Staff Articles
Getting Our Message Crossed - Friday, November 30, 2007
Author Margot Asquith once argued, "Symbols are the imaginative signposts of life." Symbols can be powerful rallying points for people since they help us understand the world. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a symbol is worth ten times that. The symbol of the American flag can rally weary soldiers into battle or bring feelings of reverence to a noisy stadium of people. The symbols of the donkey or elephant can spark partisan rants and the symbol of the Confederate flag can incite feelings of hatred and fear.
Over time, some symbols can lose their power or have their meanings shift. For instance, the swastika used to be a religious symbol of good luck and success. Now it is the symbol for hatred, racism, and genocide. Another symbol--the cross--shifted meanings in the opposite direction. What was once a symbol of death and earthly domination came to mean love and divine power as a result of Jesus. Before Jesus it would have been bizarre to wear the symbol of the cross around one's neck.
Thus, it was surprising when a federal judge in Utah recently ruled that the cross was not a religious symbol. An organization had sued to have crosses removed from memorials for fallen state troopers because the group felt that the placement of the crosses represented government support of a specific religion. The judge argued, "Even classic religious symbols may have various meanings and purposes depending on their context. ... The memorial crosses at issue communicate a secular message, a message that a patrolman died or was mortally wounded at a particular location."
Really? The cross is being put up as a secular symbol of death? How many people driving by thought it was merely a secular symbol? Rather, many families likely take comfort in the crosses because it reminds them of the hope they have for eternity because of Jesus. In fact, some people of different faiths have fought the military and other organizations to have other religious symbols placed on their death markers because they understood the connection between the memorial and faith.
Despite this secularization of the cross, there have not been massive complaints or protests from Christtians. When a monument of the Ten Commandments was thrown out of a courthouse in Alabama because it was seen as religious, thousands of Christians flocked from across the nation in protest. When the cross--a much more important Christian symbol than the Decalogue--is stripped of its religious meaning but allowed to stay, it barely even gets noticed. Even the organization that placed the crosses praised the secularizing decision.
Something seems off when Christians are more concerned about our symbols being placed in a courthouse than being redefined as just another secular symbol. If the cross must be stripped of its religious meaning just to be allowed to be displayed publicly, then it would be better to just hang it in our churches instead. The meaning of the cross is much more important than where it is placed. Otherwise, this powerful symbol of hope and God's love might be changed back to just a symbol of death and despair.
The fact that a judge could see the cross as a secular symbol makes me wonder if Christians have given that impression. Do we act in such a way as to suggest there is no greater power represented by that symbol? When we slander our brothers and sisters in Christ or spread false rumors about others, we act as if the cross has no religious meaning. When we focus on political or legal battles, we act as if the cross has no religious meaning. When we hypocritically condemn the specks in the eyes of others while ignoring the planks in our own, we act as if the cross has no religious meaning.
If the cross has become secularized, perhaps it is because of the actions of Christians. Too often it seems that when the world looks at us, they do not see the hope and love of the cross, but fighting and politics. We have gotten our message crossed--instead of across--by acting like the cross has no impact on our daily lives.
It is time for us to be sure to live like those who have been redeemed by the old rugged cross. Its power and meaning must be evident in our lives. Otherwise, we are just proving that federal judge right. As philosopher John Dewey argued, "When men think and believe in one set of symbols and act in ways which are contrary to their professed and conscious ideas, confusion and insincerity are bound to result."
