I’ve recently begun a conversation with a local Jehovah’s Witness.
The most important topics are the Divinity of Christ and the Trinity.
I’ve found a wealth of information to cover those but find little in
explaining the cross vs. torture stake argument. The historical or
linguistic source would be helpful as his constant foundation is that
I have a poor translation.
Thanks, M
M,
The argument given by Jehovah’s Witnesses that the “stauros” (Greek for
“cross”) was a “torture pole” is a rather silly argument that lacks any
significant historical or textual evidence. Stauros, can mean any number
of structures in which a person would be hung for crucifixion, including, a
singular pole, an “X” shaped cross, a “tau” (the Greek letter T) shaped
cross, or the traditional shape of the cross that we see commonly depicted.
If it was the case that it was only an upright pole, nothing really
changes. Christ still died as the substitutionary sacrifice for your sins.
However, there are a couple things that the text of Scripture says that
would lead one to conclude that the most likely shape of the cross was the
traditional cross.
First, Thomas remarks in John 20:25, “Unless I see in
his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the
nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Notice that
Thomas uses the word “nails” in the plural as that which pierced Christ’s
hands.
Second, multiple Gospel accounts tell us that a sign was placed
above Christ that read “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses will assert that the word “stauros” cannot mean two
pieces of timber placed across one another at any angle. This is just
simply wrong. In fact, Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (who lived in the second
century) describe Christ’s cross as having 5 points (the fifth one being a
protrusion which the victim would rest by “sitting”, which elongated the
suffering). Tertullian and Origen, in describing Peter’s crucifixion
describe the shape of Peter’s “stauros” as being upside down with Peter’s
arms extended in fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy in John 21:18-19.
We also have archeological and manuscript evidence that shows us that
indeed the traditional “cross” shape was most likely the one used to
crucify Christ. There is a 1st century etching that mocks a Christian
named Alexander who worships his God… which is a man depicted with the
head of a donkey crucified on a cross. Also, in some of the earliest
manuscripts, the word stauros itself is abbreviated by combining the
letters “T” and “R” (actually rho), this is called a staurogram. This
abbreviation occurs in P75, one of the earliest copies of Luke (beyond small
fragments). You can see this clearly depicted here:
http://www.messiahlacrescent.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/staurho-L...
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A close up of a “staurogram” in Papyrus 75, in Luke 14:27
Matthew Lorfeld, Pastor
Messiah Lutheran Church
La Crescent, MN
http://www.messiahlacrescent.org
