Interesting Questions-46

"On the cross and graven images"
(Exodus 20:4-5)

Letter to the Editor:
GOD'S MESSAGE, October 2000, p.2

 I FIND YOUR magazine very interesting. The theology it expresses is very thought provoking. I read an article about your view on the Trinity, and I have to say that your arguments are very compelling.   I also read that you do not hang crosses in your houses of worship. Can you explain to me why?    I know that the Moslems and some Christian sects believe that any ornamentation in a place of worship takes one's attention  away from the contemplation and worship of God—is this also your reason?

Doug and Angie Whipple,
Everett, Washington, USA

Editor's reply:

We appreciate your interest in the teachings and practices of the Church of Christ.

We have neither crosses nor graven images in our houses of worship because the Almighty God prohibits such things that are associated with idolatry.   The Holy Scriptures teaches that man should not bow down before graven images. The Almighty God Himself declared:

You shall not make yourself any graven image [to worship it] or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;  You shall not bow down yourself to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, (Exodus 20:4-5, Amplified Bible)

Also, God's people have never used the image of the cross to worship Him. The cross is but an instrument of execution, a fact that is supported even by Catholic authorities:

'Before the time of Christ the cross was the symbol of shame, ignorance and dishonor. Like the guillotine, the noose, or the electric chair, it was the instrument for the execution of the worst criminals."   (The Apostles Creed, p. 16)

 The Almighty God, through the: apostles, commands that every knee should bow at the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Philip. 2:9-11) and not before the instrument used by the executioners who crucified the Lord to death.  

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11, New King James Version) 

___________________

Note: Verses in smaller font were added for clarity. Emphasis ours.

Bible Study Suggestion: If you have further questions, please feel free to visit the Iglesia ni Cristo congregation nearest you. A minister or an evangelical worker would be happy to answer any biblical question you have in mind.