In the name of the Father
and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Conservative, reformed, and evangelical theologian, James “Doug” Wilson is a pastor at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, a faculty member at New Saint Andrews College, and author and speaker. In this video, the theologian tries to explain why protestants should not make the sign of the cross. He says:
“it is lawful, but it is not appropriate”.
Why? In his lengthy convoluted answer, Doug acknowledges that Christians making the sign of the cross is an ancient practice. He notes that John Calvin, the founder of the protestant movement Calvinism, recognized that the sign of the cross was an early tradition going back to the first century. But it actually goes all the way back to the Apostles.
From the earliest times, Christians have made the sign of the cross. St. Basil the Great tells us that the apostles themselves taught the sign of the cross. This is shown by the fact that the earliest mentions of the sign of the cross speak of it as an already established custom and simply encourage the faithful to make it correctly.
So why does this theologian think it is inappropriate for protestants to make the sign of the cross? Because he says: “it telegraphs either confusion or transition”
He explains what he means with this unbelievable example:
If I am watching baseball and I see the 3rd baseman get up to bat and he crosses himself what do I think? well I think Italian Roman Catholic
Such an astonishing statement for a Christian theologian to make. In short, Doug thinks it totally “lawful” which of course it is the Apostles taught it, but don’t do it because people might think you are Catholic.
The rest of his response is so confusing I am not sure what he is trying to say. It is as if he is using mental gymnastics to say “don’t make the sign of the cross even though it is OK.
Tell us what think comment below.
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I am very familiar with Doug Wilson’s group, the CREC. Some folks very close to me belong to one of the churches in their group. I admit upfront to not being nearly as informed as someone actually in their group, so if anything i say reflects ignorance, you have my mea culpa in advance 🙂 .
I converted to Catholicism from Calvinism about 20 years ago. My observation since, of Doug Wilson’s group, is that they have such a desire to be rooted in as ancient a form of Christianity as they can possibly manage (and still stay Protestant), that they are constantly dipping their toes in Catholicism without going *too* far (as did I, when I was a Calvinist, except I jumped – along with my family – into the pool 🙂 . To wit, I have actually been to one of their Sunday mass– oops sorry, services 🙂 , and the liturgy (minus, of course, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Eucharist) was almost indistinguishable from a Catholic Mass.
So as it turns out – this conundrum re Prots making the sign of the cross is likely an issue peculiarly internal to the CREC. It may also be that there is some interest more broadly, in other Evangelical/Protestant groups, in this practice. I have observed a trend *toward * some select Catholic practices among some (historically non-liturgical) Evangelicals – e.g., adopting some form of Lenten practices, etc. But – most likely – this issue arose from some members of this group actually practicing the making of the sign of the cross, and/or having asked their leaders (which questions have floated up the chain, to Doug) whether there is any harm in doing it. This has likely arisen because, as with many other of their practices, they’ve found that there is great solemnity and devotion in making that sign. And, like so many other Catholic practices that they dip their toes into, there is a great, almost somewhat mystical, spiritual appeal to that practice that is undeniable.
I honestly think it is only a matter of time before that group “crosses the Tiber”, whether Doug leads the charge, or some subsequent Pastor of one of their churches. May God bless Douglas Wilson, the CREC and its members, and by the Holy Spirit lead them all according to his will in Christ Jesus.
+In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. +
I pray for their conversion maybe you will be a beacon of sorts to help some of them
Removing the sign of the cross is part of a long line of removing the painful reminder that Christ died for our sins … because of our sins. The sanitization begins with removal of Christ from the cross – no crucifix – in many protestant churches. Oddly enough a lot of this starts from an anti-Catholic mindset. Removal of crucifixes and the sign of the cross is an identity thing for many Prots – especially those of Calvinist/Reformed sort. Lutheran are a bit more likely to retain these things but even there – especially in the U.S. they jettisoned crucifixes, the SOTC, and vestments in order to fit in. Such actions have caused a shift in focus and thought in faith matters. So we pray (or worship) so we believe, one could say.
This sanitization also makes it more comfortable and less condemning regarding matters of faith. It lets us blow right past Good Friday and get to Resurrection Sunday as easy as possible. I do not think it is too much or a stretch to say removing Christ from the cross made it easy to remove Christ from our lives once the reason He died and the death He died was put away – no condemnation under the Law; no need for Christ. Problem solved. With that we also remove the grace God showered upon us, the atonement, and the power of the Gospel .. and subsequently the Law. Removing the corpus from the cross and the sign of the cross makes it easier to forget Christ altogether, which is something both Catholics and Protestants are always in danger of doing.
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