-30T00:05:33Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’ve heard the theory that Christ has risen. He’s not on the cross anymore. > > OTOH Depicting Christ on the Cross reminds us of his suffering for mankind. > > It does seem to depend on the branch of Christianity. > > I wasn’t sure if this was part of the Protestant Reformation or not. > [@Skammer](#): > > This is where my thinking went also. Was the saving work of Christ accomplished on the cross, or in the tomb? Different Christian traditions will give different answers or no answer. > > But I do think that **Nava** ’s reference to iconoclasm is also an important factor. > > By the way, the icon with Christ nailed to the cross is usually referred to as a _crucifix_ to distinguish it from a plain cross. > > Above the altar at my home church - Episcopal - hangs a very large [_Christus Rex_](http://www.marianland.com/aut0612/PD425.html). It’s a sculpture of Jesus on the cross, but not suffering in rags with nails in his hands and feet and a crown of thorns. He’s on the cross, standing erect with his arms outstretched, in full regal garb including flowing robes and a golden crown. I once interpreted at an Episcopal church in mid-sized college town in Southern Indiana that had a HUGE Christus Rex above the alter. I kept looking at it, thinking it looked wrong, somehow, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Later, someone explained to me the difference between a crucifix and a Christus Rex. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-faiths-have-jesus-on-the-cross-and-others-dont/769853/46 "2016-10-30T02:21:00Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I once interpreted at an Episcopal church in mid-sized college town in Southern Indiana that had a HUGE Christus Rex above the alter. I kept looking at it, thinking it looked wrong, somehow, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Later, someone explained to me the difference between a crucifix and a Christus Rex. What do you interpret? “Christ the King, reigning from the cross”? ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-faiths-have-jesus-on-the-cross-and-others-dont/769853/47 "2016-10-30T04:16:40Z")
There is also the consideration that the man we know as “Jesus the Christ” was part of the prophesied bi-lateral concept. He was “the one who will lead us” and the other messiah was the spiritual guide. Jesus’ leadership is marked by raising an army of followers. James (Jesus’ brother) was recognized as a spiritual leader. It’s been suggested that “they got the wrong guy,” so to speak. James may have been the spiritual side of the two pillars represented at the Qumranian sites that archaeological findings like the Dead Sea Scrolls have yielded. It’s only food for thought, and I’m not going into detail here. A book called _The Hiram Key_ might interest some here. It deals with a lot of current relationships to pre-Christian ritual and such, but zeroes in on this topic competently. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-faiths-have-jesus-on-the-cross-and-others-dont/769853/48 "2016-10-30T05:19:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Interesting. The English translation of that is “…he dwelt among us”. Making the dwelling a tent seems like it makes it even more down-to-Earth, so to speak. I wonder what the original Greek has? Well, the Spanish I was translating from uses _acampó_, “camped”, really, but I don’t try to fight things too much when I realize I’m thinking in Spanish and translating. If I do it ends up coming up worse. Uncle Google brings up other translations that say _habitó_, “lived, made his home”, but those also use _Palabra_ (“word”) where English has Word and Greek has _λόγος/Logos_; the ones I’m used to prefer _Verbo_ (“verb, word, action, being”). Having been interested in language, its evolution, and the double relationship of thought shaping language and language shaping thought, ever since I understood that there are multiple languages, I find it fascinating that a single word can pack so much meaning and that the choice of one or another translation can lead to very different glosses. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-faiths-have-jesus-on-the-cross-and-others-dont/769853/49 "2016-10-30T09:12:41Z")
Nava, that’s fascinating. You could say the more specific “camped; pitched his tent” gloss emphasizes the temporary nature of Jesus’ stay, as intended from the start. You migh even say it underscores the expectation of another visit in the future. The “logos” issue is also interesting. Is there a single word in English like Spanish “verbo” that basically means “word,” but implies more action than “word”? (But which doesn’t have the cold grammar-specific feeling of “verb”)? Maybe “utterance”? Or “speaking”? (“Speech” now implies a Gettysburg Address sort of thing, so that won’t work). _In the beginning was the utterance._ Close…but too evocative of milking a cow. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-faiths-have-jesus-on-the-cross-and-others-dont/769853/50 "2016-10-30T12:17:05Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **carnivorousplant** : > > What do you interpret? > > “Christ the King, reigning from the cross”? I assume that **Rivkah** meant that she was in the church for the reason of interpreting the services from the pastor’s language for the benefit of members of the other congregation that speak some other language (ASL, maybe?). She wasn’t there to interpret the cross specifically; that’s just something that she happened to notice while she was there. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-faiths-have-jesus-on-the-cross-and-others-dont/769853/51 "2016-10-30T15:16:37Z")
Orthodox crosses often have that diagonal footbar. I’d heard that their emphasis was on “Christ the victor” instead of “Christ the martyr,” but a quick look at Google images of Orthodox crucifixes show not only His suffering figure, but a surprisingly uniform depiction of it. I hesitate to mention it, but… Scientology has a cross-like starburst icon. I’ve never seen a human figure on it, but it’s clearly intended to evoke the Christian cross. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-faiths-have-jesus-on-the-cross-and-others-dont/769853.md?page=2)