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The power of the cross is found in the "turn the other cheek" doctrine of
Christ. Jesus said that his disciples must take up their cross and follow
him. It is the doctrine of self denial, illustrated most perfectly by
Jesus going to the cross to die for us. Without the cross, you have just
another religion. It is the doctrine of the cross and its power to bring
salvation that makes Christianity unique.
In my opinion, not understanding the cross and the power of the cross is a
very serious error. An apprehension of the cross is so important that
it truly makes a difference between those who are born from above and those who
are not.
Peace be with you.
David Miller.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2005 3:47
AM
Subject: Re: [TruthTalk] Merry
Christmas!
I see power in the cross. You see defeat.
DAVEH:
The power of the cross as I see it was the ability of it to actually bring
death to Jesus. That is not to say that I don't think Jesus had
any power over the cross to prevent his death from occurring on it.
Quite the contrary.....I think Jesus could easily have avoided being nailed to
the cross, as he could have called legions of angels to protect him from his
enemies. But...that would not have permitted the plan of salvation to
proceed as it had been planned from before the foundations of the
world.
You are right though....I do not view the
cross as having any good power at all. It was a tool of the enemies of
Jesus, and he allowed himself to be subjected to it in order to become the
perfect sacrifice. The power of Jesus is in his resurrection which
brought life, not in the cross which brought death. The cross killed
Jesus just as it killed those who were nailed to it before, since and at the
same time.
Now....you have said that I view
the cross as defeating Jesus. I don't perceive it that way at all.
What temporary victory the enemies of Jesus may have felt by his death on the
cross was certainly reversed by his subsequent resurrection. But
his resurrection did not occur on the cross. From the time Jesus
died on the cross and was subsequently resurrected on the 3rd day thereafter,
Jesus experienced hell. By the time Jesus was resurrected, the cross was
old history, so to speak.
Do you think the cross had
any power to resurrect Jesus? I'd be surprised if you do, DavidM.
SO.....why do you suggest the cross has any power?
I
view the cross as a symbol of death, whether it is the death of people buried
in a cemetery or the cross worn by Christians or the cross that adorns
Christian edifices which symbolizes the death of Jesus. It is a symbol
of death, which I perceived you to say........ a cross, the symbol of the death of Jesus the Christ. ..........which
doesn't seem to different from what I said.
I
realize that many Christians use the cross to symbolize Jesus, effectively
their view of his power over the cross. IF he had been stoned, would
those same Christians be wearing a symbol of a stone around their neck, or
adorning their edifices? Or, what if Jesus had been killed by a
spear....say the spear that was used to lance his skin to make sure he was
dead, had the cross not killed him? Would those same Christians then use
a spear as their symbol? Just where does the power of Christ
reside....in the device (whether it be a stone, spear or cross) used to kill
him, or in his innate power as God?
Do you believe
Mary or any of the Primitive Christians used the cross as a symbol in the same
way many do today? If not, then why do some Christians today feel
differently than did the Primitive Christians?
David Miller wrote:
David Miller wrote:
... a cross, the symbol of the death of
Jesus the Christ.
Dave Hansen wrote:
When I suggested similar, it brought a lot of
chastisement. Why do you suppose the difference?
Context. I don't think you understand the value of the cross. You raised
its issue from skepticism concerning what value the symbol had. I raised
the issue from using this symbol to illustrate the victory that Jesus
wrought in the cross. I see power in the cross. You see defeat. Is this
not true?
Peace be with you.
David Miller.
--
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Dave Hansen
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.langlitz.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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