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Raised Baptist and was told all my life that making the sign of the cross on ones body is a Catholic thing and I've seen some use it in a derogatory way when in trouble.
I've been going to a Lutheran church the past couple of weeks. The regular pastor is away and a temp filled in yesterday. He talked about doing this. Like I've said, I thought it was a Catholic thing, so I've never given it much thought until yesterday. He mentioned it was a Christian thing and that all Christians should be doing this, mostly when getting out of bed in the morning and going to bed at night.
I think it's a pretty cool thing now that I've thought some about it and read a little today about how a person does their fingers for the Trinity. I enjoy hearing about the different meanings.
Is there any scripture that specifically talks about this?
Raised Baptist and was told all my life that making the sign of the cross on ones body is a Catholic thing and I've seen some use it in a derogatory way when in trouble.
I've been going to a Lutheran church the past couple of weeks. The regular pastor is away and a temp filled in yesterday. He talked about doing this. Like I've said, I thought it was a Catholic thing, so I've never given it much thought until yesterday. He mentioned it was a Christian thing and that all Christians should be doing this, mostly when getting out of bed in the morning and going to bed at night.
I think it's a pretty cool thing now that I've thought some about it and read a little today about how a person does their fingers for the Trinity. I enjoy hearing about the different meanings.
Is there any scripture that specifically talks about this?
If there is no scripture to back this up, even though I believe it's a nice gesture to do, where did it come from? Why did people start doing this?
No way of knowing. It seems to have been very early in Christian tradition and I'd bet that it was one of the recognition signs used by Christians to see if someone else was a Christian during the times of persecution.
Raised Baptist and was told all my life that making the sign of the cross on ones body is a Catholic thing and I've seen some use it in a derogatory way when in trouble.
I've been going to a Lutheran church the past couple of weeks. The regular pastor is away and a temp filled in yesterday. He talked about doing this. Like I've said, I thought it was a Catholic thing, so I've never given it much thought until yesterday. He mentioned it was a Christian thing and that all Christians should be doing this, mostly when getting out of bed in the morning and going to bed at night.
I think it's a pretty cool thing now that I've thought some about it and read a little today about how a person does their fingers for the Trinity. I enjoy hearing about the different meanings.
Is there any scripture that specifically talks about this?
You seem to be enjoying your spiritual exploration and journey - good for you!
As you have discovered, the sign of the cross is not just a Catholic thing
The sign of the cross is a brief profession of faith in the Trinity and is a reminder of our redemption by the Cross.
It dates back to the early church. While it isn't specifically mentioned in scripture, some scholars interpret St. Paul's saying that he bears the marks of Christ on his body, in Galatians 6:17, as his referring to the sign of the cross.
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I associate it most soccer players, who also like to pray and look to heaven before and after scoring a goal. it might be also an eastern orthodox thing, but I don't think its typically done by protestants in America.
That's what I meant by derogatory about keeping away vampires, ex husbands, ex wives, bratty kids, mean bosses, etc. The only time I've seen the cross made has been something funny like this. Not to judge, but I've seen Catholics do it and by the way they do it and by the way they live their lives, not wanting anything to even do with Jesus, seems like a joke and I think maybe that's where all the derogatory came from. (I'm not saying all Catholics are hypocritical, but the ones I've known and the way they were living, when I saw them make a cross like this, it was meant as a joke, or at least that's the way I took it.
Does this make sense? It just seems to be more of a joke to a lot of people and I'm guilty of making a joke out of it too, that is, until the other day at church, when the pastor did it and talked about it and now I'm beginning to understand.
LovesMountains, Yes I am enjoying my spiritual journey. This is all so new to me and I've probably never looked at the Bible all my life as much as I am now.
I appreciate and thank you all for your responses. For a bit of funny, I'm of Irish descent, I don't believe in vampires but I have been told the banshee stories when I was a kid. This should keep them away, although I will use it in a more serious manner now.
Heartsong, thanks for the link. I saw that the other night while researching. Interesting learning the meaning. I'm a leftie so it looks like I have to use my right hand.
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