Transcript THE CROSS - Emmanuel Episcopal Church

THE CROSS
IN HISTORY, ART &
THEOLOGY
THE CROSS:
IN HISTORY
• The ancient world greatly feared slave rebellions
& designed, as a deterrent, various means of
death by torture, one of which was crucifixion.
The word “cross” comes from the Latin crux,
which in turn comes from the verb crucio,
meaning “to torture.”
• The most common of crucifixion was impaling
the person upon an upright stake. For more
important criminals the double bar was used so
that the death process would be slower (by
asphyxiation) and that an inscription could be
put above the head; usually had a small
shelf/seat to keep the weight of the body from
tearing the hands away from the nail.
CROSS IN HISTORY
Archaeological discovery
in 1968 of a 1st c.
crucifixion with a nail still
embedded in the heel
THE CROSS:
IN HISTORY
• For the first three centuries
Christians shunned depicting the
crucifixion. We find no cross art
because of its shame. In baptism,
however, the sign of the cross was
made on the person’s forehead. “You
are marked as Christ’s own forever.”
• Christians used the fish symbol to
symbolize Christianity (i-ch-th-u-s).
THE CROSS:
• In the 4th c. the
Emperor Constantine
ended the use of the
cross for torture in
honor of Christ. His
symbol was the Chi
Rho (“by this sign
you shall conquer”),
which he received in
a vision.
IN HISTORY
CHI RHO
THE CROSS:
• The first Christian church
buildings were long,
rectangular buildings that
resembled the Roman law
courts (basilicas).
• To this was added short
stubby arms called
transcepts. In the Middle
Ages they became much
bigger.
• The transcepts made the
building cruciform.
IN HISTORY
THE CROSS:
• The Emperor Constantine
sent his mother Helena to
establish Christian shrines in
Palestine
• She claimed to have found
the “true cross” & on every
Good Friday in Jerusalem a
simple wooden cross was
placed on a mound between
the Church of the Holy
Sepulcure and the Church of
the Resurrection thought to
be the top of Mt. Calvary to
be adored by pilgrims.
IN HISTORY
LATIN CROSS
THE CROSS:
• In Byzantine
(Eastern)
Christianity a
distinctive
cross developed
developed with
two cross bars &
a slanted bottom
one, often with
the ends
“budded”
IN HISTORY
THE CROSS:
• An early use of the
cross was among the
Celtic people
(Ireland & Scotland
esp.), where
Christians mixed the
cross with pagan
symbols, such as the
sun, together with
Celtic weaving
patterns. Sometimes
they had biblical
stories
IN HISTORY
CELTIC CROSS
THE CROSS:
IN HISTORY
• In the Middle Ages
there was great
suffering, & death
came easily. The
suffering of Jesus on
the cross became
the central motif.
The crucifix became
the most common
form of the cross.
Donatello, Santa Croce, Florence
1412
THE CROSS:
IN HISTORY
• At the Reformation Lutheran
churches retained the crucifix, but
the Reformed churches abandoned
the use of physical objects like
crosses. Today both traditions
favor the empty Latin cross,
emphasizing the Resurrection.
THE CROSS:
IN HISTORY
• In recent times a new
cross style has
emerged, the Christus
Rex, Christ the King,
emphasizing the
triumphant, ascended,
reigning Christ, often
in eucharistic
vestments.
Christus Rex
THE CROSS: IN ART
Greek Cross
(equal arms)
[Switzerland flag
& Red Cross]
St. Andrew’s Cross
(Scotland)
THE CROSS: IN ART
Ankh (Egyptian)
Canterbury (English)
THE CROSS: IN ART
Tau
St. Peter’s
THE CROSS: IN ART
Maltese
Jerusalem
THE CROSS: IN ART
Cross Fleury
Cross Pattée (Iron Cross)
THE CROSS: IN ART
Globus Cruciger
Mariners’ Cross
THE CROSS: IN ART
United Methodist
Episcopal
THE CROSS: IN ART
Roman Catholic
THE CROSS: IN THEOLOGY:
A. CLASSIC THEORY
• The early church view of the cross
was that it was part of God’s
strategy to defeat the Devil. By
taking God’s Son unjustly into Hell
the gates of Hell were broken down.
Satan was unable to restrain the
God’s Son, the God-Man. This
theory is also called Christus Victor.
THE CROSS: IN THEOLOGY:
A. CLASSIC THEORY
• For all who are united through
Christ in baptism the bonds of Hell
have forever been shattered.
• Early Christians regarded Baptism
as a rite of exorcism; holy water
fonts still serve that function.
• When Luther felt most threatened
by Satan, he would shout:
“Baptismus sum” (I am baptized).
