~ Archaeological Evidence Of The Cross ~

The archaeological evidence in favor of the early Christians' usage of the cross is even stronger than the textual evidence.

"Many ossuaries were discovered that date to the 1st century in a cave near Bethany. Inscribed in Greek and Hebrew with names of many Christians listed in the New testament (NT). Some had inscribed crosses, some not. Listed names in Hebrew include: Salome, wife of Judah (with a cross); Judah (with a cross); Simeon the Priest; Martha, daughter of Pasach; Eleazar, son of Nathalu; and Salamston, daughter of Simeon the Priest. In Greek: Jesus (twice repeated with a cross); Nathaniel (with a cross)�.Another found several years ago: Inscribed with 'Alexander, son of Simon of Cyrene,' as well as a cross�.In 1945, many more found with crosses, 2 inscribed with name of Jesus, and one had a coin minted in A.D. 41 for King Herod Agrippa I, indicating it was sealed by A.D. 42."

"The first century catacomb uncovered by archaeologist P. Bagatti on the Mount of Olives contains inscriptions clearly indicating its use, 'by the very first Christians in Jerusalem.' A 'head stone', found near the entrance to the first century catacomb, is inscribed with the sign of the cross."

""Historical findings have substantiated the traditional cross. One finding is a graffito1 dating to shortly after 200 A.D., taken from the walls of the Roman Palatine. It is a drawing of a crucified ass; a mockery of a Christian prisoner who worships Christ. The Romans were no doubt amused that Christians worshiped this Jesus whom they had crucified on a cross." In 1873 a famous French scholar, Charles Clermant-Ganneau, reported the discovery of a burial chamber or cave on the Mount of Olives. Inside were some 30 ossuaries (rectangular chests made of stone) in which skeletal remains were preserved after their bodies had disintegrated�.One (ossuary) had the name 'Judah' associated with a cross with arms of equal length. Further, the name 'Jesus' occurred three times, twice in association with a cross�.In 1939 excavations at Herculaneum, the sister city of Pompeii (destroyed in 78 A.D. by volcano) produced a house where a wooden cross had been nailed to the wall of a room. According to Buried History, (Vol. 10, No. 1, March 1974 p. 15): 'Below this (cross) was a cupboard with a step in front. This has considered to be in the shape of an ara or shrine, but could well have been used as a place of prayer�.If this interpretation is correct, and the excavators are strongly in favor of the Christian significance of symbol and furnishings, then here we have the example of an early house church.'"

"Jesus did not die on a cross. He died on a pole, or a stake. The Greek word translated 'cross' in many Bibles meant just one piece of timber. The symbol of the cross comes from ancient false religions. The cross was not used or worshiped by the early Christians."

First, the word stauros does generally mean "stake" rather than "cross", but, according to every source I've come across, there was no Greek work for "cross". Hence, the word for "stake" was used by Greek speakers as the closest approximation to "cross", and it was understood by the first-century audience of the NT that "cross" was what was meant by stauros. (And, of course, anybody in the first century with access to either a living apostle or a witness to Jesus' execution could have received clarification if they needed it.)

Second, it is true that the cross was not "worshipped" by the early Christians, but that's because the cross has never been worshipped by any Christians at any time, even today. God alone is an appropriate object of Christian worship.

As for whether the early Christians used the cross, we have seen both archaeological and textual evidence that they did indeed. Interestingly, the archaeological evidence had been known both before the Watchtower's ban on the cross in 1931 (with the 1873 discovery of cross-inscribed ossuaries in Bethany) and after the ban (with the 1939 discovery of a first-century Christian home church in Pompeii with a wooden cross hanging on the wall, and with the 1945 discovery of more cross-inscribed ossuaries definitively dated to 42 C.E. - a mere twelve years after Jesus' crucifixion).

As for the textual evidence, the Apostle Thomas' words in John 20:25 provide an indication of the cross, as he says in that verse, "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and stick my finger into the print of the nails and stick my hand into his side, I will certainly not believe." (In the depictions of Jesus' death I've seen on the Watchtower web site, only one nail is used to fasten both of Jesus' wrists to the stake, but Thomas indicates the use of more than one nail, which would be more reasonably expected if Jesus were nailed to a cross rather than a stake.) The Epistle of Barnabas, dated 100 C.E., demonstrates belief that the cross was the instrument of Jesus' execution only a few years after the death of the Apostle John.

And moving forward into the second and third centuries of Christianity, still more textual evidence supporting the cross can be found in the works of Justin Martyr - "For the lamb�is roasted and dressed up in the form of the cross. For one spit is transfixed right through from the lower parts up to the head, and one across the back, to which are attached the legs of the lamb" - Irenaeus of Lyons - "The very form of the cross�has five extremities, two in length, two in breadth, and one in the middle, on which [last] the person rests who is fixed by the nails" - and Tertullian - "Now the Greek letter tau and our own letter T is the very form of the cross." (Ironically, all three of these ante-Nicene Church Fathers belong to that same group improperly cited by the Watchtower to support their anti-Trinitarian views!)

So, the notion that the symbol of the cross was not a part of Christianity until the fourth century (which is what the average Jehovah's Witness believes) is easily disproved by textual and archaeological evidence that is not only readily available to us today but has also been available to Watchtower scholars and officials for over 100 years.

Given this, what rational basis does the Watchtower give its adherents for their rejection of the cross as a Christian symbol? It would be understandable if the Watchtower were to say, "Yes, Jesus died on a cross - the textual and archaelogical evidence affirm this - but because Christendom has become so corrupt that the cross has lost its meaning, we're going to discontinue the use of the cross in our worship and imagery." That would be a plausible explanation. However, that's not what the Watchtower professes to believe on its web site (and according to the home page http://www.watchtower.org/, "This is the authoritative web site about the beliefs, teachings, and activities of Jehovah's Witnesses"). It professes instead:

As we have seen, neither of these statements is true according to all the textual and archaeological evidence.

For the Watchtower to, in spite of all the readily-available textual and archaeological evidence, deny - and, moreover, force their adherents to deny - that (1) Jesus died on a cross and that (2) the early Christians used the cross as a symbol of Christianity is, frankly, both dishonest and wrong.

www.ccel.org - Christian Classics Ethereal Library: contains a wealth of online resources, including an online copy of all 38 volumes of the Early Church Fathers, including works from the Ante-Nicene, Nicene, and Post-Nicene eras. All quotes from the Fathers which I pulled into this document came from CCEL.

The Forgotten Trinity by Dr. James White - An excellent, concise book which both explains and defends the doctrine of the Trinity.

Historical Dishonesty and the Watchtower Society - One thing that caught my eye about the Watchtower's article is that it didn't attempt to reference any Church Fathers prior to Justin Martyr, although the writings of several - e.g., Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Polycarp, Mathetes, "Barnabas," Hermas, and Papias - are still extant. Apparently, the reason for this is that the Watchtower had tried appropriating the earlier Fathers for themselves once before and had been soundly trounced for it. This article tells the particular story of the Watchtower's mishandling of the works of Ignatius, a first century bishop of Antioch.

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