Christian Cross - Exclusion

Exclusion

Jehovah's Witnesses do not accept the use of the cross as a symbol of Christianity. They see no Biblical support for doing so and associate devotion to that symbol with idolatry. They believe that the cross was widely used by worshipers of Tammuz, a Babylonian god, as his symbol. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus died, not on a two-beam cross, but on an upright stake, in accordance with the narrow meaning that the Greek word σταυρός (stauros) had in classical Greek, of the period about four centuries before Christ, when this word meant merely an upright stake, or pale. Later it came to be used also for an execution stake having a crosspiece. Although earlier Watchtower Society's publications stated that Christ was crucified on a cross, they concluded after further research that the belief not only had no scriptural basis but was actually false.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints believe that Jesus died on a cross; however, "for us the cross is the symbol of the dying Christ, while our message is a declaration of the living Christ... the lives of our people must become the only meaningful expression of our faith and, in fact, therefore, the symbol of our worship." Latter Day Saints, also known as Mormons, do not place the cross on their buildings because the Bible does not mention the cross as a symbol for Christianity. Most temples will usually decorate one spire of the temple with a symbol of the Angel Moroni as an expression that the heavens have been reopened to man on earth.