I was reading last night about religious origins, freemasonry, Knights Templar etc and stumbled across a section on religious symbols. Apparantly, the cross, as worn by christians, is not a symbol originally of Christs torture instrument. '...the crucifix style cross used by the Christian Church was an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph and we were simply flabbergasted to discover that it carried one very precise meaning - 'saviour', which translates to the Hebrew 'Joshua', which in turn translates in Greek to 'Jesus'. In short, the shape of the crucifix is not a symbol of Jesus; it is his name itself!' So JWs might be interested to know, that what they have condemned as a pagan symbol, or the 'tau', is not the tau. The 'tau' is missing the top part of the 'cross' and is like a capital letter 'T'. On the mark of the 'tau': '...it is the shape of cross upon which Jesus was crucified, rather than the assumed four-armed cross with an extended lower section rising above the cross bar. We saw earlier that the 'tau' was the mark of Yahweh, and the Kenites bore on their foreheads long before Moses came across them in the wilderness of the Sinai; it is also the magical symbol that was painted on doors during the Passover.'
When is the 'Cross' NOT a Crucifix!!!
by Gill 6 Replies latest watchtower bible
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LittleToe
It's thought by some that the sprinkling of Paschal blood on the doorposts and lintel (dripping to the threshhold) formed a bloody cross.
There are many pre-Christian renderings, including: "Sacrifice in the crucible of existence".
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peacefulpete
Gill, better look for confirmation from a reputable source.
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TheListener
LT, wouldn't sprinkling blood on the lintel and door posts made the letter pi? I mean not exactly but close. And once the blood dripped onto the threshold it would have made a rectangle.
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Narkissos
As far as ancient Hebrew is concerned, the letter taw (or tau) was more like a X (see http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_One/Paleo-Hebrew_Alphabet/paleo-hebrew_alphabet.html). Whence the use of the name of the letter as a noun meaning "mark" or "sign," Ezekiel 9:4ff -- also in the sense of signature, Job 31:35.
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LittleToe
TheListener:If the door is shut (to stop the blood splashing inside), then splashing it left and right (say at waist height) and above your head, would make a cross.
At least that's how I heard it
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Gill
Hang on! I think we're getting the wrong mental picture of these symbols
I will post a copy of the pictures and text as soon as poss and you'll see what I mean then.