Reply #27: The cross is indeed a symbol of oppression. [View All]

Think about it. Why? Why use the symbol of death to represent a religion? I'll tell you why. Because it was and still is used to represent a threat to those who do not comply with the Church's notion of right and wrong. It is a symbol of the attempt by the prelates of Christianity to dominate the thoughts and deeds of the "faithful." It is a reinforcement of the absurd postulation that all humans are born with "original sin on their souls." So we are all meant to feel dirty, unworthy, sinful, incapable of being whole without the guidance of those self-anointed "successors of Christ," the well-indoctrinated clergy.

It is preposterous to think that Jesus would have wanted the symbol of what he stood for to be the piece of wood on which he was killed. Shall we use a theater seat to represent Abe Lincoln? A Lincoln Town Car to represent JFK?

Jesus stood for life, not death. He stood for freedom, not oppression. He stood for charity not the accumulation of largesse by religious enterprises. He stood for those things that we liberals believe in. Yet he has been coopted by the right wing.

The notion that somehow Jesus"redeemed" humanity by dying was never one taught by Christians of the time. It was an idea concocted by "Saint" Paul, who never met Jesus, more than 50 years later. Paul--who was bitterly opposed by St. Thomas--THE Thomas--the one who Jesus chose as his "Rock"--enlarged the story of Jesus, and turned him into a "Christ", a savior of mankind, something never intended in Jesus teachings.