I’d like to start out with an excerpt from an article I found online regarding the life of Nero. In addition to learning about his apparent self-absorbency, perverse sexual behavior, and lack of regard for even those who were close to him; this portion of the article shows his particular hate toward Christians:
“Nero, always a man desperate to be popular, therefore looked for scapegoats on whom the fire (Great Fire in Rome; July 64 AD) could be blamed. He found it in an obscure new religious sect, the Christians. And so many Christians were arrested and thrown to the wild beasts in the circus, or they were crucified. Many of them were also burned to death at night, serving as ‘lighting‘ in Nero’s gardens, while Nero mingled among the watching crowds. It is this brutal persecution which immortalized Nero as the first Antichrist in the eyes of the Christian church.” (Excerpt courtesy of Roman-Empire.net)
The apostles Peter and Paul were believed to have been martyred under Nero’s rule.
So this leads me to the cross of Nero also known, without the circle encasing it, as the Teutonic Cross (Teutonic rune of death) which is said to be used by Wiccans and Satanists in rituals. The symbol has been displayed far longer than the 20th century. It has been seen on the tombstones of some of Hitler’s troops, as well as paraded as a symbol of desired revolution in the 1960’s and onward. It’s the symbol that has been used by many to mock Christianity. And, yes, I’m referring to what is better known as the “peace symbol”. It is believed by many to be an upside-down broken cross displaying a defeat of Christianity; perhaps the belief that there would be peace without Christians. This symbol was also used in communist promotion to unite leftist peace marchers in the late 1950’s. According to the Catholic apocrypha, the apostle Peter was crucified upside-down by Nero which is one explanation as to why the cross is upside-down. The broken arms of the cross might represent the hope of defeat or breaking down of Christianity.
If one’s intentions for displaying a peace sign are good, should it then be justified? I can’t answer than for anyone but myself. I remember coming home one day with a shirt with a huge peace symbol on it because I thought it looked cool. My mom flipped and I couldn’t understand why. I had never heard of it representing anything negative. Upon learning of its origins, I couldn’t with a good conscience wear it knowing it had represented hate toward my faith. So why is such a wicked symbol condoned today? I believe it’s most likely because many really don’t know the origin of it. Those who grew up in the 60’s and 70’s may not have seen the “peace symbol” as anything other than a symbol of peace.
Information gathered for this blog was done through various articles pulled up through a Google.com search for “Cross of Nero.”