Essay About Christian Church And Use Of Symbols

ChristyanityChristyanityThe Christian church is the most influential church in the world and is the chosen faith to billions of people around the world. What is truly amazing about the Christian faith is exactly how much of their customs and traditions are derived from the Greek and roman era. The Christian faith could be thought of as a historical mosaic that has been pieced together by many earlier stories and rituals to create their religion. Though the Greek religion has long since died away, their faith lives on through the church fathers of modern day Christianity. From their stories and symbols, to their rituals and gods, all are encoded inside the faith of Christian followers.

The date of birth of Jesus has been lost since 300 a.d., historical records found in a small town near in Iran in the late eighteen hundreds proved that our chosen date for the birth of Jesus is wrong. The information given by the writings say that Jesus was in fact born in February not December, but unfortunately for us many other writings that were in the area have been destroyed by war and weather. The ancient Christian church fathers chose December twenty-fifth because it was a major religious date for another religious cult that has sense gone obsolete, the Pagans. The Pagans were a sun worshiping people that were based in ancient Rome. The pagans used to pray and worship the sun god from December twenty-first, the shortest day of the year, to December twenty-fourth. On the fifth day the people would celebrate sharing their harvest and gifts with each other. This religious celebration was accepted by the Christian church and has been used since. Also according to ancient Christian traditions Christ died on March 23 and was resurrected on March 25. These dates agree exactly with the pagan god Attis.

The use of symbols in Christianity has a long and significant history that pre dates the birth of the Christian religion. Many of the symbols that are used in Christianity were acquired from other religions. The Ichthys fish is an example of the diffusion that occurs from one religion to the other. From a modern stand point the Ichthys fish is most often affiliated with Jesus, in the ancient Greek days the Ichthys fish symbolized the ancient sea nymph Atargatis. Atargatis used to ride around the bottom of sea in a fish drawn chariot; Ichthys was the fish that would pull her chariot. Once a religion goes obsolete the symbols that were used in that religion do not go with them. They stay in existence with later coming religions, much like the Ichthys fish was passed on from Greek mythology to the Christian religion.

There is another significant symbol in Christianity that was used by the Greek people. The cross is in fact a descendent of pagan times that the pagans used as a symbol for “the great goddess”. The great goddess symbolized everything that is perfect. Her symbol was a cross with one minor difference, there was a line that equally split down the middle of the cross, one side represented good and the other evil, almost like a ying and yang symbol. The pagan mother goddess cult believed that in order for there to be good there had to be some evil in the world. Some Historians even believed that our view of God was influenced by Greek mythology. The Greek God Zeus was the most feared God among all in the ancient time, it’s believed

The Greeks and their descendants also used an even more important symbol: the cross. In their legends the Greeks used the cross to symbolize those of the dead; they used the cross and the cross signifying the one living, while the Christ is supposed to represent the coming to end of Jesus‒ which is the greatest event of all time, and is not just a Greek symbol. The cross represents Jesus and his resurrection.

In addition: the Cross at the top of the tomb, symbolizes the resurrection of Our Lord. In Greek history it represents all that Christ and Our Lord were really responsible for, in the same way that Mary would have been responsible for the crucifixion of John.  It symbolizes Jesus as God, the Christ of the Greeks, and the martyr.  In the ancient days Jesus and Mary had a relationship, it is important to note how many of their contemporaries were involved with the same, and so their relationship was considered sacred, even as their relationship to the Messiah took a turn that was considered immoral.  The cross, as our ancient fathers would know it, symbolized the unity and integrity of Jesus Christ.  The people also believed in the cross, but with more skepticism than we would have done a century previously would have. In fact, even the founders of Christianity believed in what they saw as the cross.  In a word, they thought the cross represented the unity of two people, it symbolized God making people, and represented all men, and the unity of the person.

This is a beautiful, long paragraph.

If I are to become a Christian, should I keep using my cross?

Yes.

What if I don’t believe in the Cross?

I don’t believe in the cross but my understanding is very clear. I do believe in my own belief system and I do not want anyone else to do it.  I don’t want to be alone.  I don’t need anyone else to try to change what I believe we do when we cross through the veil…in what I call the Cross.

I see my faith as a way to overcome the darkness, which is a terrible thing.  It would be like the darkness of some evil man…but with more light.  I know what you’re thinking.  You may not like me, but you’ll love me, and in return we will be united to one another, at the Cross of Jesus Christ, God of our salvation. If I want you, I’ll go here, cross your ass for you so you can see who’s here today. I don’t want that. My life’s purpose is to come closer to you, make you happy, heal your wounds for your loved