Response to Christans: (The Cross.. Do we honor it or worship it?!)

 The priest's answer:

We do not worship the Holy Cross, but we sanctify the cross because it is the greatest sign of God's love for us.
As for the subject of this love, it is summarized in the fall of man into sin through the temptation of Satan, and God arranged his salvation through the cross by His incarnation. And the cross became a means of forgiveness and sanctification. And when man is purified and sanctified, he can coexist with the Holy God in His heaven in the afterlife.
It is the wisdom of God to complete the salvation of the world through the cross as our teacher Paul says, "The hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Corinthians 2:7,8). (You will find the full text of the Holy Bible here on St-Takla.org ) The cross, with this salvation, carries many secrets of God’s power, as it defeated Satan, death, sin, the abyss, and slavery; this is the reason for our love for the cross and our sanctification of it. Indeed, the cross has great importance in our lives, and its sign and power leave us day and night. We do not begin any work without making the sign of the cross, and we make its sign on what we eat and drink. We make it before, during, and upon waking up. We make it for the arrival of blessings, to drive out demons and evil thoughts, to extinguish lusts, evil inclinations, and wrong emotions, and to neutralize the effect of toxins and microbes whose source we do not know. We drink it when facing dangers and in desolate places. The cross in general is a method for our lives in enduring pain, harassment, and persecution. It is considered a source of comfort and a balm for us in all of these. The more we contemplate the cross, the more the depths of God’s love for us are revealed and our love for Him increases. Therefore, we glorify the cross, hold on to it, beat it on our hands, wear it on our chests, and place it on our graves, and it is the flag of our churches. All the blessings and graces found in the cross are attained by the believer through experience and practice in faith. Whoever realizes them cannot help but say with our teacher Paul, “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). Our sanctification of the cross is similar to the sanctification of the members of our society for the Holy Kaaba, as they see in it a divine work and a holy blessing. Therefore, they circumambulate it to receive its blessing and gain God’s approval. They take pride in the Kaaba as something holy, and perhaps some of them adorn themselves with golden or silver shapes of it, just as we Christians adorn ourselves with shapes of the cross. This article is taken from the website of the Church of Anba Takla. It seems that every person of faith has a tangible symbol that connects them to God, which they sanctify because it symbolizes a great work that God has done for them. Although this symbol is honored and sanctified, worship is not offered to it, but to God alone. It is worth noting that all people in the world, regardless of their religion, when someone envies them or holds a grudge against them, immediately the person looks for wood and says: "Touch wood" or "Knock on wood".. What is the value of wood except that it is the material of the Holy Cross, and through it the person seeks salvation from envy by coming to the cross.. This matter has been distorted, and many do it without understanding...




Therefore, even if the cross was originally made of wood, and the Kaaba was made of stone, it would be wrong to say that these people worship wood, and those people worship stone! But the correct expression is that each of them sanctifies what he believes in.

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Response:
The priest says: “ We do not worship the Holy Cross, but we sanctify the cross .”
The priest admits with his own tongue that they do not worship the cross, but their condition and actions confirm this:
The cross is bowed down to them, and bowing down is the strongest form of worship.
The cross is celebrated twice a year (10 Baramhat and 17 Tut) of the Coptic year.
Candles are lit in front of it and incense is burned for it.
Hymns and praises are chanted for the cross.
It is greeted and saluted as if it were a living being that hears.
Dr. Hanin Abdel-Masih says in his book “Idol Worship in the Orthodox Church”:
How did the worship of the cross creep into the Orthodox Church?
The Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates the cross twice a year, the first on 10 Baramhat, which coincides with the day when Queen Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, discovered the wood of the cross in Jerusalem in the fourth century AD, and the second on 17 Tut, which coincides with the day of The inauguration of the church that she built in the place where she found the cross. On these two feasts (in addition to the rest of the days of the year), all the rituals of worship of the wood of the cross are practiced in the Coptic Orthodox Church, from lighting candles in front of it, incense, prostrating before it, chanting hymns and praises, and greeting it with peace. As if he were a living God who hears and responds, and all of this is in contrast to and alongside the crucified one who alone deserves worship, which the Orthodox Church offers him on another day other than the two feasts of the Cross, which is “Good Friday,” which is dedicated to celebrating the crucified one. The great Orthodox writer Father Matta El Meskeen says: It is known that King Constantine ordered the distribution of pieces of the Holy Cross to all the churches of the world at that time... The churches that kept a piece of the Holy Cross began the ritual of honoring the "Wood of the Holy Cross" and it remained in effect as it was even after this relic was lost over time and accidents. And here is our church still preserving the hymns and glorifications that were offered to the "Wood of the Holy Cross", but now it offers them in front of any cross (end of his words).

But do Christians actually prostrate to the cross?
Yes, they prostrate to the cross, and these are some of their confessions from their websites:
The following image is from the website of Anba Takla :

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The following image is from the website : http://www.saintmarysdetroit.org/html/concn_cassaioe.html

This image is in another size. Click here to view the image in its correct form. The image dimensions are 720x516.

