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I came down with typhoid fever on my mission and in convulsions, taken to a catholic hospital, i insisted that the cross come down in my room — I didn’t want to see a dying christ to remind me of death at that point. I was a real jerk.
I like how mercyandgrace has taken this symbol and made meaning in it for her. In asia, the symbol meaning ‘infinity’ is the swastika, hardly something I’d wear around my neck, but before the nazis corrupted the symbol, it was quite divine in nature. The cross is the symbol of christianity. When I go to a catholic church, I participate in the sign of the cross and put into it as much meaning as I feel. The symbol becomes what I make it.
Quote:The symbol becomes what I make it.
That statement, and what it symbolizes and implies about SO many other topics, is foundational and powerful for me.
Use the symbols that you find meaningful and effective. That is the power of religion — using abstract symbols to reach up into the transcendent realm to connect with the divine (with enlightenment). It breaks through the barriers of our conscious and doubting minds. I’ve done everything from wearing crosses to burying crystal “orgone energy” generators at the four corners of my house. I used to wear a broken cross on a chain around my neck when I was young adult. I found it in a thrift store and it had one of the arms broken off. For some reason, that really spoke to me at the time on many levels, symbolically. So I wore it for several months.
wayfarer wrote:I was a real jerk.
That reminds me of some of the stunts I pulled as a missionary.wayfarer wrote:The symbol becomes what I make it.
Yep. Someone already said it better than I can, but that’s what religion is about. We get into trouble when we start thinking that the symbols have some inherent meaning in and of themselves, or that our symbols are better in an absolute sense than someone else’s.interesting story Brian about you wearing a broken cross. one thing i thought was neat in the early stages of my church disaffection period was a picture i found in a second hand store. it was a picture of Christ walking on water that said ” with God nothing is impossible ” and that really spoke to me at that time. to me it was as if God was personally speaking to me and that he knew my pain with regards to church and disaffection.
i still wonder why all that lead to my disaffection happened. but as i look back and consider where I am today I am very grateful it happened. i have been educated and i believe God will need me for something in the future to help disaffected members in some capacity. this website is a stepping stone to that eventual mission i believe.
Mike
BeLikeChrist wrote:to me it was as if God was personally speaking to me and that he knew my pain with regards to church and disaffection.
i still wonder why all that lead to my disaffection happened. but as i look back and consider where I am today I am very grateful it happened. i have been educated and i believe God will need me for something in the future to help disaffected members in some capacity.
Thanks so much for sharing that, Mike.
I think you have a lot to offer someone else, especially just sharing this testimony of yours. God can work with us in mysterious ways. Looking for those ways in your life as things play out is a very positive and faithful message, and it feels very in line with God’s plan for you to believe your experience can benefit others as you share it and reach out to others in need.
I just wanted to say thanks for sharing that. I needed to read that.
:thumbup: Of course, this is actually the older symbol of Christianity… 
[img]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_x8knnjd_aDQ/TJUqJOhoQgI/AAAAAAAAAJU/ozP1MPxi-CY/s320/chi_rho%5B1%5D.jpg [/img] I think it’s sobering to think Jesus was tortured and murdered by a cross. Is that a sign of hope or cruelty? There are cases both ways. The JWs don’t even think it was a proper cross, but a kind of stake (and there’s some evidence that they may be right.)
Then there’s the fish symbol. Of course the thing a lot of Christians get wrong, is that they have that fish on their cars facing the wrong way. It’s supposed to be a form of the Greek letter “alpha” in the lower case. (As in “alpha and omega”. The capital omega looks like a fish too.)
[img]http://thesaurus.maths.org/mmkb/media/png/Alpha.png [/img]
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