Why is Christianity represented by the cross?

I actually Wiki'd the orgins of the cross vs christians use of such....They settles on it as a reminder, they also used a Ichthy ( Hence "Jesus fish") prior to the crucifixes rise in popularity.

Simply put, the meaning of the cross is death. In ancient times (i.e., from about the 6th century BC until the 4th century AD), the cross was an instrument of death by the most torturous and painful of ways. Crucifixion, which comes from the Latin “to fix to a cross,” was an ancient form of execution in which a person was either tied or nailed to a wooden cross and left to hang until dead. Death would be slow and “excruciatingly” (again from the Latin “out of crucifying”) painful. However, because of Christ and His death on the cross, the meaning of the cross is completely different.

In Christianity, the cross is the intersection of God’s love and His justice. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The reference to Jesus as the Lamb of God points back to the institution of the Jewish Passover in Exodus 12. The Israelites were commanded to sacrifice an unblemished lamb and smear the blood of that lamb on the doorposts of their homes. The blood would be the sign for the Angel of Death to “pass over” that house, leaving those covered by blood in safety. When Jesus came to John to the baptized, John recognized Him and cried: “"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29), thereby identifying Him and God’s plan for Him to be sacrificed for sin.

But you are forgetting that there are several other symbols in Christianity ie: the fish (ixthus / icthus) and the dove.

I don't wear a cross or anything like that. But, it isn't a bad symbol. It is not meant to represent a crude execution device. It is meant to represent the work that Jesus accomplished upon the cross. It is through this work that we receive eternal life. It glorifies Jesus, and acknowledges the sacrifice that He made for us.

Oh death where is thy sting? and the grave where is thy victory? Through Jesus Christ death and the grave were overcome. The cross that He died on was raised upon the hill called "Golgotha" or the place of the skull. This symbolizes death. Jesus was raised above the skull on the cross, and through dying and then His resurrection defeated death for our sakes.

There is nothing more hopeful than the cross, rightly understood.

The cross is where the evil of mankind and the goodness of God converge. It is where the Son of God, come down from heaven, took upon Himself all the evil, sin, and rebellion of mankind, and the punishment it deserves, suffering the consequences of sin, and in His own body put it to death, so that now all the blessings that Jesus Christ deserved as the perfect sinless Son of God might be freely given as a gift to all who believe.

Rightly understood ir is forgiveness of sins, healing of disease, peace of mind, reconciliation with God and eternal life in the Kingdom of God - all the gift of God, given by grace, received by faith.

http://www.google.com/search?tbm=vid&hl=en&source=...

Because it is rich with meaning.

Before he was crucified, Jesus said:

10:38 Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me.

10:39 Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.

And again:

16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.

16:25 For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.

16:26 What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life? Or what has a man to offer in exchange for his life?

 (Gospel of Matthew)

And similar phrases are found in other places. More than that, Paul expains in the Letter to the Corinthians:

1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the Good News, and not to preach that in the terms of philosophy[*b] in which the crucifixion of Christ cannot be expressed.

1:18 The language of the cross may be illogical to those who are not on the way to salvation, but those of us who are on the way see it as God's power to save.

1:19 As scripture says: I shall destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing all the learning of the learned.

1:20 Where are the philosophers now? Where are the scribes?[*c] Where are any of our thinkers today? Do you see now how God has shown up the foolishness of human wisdom?

1:21 If it was God's wisdom that human wisdom should not know God, it was because God wanted to save those who have faith through the foolishness of the message that we preach.

1:22 And so, while the Jews demand miracles and the Greeks look for wisdom,

1:23 here are we preaching a crucified Christ; to the Jews an obstacle that they cannot get over, to the pagans madness,

1:24 but to those who have been called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is the power and the wisdom of God.

1:25 For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.

And there is so much more. It is a symbol of sacrifice, of love, of shameful treatment, of strength in weakness, of apparent defeat being ultimate victory, of death to worldly things being resurrection to Heavenly things, of the low being raised up, of our own guilt and the price with which we were bought.

"The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the work of the Lord, a marvel in our eyes."

The cross symbolises the hope of humanities salvation

his death for our sin is the biggest selfless loving thing that christ could of done to save us all from Eternal death by giving his live to save every person on this planet , and Eternal life to thoughs who believe in him, the cross represents what he came here to do, the ultimate sacrifice and that's what the cross represents for many christians today.

The symbol is meant to refer to his sacrifice to mankind, thus providing the ultimate sacrifice needed to allow for forgiveness of all mankind, etc etc.

It is meant to symbolize his selfless act to allow for our salvation.

At least that's my understanding of it.

i don't have symbols in my house.

*True* Christians do NOT venerate the method of Christ's death (a stake or pole),

*certainly not* the pagan cross . . . as crosses were used by the ancient Babylonians as symbols in worship of the *fertility god* Tammuz.

"Did Jesus Really Die on a Cross?"

- What Does the Cross Symbolize?

- "Guard Yourselves From Idols" -

http://watchtower.org/e/200604a/article_01.htm

"Why True Christians Do Not Use the Cross in Worship"

http://watchtower.org/e/bh/appendix_05.htm