To appreciate the Catholic crucifix, one has to understand Catholic theology. Catholics believe that Christ's death-- the breaking of his body and the spilling of his blood-- was the moment of our salvation. The Mass is their primary religious ritual, and in their view the bread and wine are literally changed into Christ's actual, physical body and blood. Christ physically enters the believer in a moment of sublime mystical union. Thus although the crucifix is violent, it represents the central moment in salvation history, and the central moment in Catholic religious experience. It is not a moment we can afford to shrink away from.
In addition to its salvific significance, the crucifixion is also the supreme revelation of God's gracious love for us. To quote the Apostle Paul, "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Catholics view the crucifixion as the greatest sacrifice in history: the moment that an omnipotent creator subjected himself to tremendous suffering and humiliation on behalf of creatures infinitely unworthy and inferior to himself. Visual depictions of the event help us to appreciate the great cost he willingly bore, and the great love it reveals. From this point of view, one might even say the grislier the crucifix the better! It's no accident that Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ was so graphic in its portrayal of the crucifixion. He was essentially trying to portray the ultimate sacrifice-- ultimate pain, ultimate suffering, and ultimate cost, willingly borne for our sake because of God's ultimate love.
It is also important to recognize that Catholicism was founded long before the advent of mass literacy, and continues to flourish today among the poor and illiterate peoples of the world. Whereas Mormons and Protestants can read about the crucifixion in their Bibles, Catholics have typically had to communicate through visual media such as paintings and statues. Furthermore, images in the Catholic Church are much more than just teaching tools. Catholics believe that Christ is graciously and miraculously present in such images. To look upon a statue of Christ is to look upon Christ himself. The crucifix thus makes Christ's sacrifice literally present for every believer. We may all stand with his mother at the foot of the cross and grieve.
10 comments:
Dear Chris,
Re this part of your essay "It is also important to recognize that Catholicism was founded long before the advent of mass literacy"
One of the greatest marketing techniques ever created is the stations of the cross. Even the illiterate peasant could look at the 14 pictures, stationed on each side of a church (7 on each side) and learn what the Church wanted them to know. The Church has always been an excellent marketing company. Aside from the stations of the cross, think of the pipe organ in a medieval cathedral. the average person had a dirt floor, and wiped their butts with the hand. Yet they could could to a church, and find pretty much what was probably as complex as a supercomputer would be to today's people. That would great them with sound that would literally shake them to the bone. I have come over the years to greatly appreciate the marketing acumen of the Catholic Church.
Cheers! RichGriese.NET
I think a lot of it is cultural. I'm sure there is a lot about Mormonism that creeps out the average Catholic. :)
Hi Rich,
Yes, religious people have always been on the cutting edge of media use, and the Catholic Church was no exception. It's pretty amazing what they managed to accomplish in the age before the printing press. The Protestants were even more efficient at it, with their entrepreneurial model of leadership. The Reformers not only built the print industry from the ground up, but also made extensive use of drama, sermons, music, and art.
I do have to add a caveat, though. While marketing is definitely one of the major drives behind such media use, I think we have to be careful about reducing it to that. There's a whole range of motivations at play, including the desire to honor God with one's talents, the desire to create an enjoyable worship experience, and the desire to experience the sacred with all of one's senses. Simply calling it "marketing" doesn't quite do justice to the integrity of these forms of religious expression.
Peace,
-Chris
Joseph,
I think you're right that it's cultural. The complaint that the crucifix is "gruesome" is probably a post-hoc rationalization for the Mormon culture's cross-aversion rather than being the original reason for it.
By the way, anyone who's interested in the subject might want to pick up a copy of Michael G. Reed's new book, titled Banishing the Cross: The Emergence of a Mormon Taboo. I haven't read it myself yet, but I've only heard good things about it.
Peace,
-Chris
I have been working on light research lately to try and define why the cross/crucifix is so taboo in LDS culture but I think you post addresses this in a better approach, discussing it's importance to other Christian faiths.
@Chris, thanks for the book reference. I am looking for it @ Amazon right now.
-james http://notveryusefultruths.blogspot.com
I just talked to Mike, and he said the publication of the book has been delayed because the editor of John Whitmer Books is so swamped. He hopes it will be out by Christmas.
Easter, not Christmas.
When encountering Christians who are troubled by the crucifix (a cross with corpus) I often refer them to 1 Corinthians 1:23.
"We preach Christ, and him crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles."
http://www.veritasbible.com/drb/read/1_Corinthians_1:23
Seems pretty clear to me.
“To look upon a statue of Christ is to look upon Christ himself. The crucifix thus makes Christ's sacrifice literally present for every believer. We may all stand with his mother at the foot of the cross and grieve.“
I was a Catholic before my parents converted to Mormonism. Ever since my “conversion” along with them, I had always regarded the Crucifix of my former religion in a derogatory way. However, your concluding comment (re: above) has caused me to re-think this former pejorative bias that Mormonism has promulgated to pretty much assail the Catholic church’s belief in the crucifix. Thanks.
Paul, thanks so much for commenting. I'm always very glad to hear that something I've written has been meaningful to someone. :)
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