THE CROSS: IN THEOLOGY:
A. CLASSIC THEORY
• In our baptismal questions we
renounce Satan and all the spiritual
forces that rebel against God, all
the evil powers of this world, which
corrupt and destroy the creatures
of God, and all sinful desires that
draw us from the love of God.
THE CROSS: IN THEOLOGY:
A. CLASSIC THEORY
• In our Baptismal Covenant we
promise to persevere in resisting
evil, and, whenever we fall into
sin, repent and return to the
Lord; and to strive for justice
and peace among all people, and
to respect the dignity of every
human being.
THE CROSS: IN THEOLOGY:
A. CLASSIC THEORY
• It has become popular again in our
time through Liberation Theology &
the battle for social justice.
• Salvation is the defeat of the forces
of social, as well as cosmic &
personal evil.
• It avoids the accusation that religion
is a matter of private piety or simply
one of individual salvation.
THE CROSS: IN THEOLOGY
A. CLASSIC THEORY
• Its strength is that it focuses on the
cosmic and communal dimensions
of evil.
• It’s weakness is that it does not
deal with the need for personal
transformation, if one is realistically
to engage in the struggle against
evil in this world
THE CROSS: IN THEOLOGY
B. OBJECTIVE THEORY
• In the Middle Ages the Objective Theory
of the Atonement became dominant.
[Cf. St. Anselm, 1033-1109] It fit with
the ideas of feudalism. Sin dishonors
God; that honor must be satisfied;
sinners cannot do that, only a sinless
person can; the merits of Jesus’
unwarranted death on the cross pay our
debt to God and free us from eternal
damnation.
THE CROSS: IN THEOLOGY
B. OBJECTIVE THEORY
• The medieval Catholic Church
emphasized that the merits of Christ
are made available to us through the
sacraments, originally Baptism, then
Confession and Eucharist. The
addition of good works earning
indulgences (remission of punishment
in purgatory) ignited the Reformation.
THE CROSS: IN THEOLOGY
B. OBJECTIVE THEORY
• The Protestant Reformers reacted to that
approach by stressing the sufficiency of
faith in Jesus’ atoning death on the cross
to obtain forgiveness of sins and the
promise of eternal life.
• Some Protestants speak of Christ’s
substitutionary atonement in which he
takes our place as the object of God’s
wrath. The sacraments merely remind us
of this.
THE CROSS: IN THEOLOGY
B. OBJECTIVE THEORY
• This theme is best seen in the BCP in the
eucharistic prayer in Rite I: “thou, of thy
tender mercy, didst give thine only Son
Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the cross
for our redemption; who made there, by
his one oblation of himself once offered, a
full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice,
oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of
the whole world; and did…command us to
continue, a perpetual memory of that his
precious death and sacrifice until his
coming again.”
THE CROSS: IN THEOLOGY
B. OBJECTIVE THEORY
• The strength of this approach is that
it emphasizes that our salvation is
by God’s grace and not by our
worthiness, by faith & not by works.
• Its weakness is that it paints a
picture of a wrathful God whose plan
of salvation includes the torture of
His son; it also undervalues the role
of our human response in faith and
gratitude.
THE CROSS: IN THEOLOGY
C. SUBJECTIVE THEORY
• Jesus’ obedience to his mission to
proclaim God’s unmerited love
even to the point of death by
crucifixion touches our heart &
gives us a selfless example to
follow through bearing our own
crosses.
THE CROSS: IN THEOLOGY
C. SUBJECTIVE THEORY
• Historically, the theory was first stated by
Abelard (1079-1142), who used
psychological insights into how God acts
upon our intentions via our reaction to
Jesus’ heroic sacrifice on our behalf. His
views = exemplarist/subjective theory.
• Church authorities suppressed this
approach in favor of St. Anselm’s
satisfaction/objective theory.
THE CROSS: IN THEOLOGY
C. SUBJECTIVE THEORY
• Beginning in the 19th c. the
Subjective Theory of the Atonement
was revived and became very
popular among more liberal
Protestants, who were uncomfortable
with the Objective Theory. Still
popular among liberal Christians, who
prefer the positive vision of a God of
love versus a just, punishing God.
THE CROSS: IN THEOLOGY
C. SUBJECTIVE THEORY
• The strength of this approach is its
recognition of the power of human
emotion in moving head and heart,
as well as the value of emphasizing
God’s love vs. God’s wrath.
• Its weakness is that it does not take
seriously enough the persisting
power of human sinfulness/self love.
THE CROSS: IN THEOLOGY
FINAL THOUGHT
• The three approaches are
complementary:
– The subjective approach appeals to our
hearts, which predispose our minds.
– The objective approach clarifies for us
that it is by the grace of God we are free
from our sins & able to fight for justice &
peace, which clears the way for action.
– The classic view reminds us that sin is
not simply personal, but is also societal
and cosmic, and moves us to action.