The Old Rugged Cross Essay

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The Cross: A Symbol
Today in 2017, religious acts or beliefs are a prevalent fad that is on the rise. It matters not if one is a man, woman, or child; everyone wants to believe in something. The Christian faith is one of the largest religions in history with over 2 billion followers. The basis of this faith revolves around the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God has said in His Word that the world was once perfect when He created it. There was no death, no heartache, no pain. He created a paradise in which He and his creation could live together intimately in harmony and peace. However, He did not force man to love Him. He created man to with the ability to rebel against Him, which is is exactly what happened. Because …show more content…

The Dream of the Rood is a literary work quite a bit longer in length than The Old Rugged Cross. Thus it is able to go into far more depth of topic concerning the transition from tarnished with sin to being redeemed by Christ’s blood shed on the cross. The poem is able to explore the gambit of emotions and events that made the “rood” and the dreamer change from shame to glory. Many varied words are used to describe the journey of the dreamer, Christ the Lord, and the “rood” on the road to redemption. By contrast the song “The Old Rugged Cross” is repetitive in nature. It uses a strong chorus to convey the theme of hope: “so I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, till my trophies at last I lay down, I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it some day for a crown.” These lyrics are able to concisely say what took many words in the poem: Christ death on the cross gave us new life. The story does not end at the death of Christ, nor does it end when the “rood” was cut down and buried. The hope of the cross lives on today. One just has to look in sanctuaries of churches all over to see the power of the cross in today’s

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