How does the Christian church reconcile veneration of the cross with the 2nd commandment not to worship idols?

Easy! They just "interpret" the Bible to mean whatever they want it to mean.

I am a Christian. I personally do not worship the cross, I worship God, and I completely agree with you. I do however regard that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. I do not worship the cross, but the person who died and rose again. I do not wear a cross around my neck and my Christian religion does not have any crosses on display in the church house or in our home. We consider this against the Bible in our denomination. We, as a group, believe that if you worship an image of this that it is idol worship. There are many denominations of Christianity that believe this way and do not have these images to bow to. We kneel at the altar and pray, we do not bow to an image of Jesus on the cross during church and I would never do this at any church I happened to be at. Hope this answers your question.

I think the commandment really concerned images of false gods, who at that time were pagan, remember the golden calf fashioned by the Jews while waiting for Moses. Christians are reminded of Christ's ultimate sacrifice through the symbol of the Cross. Jews are reminded of their roots by the Star of David. I don't know anyone who actually prays to two pieces of sticks crossed together at angles. The prayer is directed to God who came in the form of the human Jesus. The commandments themselves were engraved on two tablets of stone. Do you worship the stone they're made on or follow the precepts inscribed? Do you worship the paper the Bible is written on or live according to the Scriptures found within. Since you're adamant about about being right, I'll just take 2 points and hope you remember the other commandment, Love God and thy neighbour as yourself.

It is in the interpretation of worship and what constitutes worship. I honestly have not known of any Christian doing anything close to what I would call "worshipping" a cross. The cross is only a symbol, not even a depiction of God.

Closer to breaking this commandment I think would be the painted pictures of Jesus, and even moreso the statues of Jesus. These always have potential to invoke worship.

I personally do not find this abominable because I myself worship God through means of images - but I am a Hindu and I do not even claim to be trying to follow these "Ten Commandments."

i do not know about you, i do not worship the cross, for me and a lot of other Christians, it is a symbol of what Jesus did for us. without Jesus death there is no Resurrection, with out resurrection, no life eternal

the cross the foundation, the empty tomb the guarantee

lets play your game. letter of the law.

take out of your house, every picture, ornament, computer, t.v., join the Amish, because a lot of men worship their cars so that has to go, money, because the root of all evil is the love of money. what else? do you follow a band or football? do not have a picture of them and of cause you can not go to their games.

to worship the cross; people need their head put on straight. it was the worse death that man can do to man. days of pain and suffering.

of cause Jesus said if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out, so the hand, cut it off. i quite sure He did not mean it literally.

one more thing, you love a certain little red person, throw it away also. you shall not bow down or serve them.

God does not want anything to take His rightful place of worship. once again, God Bless at least you get people thinking which is good.

All depends on the worshipping part. Just having a cross on something you own or hung on the wall is not a sin as long as you dont worship it.

I use it as a dialy reminder of what Christ did for me and how much I mean to him.

***sorry you feel so strongly about me hanging a cross up in my home, but I dont worship it and we dont worship the one at my church. We do worship the one who hung on it. Find a church that dont have a cross in it--is it really a church???? My Bible does say "graven image" so I asked Webster and he said it meant "an idol carved from stone or wood. An IDOL!!! My advice---PRAY!!!!!

The 2d commandment forbids worshipping idols for what they are, pieces of wood or metal or what not. The 2d commandment forbids believing an idol has any power.

Veneration of the cross is (supposed to be) adoration of God. The Cross is here to remind Christians that Jesus died and (more important) resurrected. But I sincerely hope no one thinks the cross itself has any actual power.

Well The Cross is more Then A Symbol..If you wear it around your neck do you mean is that a form of Idol worship..no that is just a testiment of your "Faith"..Idol worship is more like Worshiping "Mary" or a Statue..that we shouldn't do because you are putting something in place Of God!!! Besides "Mary" isn't God..Think On That Only Jesus Can Answer Our Prayer!!!

~Blessings~

Lynda R.Leavy

Christianity does not worship the cross, does not serve them, or bow to them. The cross was adopted as the mainstream sign of christianity hundreds of years after the apostles died. I don't know why. Nor does the church I belong to use it as a symbol.

The cross is a symbol of christianity to many denominations. They harldy worship, serve, bow down or anything like it.

The symbol of the cross in itself is not a sin but worshipping it is. When that cross no longer symbolyzes the death of the savior but is an image worshipped, then we have a problem. When it becomes more important to worship it rather than God, that is the sin

If you are talking about the Catholic church you are wrong. Catholics DO NOT WORSHIP idols nor statues, nor images. And this question is unfair to Christians, because same thing can be said about the Jewish folks that they worship the Star of David. Which we know it is not true, but nebertheless it can be argued.