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Do you know the origin of the Cross? Has the early Catholic Church influenced modern Christianity?

Surprising as it may sound, the cross was in use as a religious symbol for thousands of years before Jesus Christ ever walked the earth. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia: The sign of the cross, represented in its simplest form by a crossing of two lines at right angles, greatly antedates, in both East and the West, the introduction of Christianity. It goes back to a very remote period of human civilization (1908 edition, volume 4, p. 517). An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols authored by J.C. Cooper confirms the ancient origins of the cross. A universal symbol from the most remote times; it is the cosmic symbol par excellence. It is a world center and therefore a point of communication between heaven and earth and a cosmic axis, thus sharing the symbolism of the cosmic tree, mountain, pillar, ladder etc (p. 45). Later, the Celtic cross came to symbolize the four roads to the corners of the earth. Unger's Bible Dictionary confirms the usage of the cross in ancient times as a pagan symbol. The authors write: That the cross was widely known in pre-Christian times as an emblem that was a well-known Heathen Sign. The vestments of the priest of Horus the Egyptian god of light are marked by a cross. At Thebes, in the tombs of the kings, royal cows are represented plowing, a calf playing in front. Each animal has a cross marked in several places on it. Rassam found buildings at Nineveh marked with the Maltese cross. Osiris, as well as Jupiter Ammon, had for a monogram a cross. The form of the cross now used in Christianity actually had its origin in the letter “T.” This was the traditional symbol for Tammuz, the ancient god of the Chaldeans and Egyptians. Tammuz was the brother of Ishtar, the goddess of fertility who is now unwittingly worshiped by millions of professing Christians on the holiday that bears a form of her name—Easter. The symbol for Tammuz is what the mystery religions call the mystic “T.” It is an emblem of great antiquity, and it is sometimes called “the sign of life.” The lower case “t”, or cross, was originally used as an amulet over the heart. Sometimes it was inscribed on the garments of pagan priests, and other ancient pagan religions used it as part of the dress of vestal virgins. This Pagan symbol ... the Tau, the sign of the cross, the indisputable sign of Tammuz, the false Messiah ... the mystic Tau of the Chaldeans (Babylonians) and Egyptians—the true original form of the letter T—the initial of the name of Tammus ... (was) the Babylonian emblem of Tammuz. Buddhists believe that the cross represents both the tree of life and spiritual nourishment. The Hindus also incorporate the symbol of the cross in their faith. They call the cross the “rajas,” the expansion of being. The linguistic evidence from the Bible suggests that Jesus was crucified not on a cross, but on an upright stake, or post. The original word that the King James translators rendered as “cross” is the Greek word “stauros.” Found 28 times in the New Testament, the word “cross” in every single case is the Greek word “stauros.” In Strong's Dictionary of the Greek language, the word is defined as “an upright post or stake.” Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words: [Stauros] denotes an upright pole or stake. Both the noun and the verb stauroo, to fasten to a stake or pole, are originally to be distinguished from the ecclesiastical form of a two-beamed cross. The shape of the latter had its origin in ancient Chaldea (Babylon), and was used as the symbol of the god Tammuz (being in the shape of the mystic Tau, the initial of his name). Has the "Universal Church" or Catholic Church duped Christians subtley?

Public Comments

1. Christ died on the cross.
2. Okay, what was the correct Koine Greek word to denote the Roman instrument of Crucifixion?
3. Churches have walls and roofs just like pagan temples do too wing nut
4. Given that the early Catholic Church WAS Christianity for 1,000+ years after Christ, and given that the early Catholic Church is the source of the Bible, I'd say yes, it has had quite an influence, even on the unauthorized conflicting manmade churches that have come after it, in open defiance of the plainly stated will of our Lord and Savior, "that they all may be ONE".
5. Actually there were several forms of the cross, one was a large X which the sun god worshipers used, the other was the ankh which symbolized the sun on the horizon, the cross Christians use are usually in reference to the execution stakes the Romans.
6. What Christianity Christians from the Reformation Traditions starting in the 16th Cent have is derived from Orthodoxy/ Catholicism JWs, an anti -Trinitarian apocalyptic biblicist "post Christian" Protestant sect derived from Millerite 19th cent Protestantism, are much in debt to Catholicism Without the Early Catholic Church there would be no Christianity as we know it. Has Jehovah's Witnessism and other unscholarly anti Catholic groups "duped" their unquesting adherents with theri eldless conspiracy theories and paranoid seeing demons in evwery cloud shape? They read their hatreds into everything God bless and deliver them Crosses are an almost universal geometric design of intercrossing lines Yes, Catholic Church is the Universal and Apostolic Church The cross is a symbol of salvation through the death of God made flesh for us which is another reasons JWs seem to have a profound hate of the cross of Christ
7. It wouldn't be surprising if the cross symbol as we see it now was actually borrowed from paganism (after all, the time of Christmas and bringing in a tree were, the idea of an "easter bunny" was, this is not a new thing). However, the fact remains that Jesus did die on a cross. The method used by romans probably did not look like the cross we see today, however. It was probably attached to wooden scaffolding and made the shape of a capital T or X not the cross shape (similar to a lower case t) commonly used in religious art, jewelry and iconography. That said, this doesn't mean that the symbol of the cross need be abandoned. The idea of cross does not have these pagan (or buddhist, or whatever else) connotations and meanings for Christians. When they see a cross they are reminded of Christ, and that is the point of a symbol, to direct the worshipper to the thing symbolized. As long as the cross does so, it really doesn't matter it's origin. Edit: The "linguistic evidence" is questionable at best. There is no specific term for cross as opposed to tree or wooden stake (they would all be the same Greek word). What is known is that from cultural/historical studies crucifixion, on some type of cross (whether a t or not) was common practice for Romans. Also what is known is the verb used to describe the death ("crucify"). You shouldn't follow the "linguistic experts" when they've all only taken a year or two (at best) of Greek or are enitrely self taught, as is the majority of the Watchtower translators.
8. The Catholic Church was Christianity for about a thousand years. And no, they haven't duped Christians. The cross is a symbol of Christ's perfect sacrifice for us. It symbolizes the unconditional love he has for us. The Catholic church actually means universal church, and it's followers are more spread out than any other religion.
9. We know Christ died on the cross, but what does this have to do with the Catholics? They were not the first church as they claim they were. The early church has the exact same doctrine as the Pentecostals except for the head coverings and we allow women to speak at church---no one is allowed to talk during the service except to praise the Lord.