Walking in the Valley A weekly column for those who live and walk in Silicon Valley by Barbara Dahlgren

What Do You See? Column for the week of April 20-26, 2003

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Looks like the cross is in the news. In a 6 to 3 vote, the Supreme Court upheld a Virginia law banning threatening cross burning and permitting states to have similar laws. Of course, the Ku Klux Klan would have you believe that when they burn the cross it is not to threaten and intimidate. Rather it is a ceremony that actually honors Jesus Christ. I guess it’s all in your perspective.

In another news article, atheists want a 30-foot high cross that overlooks Ventura, CA removed because it stands on city land. They consider the almost 100-year-old structure a religious symbol. It’s that old church and state issue again. .

And also newsworthy is the fact that this week Christians commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in which the symbol of the cross plays a prominent part. So just what do you think of when you see a cross? Does it have any meaning for you?

There have been many controversies surrounding the cross. Its use actually predates the time of Christ by thousands of years. The Egyptians, Hindus, Babylonians, Assyrians, and many more cultures used crosses in symbolism, pagan rituals, and worship. Diana, the ancient Greek goddess, is pictured with a cross over her head and crosses were used in Mexico way before the Spaniards came. In fact, history shows that Christians didn’t really start using the symbol of the cross until three centuries after the death of Christ, during the time of Constantine.

Then of course there is the question of how Christ died. Some say he died on a tree, stake, or oblong post not a cross. Others say historically Romans used a crossbar not just a vertical post in crucifixions thus making a “cross.” There are those who believe Christ was crucified but was not resurrected. Some think he was crucified but didn’t die. Some think he had a secret twin brother who pretended to be Jesus after he died. Some think it wasn’t really Jesus but a substitute who was crucified. And yet others believe Jesus lived, died by crucifixion, and arose again. What do you believe?

What you believe determines how you look at a cross. The Ku Klux Klan may look at it one way where as the person who is the recipient of one their burning crosses may view it another. Those who don’t believe in the deity of Christ may think it is abominable to wear a cross, thinking it would be similar to wearing an electric chair, gun, or some other form of execution device depicting violence and suffering. The atheists who want that cross removed in Ventura certainly aren’t looking at it as some sort of pagan icon. They must see something religious in it or they wouldn’t want it removed. Since the use of the cross as a symbol for the church didn’t occur until after the time of Constantine, some believe that although Christians knew it had some sort of pagan meaning in the past, they decided to view it differently in the light of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. It was almost ironic how this ancient symbol came to represent the death and resurrection of Jesus to them. And even more amazing that an instrument used to kill people became a symbol of salvation.

What do you see when you look at a cross? Do you see an icon to be superstitiously worshipped? Or do you see Christ being crucified? The depth of God’s love? A bridge between life and death? Our desperate need for a Savior? Jesus dying for our sins? Victory over sin? Forgiveness? The resurrection? A symbol of faith? Hope? It really is all in the eye of the beholder.

Whatever you see, it shouldn’t obscure the fact that Jesus walked this earth, died an agonizing death for our sins, and rose again. Cross or no cross, He lives! And because He lives, we can live also.

©April 2003

Be sure to visit this page every week to read the next edition of Walking in the Valley. You can write to the author at bdahlgren@wcgsouthbay.org.