Christian Symbols...and next week's preview

Hey All,

I thought I’d write a few lines about different Christian symbols we see. Well, other than the cross that is – that’s too obvious!

First up is the ichthus, which is what we call the Jesus Fish these days. The name comes from the abbreviation of the following (English transliterated) Greek words: Iesous, Christos, Theos, Uios, Sotar which basically translates to Jesus Christ God’s Son Savior. During times of Christian persecution, this symbol would be used to identify other Christians. One person would draw an arc, and if the other person was a Christian, they would recognize this as the first half of the fish and complete it.

Next is the Chi-Ro. This became a Christian symbol when it was adopted by Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor. As the story goes, Constantine saw this symbol in a dream, and heard a voice say something to the effect of “By this, conquer”. The symbol represents the first two letters in the Greek spelling of Christ interposed. This is also the root of how X became an abbreviation for Christ…like in Xmas.

Lastly, I have a hand-sign for you. Take your right hand and hold it up, palm forward. No take your pinky and ring finger and touch them to your thumb. So now your hand basically looks like a peace sign, right? Your right hand now sums up the most important parts (in my opinion) of Christian theology. The two fingers and thumb all touching represent the three members of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The two fingers sticking up represent the dual nature of Jesus Christ: fully human and fully divine. It’s a neat way to show your faith, and it also carries the crucial Gospel message of PEACE!

Some of you have probably noticed that there’s some buzz in the news about people claiming to have found the tomb of Jesus’ family…including his wife and son. There’ll be a documentary about it Sunday night at 9pm on the Discovery Channel. I’ll post a response about it next week giving you my thoughts.

Have a great week!

Peace,

Kevin