13. What enlightenment did Christ’s followers receive about use of the cross? (See also the box “Progressively Enlightened About Use of the Cross .”)
13
PROGRESSIVELY ENLIGHTENED ABOUT USE OF THE CROSS
Cross-and-crown pins are not only unnecessary but also objectionable.—Assembly in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A., 1928.
Cross-and-crown pins are idols.—Preparation, 1933, page 239.
The cross is pagan in origin.—The Golden Age, February 28, 1934, page 336.
Jesus died on a stake, not on a cross.—The Golden Age, November 4, 1936, page 72; Riches, 1936, page 27.
The Greek word stau·rosʹ is translated “cross” in many Bible translations. Notice, however, what various sources say about the meaning of this word:
“The Greek word [stau·rosʹ ] properly . . . means merely a stake.”—Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature.
“A pole in the broadest sense. It is not the equivalent of a ‘cross.’”—Crucifixion in Antiquity.
“A strong stake, such as farmers drive into the ground to make their fences or palisades—no more, no less.”—History of the Cross.
“It never means two pieces of timber placed across one another at any angle, but always of one piece alone.”—The Companion Bible.
“An upright pale or stake . . . It never means two pieces of wood joining each other at any angle.”—A Critical Lexicon and Concordance.