Look at the justification, they prostrate to Christ because God is in him
and since the cross is a name for Christ, and Christ is God in him, then, they prostrate to the cross!!
But, did Christ prostrate to the cross? Of course not, because he was prostrating to God directly.
And even after Christ’s ascension, did the disciples prostrate to the cross? Did they light candles for him? Did they burn incense for him? Did they greet him? Did they celebrate a feast for him?
Of course, there is no evidence that the disciples did that, nor did Paul even order his followers to do so.
And why didn’t the disciples take the cross on which the crucified one died and keep it and sanctify it? Of course, Christians justify their prostration to the cross with the prostration of greeting, but Dr. Hanin Abdel-Masih refuted this claim with strong evidence, saying: It is worth mentioning here what came in the Holy Bible about the bronze serpent that refers to the cross) which Moses lifted in the wilderness so that whoever looked at it from the people would not perish from the poison of the fiery serpents (Numbers 2/6-9) and about which the Lord Jesus said in the Gospel of John: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (3/14-16). That bronze serpent that the Lord commanded Moses to make and which healed many from the poison of the serpents and which was sacred was crushed after several ages by the venerable King Hezekiah, King of Judah, because the children of Israel were burning incense to it until those days.




It is stated in the Second Book of Kings:
In the third year of Hoshea, son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, reigned. The king of Judah. ​​He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. And he did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. He removed the high places, and brake in pieces the carved images, and cut down the Asherah poles, and brake in pieces the bronze serpent which Moses had made (for unto those days the children of Israel burned incense unto it), and they called it Nahushtan. He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel; and after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those that were before him. And he clung to the Lord and did not depart from Him, but kept His commandments which the Lord commanded Moses. And the Lord was with him, and wherever he went out he prospered. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not worship Him.
2 Kings 18/1-7
We note here that the book did not mention that the children of Israel worshipped the bronze serpent, but only said that they burned candles or incense to it, or something similar. However, Hezekiah crushed it among the idols he destroyed in the kingdom of God’s people. The point is in actions, not words. Those who brag and claim that they do not worship the cross in the church, but only honor it (as well as the images, saints, clergy, bread, and wine) by lighting candles and incense before it, and also by prostrating to it and offering praises, glorifications, and greetings (peace) to it, are in fact offering idolatry, even if they deny it or are ignorant of it. If there were in the Orthodox Church among its officials someone who was as pious as King Hezekiah, he would have destroyed them all.
We also note that the children of Israel gave the bronze serpent the name “Nahshtan,” meaning they personified it or dealt with it as if it were a person or a living god with a name that carries power in itself. This is the same thing that the Orthodox Church does, as it calls it “the name of the cross” in all its rituals and practices, mistakenly believing that this name has an intrinsic power to grant blessings, cast out demons, or perform miracles, although the Bible teaches us that the only name that has such power is the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth alone. Therefore, the Church in the era of the apostles was called only by it and by it alone, “the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth” (Acts 3:6, 4:10).
We never read in the entire Bible about any of the apostles or pious men of God that he was called “the name of the cross,” but rather by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, about whom it was written that “God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth”
(Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians) 2:9-10.
Amazing. On a church that speaks to wood and gives it peace and considers it immortal (i.e. alive, hearing and responding) and offers it prostration, incense, hymns and glorifications, “My people ask for their wood… because the spirit of fornication has led them astray, and they have committed fornication from under their God” (Hosea 4:12).
I am even more amazed at a church that intercedes with Constantine, who persecuted its faithful saint, the apostolic Athanasius, and made him taste bitterness and exiled him and his sons several times from his patriarchal seat (five times over fifty years) because of his refusal of the request of Emperor Constantine to restore the heretic Arius to the fellowship of the church.
I am even more amazed at a church that intercedes with sinful people like Constantine and Helena before God to obtain forgiveness of sins from Him, i.e. atoning intercession and not supplication as they claim) and they are the ones who introduced the worship of the cross into the church instead of interceding with the holy and righteous Lord Jesus Christ, through whose intercession alone we obtain forgiveness before the Father. (Forgiveness of sins and atonement for them (1 Timothy 2/5)

Dr. Hanin Abdel-Masih’s words have ended.
So, the Second Book of Kings praises the king who crushed the bronze serpent simply because the children of Israel kindled a fire for it (to salute), so how about bowing down to it? And how about bowing down to the cross?
According to Father Matta El-Meskeen, bowing down and greeting are now done in front of any cross.
The truth is that the cross as a symbol was not associated with Christianity until the fourth century AD when Emperor Constantine imposed it:

And the Anba Takla website
tells the story of finding the Holy Cross in 326 AD, meaning in the fourth century, meaning the Feast of the Cross is an innovation that was introduced by Constantine and his mother Helena 300 years after the ascension of Christ!! And before that, there was no such thing as the Feast of the Cross.

