Maybe the cross is used for its ability to evoke vivid images in the mind...of a violent death..bringing up emotion. I feel that the use of the cross can be somewhat manipulative
What would Jesus think of Crosses everywhere?
by Simon 100 Replies latest social humour
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NewChapter
CA, that's a logo. The cross is not a logo. And the actual symbol doesn't matter, but the significance given it. If Christians in the majority did believe it was a stake, I suspect we'd see images of stakes everywhere. Do people become attached to logos in the way they do in the cross? I don't think so. I look at the tower and understand it is a WT publication, but beyond that, it has no real emotional meaning for me. I'm not attached, and I was not attached when I was a JW. I didn't look to it to represent or remind me of anything. I didn't look at it as something that defined me.
What is an idol? Is it something we have to worship? Or is it merely a representation of what we worship, that attains such emotional significance that it is elevated above a reasonable proportion? I do see it as an idol. People cry at the site of some crosses. People grasp them for comfort and courage, perhaps holding them while they pray. I won't insist you are an idolator if you say you are not, but I can only comment on how such behavior and reverence is perceived. It looks a lot like idolotry.
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botchtowersociety
As far as JW's and the 'stake' issue---they don't actually hold that stake up as anything. It's not like a cross. It has not become some wierd symbol or idol. ....
...There is significance behind the cross. Deep significance. And to reason that it is not an idol is simply cognitive dissonance.
This sounds very much like what a JW would say. But it is true there is deep significance behind the cross.
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Pterist
*** So JW's don't add significance to the stake beyond that it was a stake. ***
In one of our informal fellowship get togethers, with JW brothers and sisters, it was stated from a second generation JW that she used Watchtower magazines under the doors in hotel rooms and places they visited to keep away evil.
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NewChapter
This sounds very much like what a JW would say
Indeed. And since I was speaking from the POV of a JW, it is also appropriate. But more importantly, it is true. JW's do not view the stake with the same significance that some Christians view the cross. I was responding to comparisons being made, but they were false equivalencies.
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PSacramento
Some people may use the symbol of the cross to "focus" their prayers to Jesus.
I don't know any Christian that views the cross as an idol or idoloizes it.
Not even one.
It shoudl be noted that, like I mentioned before, the apostle Paul had NO issue with the imagery of the cross ( or any of the NT writers for that fact) and that he BOASTED in the Cross.
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botchtowersociety
People cry at the site of some crosses.
You open a drawer and find the picture of a loved one passed away that you haven't seen in a long time. You are overcome with emotion. Are you crying over a picture? What is the object of your emotion?
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NewChapter
In one of our informal fellowship get togethers, with JW brothers and sisters, it was stated from a second generation JW that she used Watchtower magazines under the doors in hotel rooms and places they visited to keep away evil.
Yes, I believe that. I don't think it is usual, but it is a human tendency to be superstitious. I found they were also very good at keeping vampires and Catholics away.
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Pterist
*** Yes, I believe that. I don't think it is usual, but it is a human tendency to be superstitious. I found they were also very good at keeping vampires and Catholics away.*****
LMAO ....if only it worked for mosquitos
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