In the early centuries after the time of Jesus Christ, there were other symbols: a dove, a ship, an anchor and a lyre. I know all the rhetoric about “we serve a risen Savior, not a dead one.” That’s not what I’m looking for. Why do Protestants use a cross, instead of a Crucifix? The bare cross was not in wide use until recently, though current Protestants don’t know their own history on the matter and that their predecessors opposed it as much as they did the Crucifix. ... then Christ’s work on the cross is insufficient or of no effect as the apostle Paul says. An important reason is that Jesus Christ did not die on a cross. Hanging in a prominent place above the office door, was my Saint Benedict crucifix. Mar 3, 2013. Some Protestants object to the crucifix because of the belief (which we Catholics share!) Others find the prominent Catholic use of the crucifix in our churches and homes borders on idolatry. That’s why it is written into the creed that we say every Sunday. This is why we depict Christ on the Cross (1 Corinthians 1:23). Some Protestants suggest that because Catholics often depict Jesus on the cross it means that they believe he has not risen. Today, the cross is the universal symbol of Christianity. – 2tim424 Oct 3 '11 at 5:58 I am a Catholic and i know Jesus is there when we saw a cross and is our mediator. Why so many Protestants do not consider Catholics Christian. From Adam to the future which we have not yet arrived. Why not? The Encyclopædia Britannica calls the cross “the principal symbol of the Christian religion.” Nevertheless, true Christians do not use the cross in worship. It was not always so. This is, of course, nonsense. A crucifix (across with a body on it) is a very catholic symbol. And Jesus gives a hint that the son of man will be lifted as in Moses time to heal the people. It is a statement as to the great sacrifice and suffering that Jesus made for us, a symbol of the Easter passion play. No sacrifice prior to the Cross could take away sins and there is none thereafter that can take away sins. This difference was keenly brought to my attention when a faithful Protestant friend brought her children to the Right to Life office one day. I was buying a crucifix today, to wear, and realized that I’d never known a Protestant to do the same. Without the Sacrifice of Christ, no one’s sins would be forgiven. And this is why we believe it is an eternal Sacrifice. Most Protestants use an empty cross and rely on the mental image of a living, risen Jesus. Third , they object to the Crucifix because it is Catholic and to condone or display the Crucifix is to make a statement in favor of Catholicism. So I'm wondering if it's just because it's not a tradition with most protestants, or if there is a real doctrinal objections to the practice. THE cross is loved and respected by millions of people. 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