Sunday, April 27, 2008

Earth Day

Yesterday I took our little one to a local Earth Day event, we wore our new Rainforest Cafe shirts that we picked up last week during our trip to Disneyland. Here is my new tie-died shirt, I received many comments about it and that allowed me to give away some Seeds cd's that Scott at Street Level was so kind to send my way.

Members of an interfaith group had a booth promoting ideas on how to "Green Your Church" The flyer that they were handing out had a lot of good common sense tips on conserving energy that local churches could use to help reduce their impact on the environment.

The ultimate way to "green" a church is to not have a building at all and use our homes to meet in. This would not only reduce the impact that a large building has on the environment, it would also free up financial resources for ministry. For more info on simple church check out an excellent book by Robert Fitts The Church in the House a Return to Simplicity.

Peace, Love, and Light through Jesus the Christ!
Kevin (Cloud)

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Peace Symbol Turns Fifty

This year the peace symbol turns fifty! Timeless & ageless... still looking good!

The 50th Anniversary Of The Peace Symbol - A Cultural Icon Dates Back Years Before Its Use Against The Vietnam War

A few years back I received an e-mail about my using the peace symbol on my old website. I was being exhorted by this brother that the peace symbol was "demonic" because the symbol was "representing the upside down cross". Below is part of my response...

I once thought that the peace sign was a satanic symbol too, but now I know differently. Originally the peace symbol was designed for a Nuclear Disarmament march in the mid 50's using the semaphore symbols for N & D which stood for nuclear disarmament.

I have often wondered, if the peace symbol is satanic because it is thought to represent an inverted cross, why then did Peter chose to be crucified up-side-down? Our cherished emblem of the cross was actually a cruel form of torture used by the Roman Empire, so why do we have them around our necks? And which of the four types of crosses used by the Romans did Jesus die on? Was it the Crux Commissa (Tau Cross) shaped like the letter T? Was it the Crux Decussata (St. Andrew’s Cross) which looks like the letter X? Was it the one adopted from the Greek Cross (Maltese Cross) that looks like a plus sign +? Possibly it was the Crux Imissa which looks like a small letter t? I do not see any resemblance between the peace symbol and any of the crosses that may have been used to crucify our Lord, inverted or otherwise.

The shape of the cross does not have any holy significance, only the fact that Jesus lived a perfect life and gave it to pay for our debt of sin. It does not matter how Jesus gave his life as a ransom for our souls, it only matters that he did it and that the Father approved of the ransom and raised Jesus from the tomb! It is the MESSAGE of the cross, not its shape that is important.

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1Corinthians 1:18)

“And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Colossians 1:20)

-Kevin


I found a couple of websites that have a history of how the peace sign came about...

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament - The Symbol


Peace, Love, and Light through Jesus the Christ!
Kevin (Cloud)