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RENEW
Symbols of our faith
Is it time to trade the cross for something more pleasant?
by Faye Short

As we approach the holiday season, we think of many symbols that represent our Christian faith, such as the manger and the star. Many churches have Crismon Trees, or Jesse Trees—with multiple symbols representing prophecy and its fulfillment in the Messiah. Music is often inspired by our faith symbols, such as “Away In A Manger,” or, the phrase from “We Three Kings,” “…Star of wonder, star of light, star with royal beauty bright….”

We would all concede that by far the greatest symbol of Christian faith is the cross. Why then would a program in the 2004 UMW Program Book, prepared by the Women’s Division, suggest that, “To women, perhaps many other symbols would be much more to their liking than the cross as a symbol of crucifixion and death.” (The Women Looked On—From a Distance: A Reflection on the Cross, pg. 13.)

This program goes on to reference the views of womanist theologian Delores Williams, the 1993 Re-Imagining speaker, who said, “I don’t think we need a theory of atonement at all…. I don’t think we need folks hanging on crosses and blood dripping and weird stuff.” The 2004 program book lifts up Ms. Williams’ suggestion that “other symbols might be more useful and redemptive for Christians and the church in our time than the cross.” Ms. Williams’ views stunned the church in 1993, and referencing her in this program should do so again.

The cross, as an instrument of reconciliation and redemption is referenced so many times in Scripture. Old Testament prophecies foretold the crucifixion. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” In Colossians 1:19 we are told, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Do we need a new symbol? How can we even ask?

If we jettison the symbol of the cross, we should probably also discard cross-related hymns like “The Old Rugged Cross,” “How Great Thou Art,” “Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross,” and so many others. One would assume if we do away with songs about the cross, we should also do away with the numerous ones that reference the blood of Christ, such as, “Nothing But The Blood,” “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood,” and “Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed.”

Should we choose to go along with Ms. Williams’ deduction that we don’t really need a theory of Atonement at all, we can just wipe out most of the songs about Jesus Christ referenced in The United Methodist Hymnal.

Having postulated and explored many reasons why the cross may not be the best symbol for Christian faith in today’s world—weighing heavily in favor of a new symbol—the author steps on the safe side and asks: “On the other hand, is the cross a symbol too ingrained with meaning and identity to be laid aside?

To which we can only answer, “Yes!”

In the Cross of Christ I glory, towering o’er the wrecks of time; all the light of sacred story gathers ‘round its head sublime.

—The United Methodist Hymnal, pg. 294



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