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It is worth noting that the Lord forbade the children of Israel from bowing down to anyone other than Him, in Exodus 20:
3 You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 Do not bow down to them or serve them , for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.
Did the Lord exclude here the prostration of honor to the cross or to other sculptures or saints or anything? God no.
Conclusion:
The disciples of Christ did not venerate the cross in the same way used today in the church, nor did they light candles for it.
The Feast of the Cross is a heresy that arose in the fourth century AD.
The Lord forbade in the Old Testament prostrating to anyone other than Him.
Even though Christians prostrated to honor the cross, to pictures of saints, to statues of saints and their icons, to the Pope, etc.,
how much they prostrated to anyone other than God, and how little they prostrated to God.

they bow down to the cross.

and

Isn't bowing down to the cross bowing down to an idol that Christ did not command them to do? Rather, their book condemns the worship of any pagan symbols

2 Corinthians 6:14: Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? And what fellowship has light with darkness?
2 Corinthians 6:15: And what agreement has Christ with Belial? And what part has a believer with an unbeliever?
2 Corinthians 6:16: And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God, as God said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

1 Corinthians 10:14 Therefore,

my beloved, flee from idolatry. Exodus 20:4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Exodus 20:5 You

shall

not
bow down to them or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.

quote Our sanctification of the cross is similar to the sanctification of the members of our society of the Holy Kaaba, as they see it as a divine act and a holy blessing.

We circumambulate the Kaaba in obedience to Allah’s command, not to worship it, and there is a big difference.

Allah the Almighty said: “Allah has made the Kaaba, the Sacred House, a means of support for the people, and the sacred month, and the offerings, and the garlands. That is so that you may know that Allah knows what is in the heavens and what is on the earth, and that Allah is Knowing of all things.” (97) (Al-Ma’idah)

Allah the Almighty said: “In it are clear signs [such as] the standing place of Abraham. And whoever enters it shall be safe. And Hajj to the House is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, whoever is able.” (97) (Al Imran) Allah the Almighty

said: “Indeed, As-Safa and Al-Marwah are among the symbols of Allah. So whoever makes Hajj to the House or performs ‘Umrah - there is no blame upon him for walking between them. And whoever volunteers good - then indeed, Allah is appreciative and Knowing.” (158) (Al Baqarah)


This is an order for us to walk around the Kaaba during Hajj, which is the fifth pillar of Islam.

Evidence

Islam is built on five: Testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishing prayer, paying zakat, Hajj, and fasting Ramadan.

Narrator: Abdullah bin Omar. Narrator: Al Bukhari - Source: Sahih Al Bukhari - Page or Number: 8
Summary of the hadith scholar’s ​​ruling: [Sahih]


This is why Muslims say during Hajj, “Here I am, O God, here I am,” because they respond to and obey the command of God.

Evidence:

I heard the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, enter ihram, saying: “Here I am, O God, here I am. Here I am, you have no partner, here I am. Indeed, all praise and blessings are Yours, and the kingdom, you have no partner.” He does not say more than these words.
Narrator: Abdullah bin Omar Narrator: Al-Bukhari - Source: Sahih Al-Bukhari - Page or number: 5915
Summary of the narrator’s ruling: [Sahih]


Knowing that the sanctity of the believer is more sacred than that of the Kaaba.

Evidence:

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ascended the pulpit and called out in a loud voice, saying: O group of people who have accepted Islam with their tongues but faith has not entered their hearts, do not harm the Muslims and do not pursue their faults, for whoever pursues the faults of his Muslim brother, Allah will pursue his faults, and whoever Allah pursues his faults, He will disgrace him even if he is in the interior of his home. Ibn Omar looked at the Kaaba and said: How great you are and how great is your sanctity, and the believer is more sacred to Allah than you.
Narrator: Abdullah bin Omar Narrator: Al-Mundhiri - Source: Al-Targheeb wa Al-Tarheeb - Page or number: 3/241
Summary of the narrator’s ruling: [Its chain of narrators is saheeh or hasan or something close to them]


We know that it does not benefit or harm like the Black

Stone, based on the statement of Omar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, about the Black Stone,

that he came to the Black Stone and kissed it, and said: I know that you are a stone, you do not harm or benefit, and were it not for I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) kissing you, as you kissed him.
Narrator: ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab Narrator: al-Bukhari - Source: Sahih al-Bukhari - Page or number: 1597
Summary of the narrator’s ruling: [Sahih]

Accordingly,

1- We do that in obedience to the command of Allaah, so we say, “Here I am, O Allaah, here I am,” and we do not worship the Kaaba like the pagans, and we do not have a statue of the Kaaba in our homes to worship it.

2- We believe that it does not benefit or harm.

Is it correct to liken the Takla website’s comparison of the Muslims’ sanctification of the Kaaba to the Christians’ prostration?For the cross.. where is their evidence of what they are doing?