Symbols: From Fish To the Cross
BY BOB MIMS
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
At Salt Lake City's Lifeway Christian Store, crosses of wood, silver and gold vie with fish jewelry and bumper stickers in a contest nearly as old as Christianity: Which of the two revered symbols best represents a faith 2,000 years old?
Simple or ornate, on rings or necklaces, wall-mounted, freestanding or plastered on cars, the cross and the fish endure today with neither the clear winner. All store manager Ben Blasingame knows is that while the two symbols are among his less expensive items, their sales volume accounts for much of his bottom line.
"We can't keep either of them in stock. We get a shipment in and within two weeks they are gone; they absolutely fly off our shelves," he said. "I'm always calling our shippers for more."
That has been the case since the followers of a crucified Nazarene rabbi began spreading news of his resurrection in the streets of Jerusalem and later throughout the Roman Empire. In so doing, they incurred the wrath of older, more established religions and the emperor.
One critical difference between now and two millennia ago: Association with the Christian sect then could bring persecution, arrest, torture and death.
Literally forced underground into the catacombs, Roman Christians used symbols to inconspicuously advertise. Believers might see carved into slabs that seal tombs "the Good Shepherd," a man holding a lamb; the "Orante," a praying figure with open arms; a dove holding an olive branch; or a monogram of the Greek letters chi and ro, representing the word "Christos," or Christ.
The anchor, with its cross shape on top, also was used, as was the phoenix, a more uniform symbol of resurrection. Still, it was the fish that gained the most acceptance among first and second century Christians. Sometimes the symbol was embellished with the Greek letters "IXTHYS" (pronounced "ichthus"), forming an acrostic, the first letters of five words translating to "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior."
The fish symbol may have gained popularity with beleaguered believers because it was culturally common and unlikely to arouse suspicion. Before Christians appropriated it, variations of the symbol flourished. Some historians note the symbol, formed by two linked crescent moon shapes, could be linked to ancient pagan Mother Goddess worship.
There are other factors behind the fish's acceptance, said Graydon F. Snyder, a Chicago-based author whose numerous books on church history are considered authoritative.
"Early Christians [were] a minority . . . living in an alien, even oppressive environment," he said. "They used water symbols to communicate this: anchor, boat and, of course, the fish. Frequent use of the fish alone or with anchors signifies the Christian's ability to exist in this alien Roman culture."
Donald Hagner, a professor of New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., said use of the fish coincided with Christ's frequent use in his parables of metaphors associated with many of his disciples' former professions.
"Several of the key disciples, including Peter . . . were themselves fishermen. That the disciples were commissioned to become 'fishers of people,' the symbol must have seemed appropriate," he said.
As for the cross, it took centuries for it to become a symbol of Christianity. Snyder argues there are few examples of Christians using the cross as a symbol prior to the fourth century.
He says the first portrayal of the crucifixion is found on the wooden doors of St. Sabina basilica in Rome, dating to the early fifth century. The Passion Sarcophagus, now in the Vatican, shows an empty cross being carried, but it comes from the mid-fourth century.
" As long as early Christians were being oppressed by Rome, they were not willing to use as their primary symbol a Roman instrument of execution," Snyder said. "Once the Christians were the majority and controlled the Empire, then they could celebrate the achievement of power by means of self-denial."
Early Christians may have been embarrassed by the cross and its then well-known association with capital punishment and criminals, Hagner surmised.
"It is a striking irony that what we wear as a kind of jewelry, the cross, is in fact an instrument of death. If you think about it, that is a little like wearing a small, gold electric chair around one's neck," he said.
The cross shape is reflected in earlier paganism. In pre-Christian Scandinavia, the shape represented the hammer of Thor. Ancient Assyrians would have recognized the symbol of the four directions of sunlight, while the Egyptians of old would see similarities to the Ankh, associated with Maat, the goddess of truth.
However, Christians eventually found meaning in the cross with its all too harsh reality as a cruel device of execution. As such, it has become the most recognized symbol of their faith today.
"As to what symbol [fish or cross] is the more appropriate, I suppose it does not matter," Hagner said. "From the standpoint of the New Testament, however, the centrality of the cross to God's ultimate purposes and to our salvation would point very clearly to the cross as the most appropriate symbol."
There is no doubt in the mind of Dan John, historian and director of education for the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, which symbol best represents the faith today embraced, in its various forms, by 2 billion people.
"Not to knock the fish symbol, but it was an underground message of followers being persecuted. It has found a recent revival, but the cross remains the symbol of triumph, the church triumphant over death, sin, evil, the devil," he said. "No death, no resurrection. So, it is very important that Christ died. . . .
"The cross reminds us that Jesus died. That is the key to Christian theology," John said. "[And] that is why the cross wins. It is the core of all Christian faith."
The Rev. Jeff Sells of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah sees the cross as "very much an upfront symbol. Probably no one could miss the sense of meaning there." For the Romans and their subjects, it immediately brought to mind a prolonged, bloody death associated with condemned thieves and murderers.
In place of that negative emblem, "God made the symbol one of salvation." he said.
For Ken Mulholland, president of the Salt Lake Seminary, the rough-hewn wooden framework of Roman era execution has long since become "shorthand for the suffering and death of Jesus.
"One has only to look at the Gospels," he said. "Of the 33 years of the life of Jesus, one week is the central interest of the Gospel writers. John's Gospel devotes half of his [chapters] to this week."
While Mulholland, too, favors the cross as best representing Christianity, he emphasizes that whether the crucifix or fish prevail is not a critical matter for faith.
"Without the symbol of the cross, Christianity would not be any different," he said. "Christians do not worship the object of the cross, they worship Jesus who died for us on a cross, and who rose from the dead."
Whatever symbol a believer chooses, that attitude should prevail, Blasingame agreed. Whether the item he rings up features a fish or cross, the message is the same.
"This is just a way for people to have a symbol of their faith, something that outwardly says, 'I'm a believer,'" he said.
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