Lanakila

Protestants don't use crucifixes. They say it's because Jesus is no longer on the cross, but is risen in heaven. But why use a cross as a symbol at all then? Why sing songs constantly about the old Rugged Cross, and the blood of Jesus, if he is risen in heaven, and you aren't supposed to picture him on the cross anymore. This is contradictory, and I just realized it. As an evangelical protestant, I heard sermon after sermon on the blood of Jesus, was reminded of it everytime I took communion, and the sermons on Palm Sunday and Easter were all about the sacrifice on that cross. What a bunch of hypocrites protestants are to say, Jesus isn't on the cross anymore, that is why we don't do crucifixes.

Who knows historically when/why the protestants removed the bloody body of Jesus from the cross? I sure don't, but they are hypocrites to say its because Jesus is in heaven, for the reasons I mentioned in the prior paragraph.

braces_for_impact

It's just another way for protestants to further seperate themselves from those "Icky Catholics".

john_v_h

Yeah, crucifixes are ghastly. I saw them ever since I was a little kid in church. But then again a lot of the stories I was told as a child were just as gruesome.

The difference is that no one ever tried to tell me it was my fault that Rumpelstiltskin ripped himself in two.

Biff the unclean

Back in Ireland as a child I had, hung over my bed, the crucifix the nuns gave to my grand father when he was dying in hospital after being shot by Protestants for being a Catholic. Not only did it have bleeding Jesus but under his holey holy feet was a silver skull and cross bones. Pirate Jesus Har Haar me hearty (me sacred hearty, arrrrrr). Night night, pleasant dreams.

FireMason

This reminds me of the first time I went to the Phillipines. Walking through a market I came to a stall selling various religious icons etc.. One was a crucifix that was particularly grisly. Wounds in the hands, feet, side, head etc. I picked it up to get a closer look and realised that there was a small, rubber bulb on the back. I squeezed - and blood came oozing out of every wound.
I came with a small bottle of blood for refills.
The stallholder said that it was for a childs room - to remind them of pain and sacrifice.

Very disturbing...

Arctish

Your story reminded me of a picture of Jesus my grandmother had in her home, Biff the unclean. The whites of the eyes had a phosphorescent paint of some kind in them or on them. When the lights went out, Jesus would watch you with glowing eyes in the dark. Creepy!
One night when we were visiting my Grandmother for Easter my little sister was so scared of it I got up the nerve to move the picture. I didn't dare place it facedown on the dresser ( Jesus might get angry, and Grandmother certainly would) so I turned it
so that Jesus could look out the window.

Zora

Thanks for the joke, Hinduwoman. Its been awhile since I heard it, and it really is funny.

The human sacrifice, blood drinking, body of Christ eating part of the religion is quite ghastly..but such was the time in which this religion evolved.

Our American founding fathers tried to steer our nation towards more positive religious attitudes, with many of them having quite negative ideas about Christianity. Unfortunately, power and greed know how to play upon fear. Maybe someday......

Hobbs

This point has long made me wonder whether Christians really understand the concept of moral integrity, and if they can, why don't they apply it to their religious beliefs? Suppose you were guilty of a capital crime, and your mother (or anyone else for that matter, but it's unlikely anyone other than a parent would make such an offer) offered to take your place. How could you possibly in good conscience accept that? And how could you possibly respect a judge who would accept such an offer?

Zora

But, wasn't there something similar in English law? I believe I read that somewhere in Jefferson's writings, and how that practice was changed in America.

It wasn't that somebody "volunteered" to take another's punishment. It was more along the lines of "Five people from this group committed this crime, so we will arbitrarily take five members of this same group and execute them to pay for the crimes of their fellows."

And of course, the British considered themselves the moral (Christian) leaders of the world, didn't they??

hinduwoman

If the man Jesus is crucified then he naturally knew pain. But so did every human crucified by the Romans --- so what was so special about his pain?
If it is about taking the sins of the world on his head, it was a spectacular failure: people are still sinning and non-Christians are going to hell.

Do Christians ever think that Christianity is basically founded on human sacrifice?