You are probably all familiar with the Christian fish symbol. This symbol is proudly displayed on bumpers everywhere we look. but do you know what the Christian fish is all about? The Greek word for fish is “ichthys.” The Greek letters form a acronym that stands for “Jesus, Christ, Gods, Son, Savior.” However, Greeks, Romans, and many other non-Christians used the fish symbol before Christians. Hence the fish, unlike, say, the cross, attracted little suspicion, making it a perfect secret symbol for persecuted believers. When threatened by Romans in the first centuries after Christ, Christians used the fish mark meeting places and tombs, or to distinguish friends from foes. According to one ancient story, when a Christian met a stranger in the road, the Christian sometimes drew one arc of the simple fish outline in the dirt. If the stranger drew the other arc, both believers knew they were in good company. I would like to propose that today we adopt a new “fish.” Currently in Iraq the ISIS have begun terrorizing Christians. On July 19, Christians in the city of Mosul and on the surrounding Nineveh Plains were issued with an ultimatum to leave, pay a tax, or face death by the sword. The next day IS fighters drew the Arabic letter “N” on all property owned by Assyrian Christians. The Arabic letter N is the first letter of the word Nasrani, or Nazarene, which is used to describe Christians because they follow Jesus of Nazareth. The ISIS is using the “N” to identify and target Christians in the area. So let Christians everywhere adopt the Arabic “N” with the decree that “We are Nasrani and we stand in solidarity and support of Iraqi Christians! Let our Iraqi brothers and sisters know that they are in good company. Share to spread the word.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 01:36:45 +0000
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