Excerpt from The Image of the Cross: And Lights on the Altar, in the Christian Church, and in Heathen Temples Before the Christian Era, Especially in the British Isles, Together With the History of the Triangle, the Dove, Floral Decorations, the Easter Egg, and Other Heathen Symbols Although our English Reformers ordered all crosses, whether carved or painted, to be defaced and destroyed for they considered them to be images or likenesses for the use Of religion, and therefore contrary to the Second Commandment they unfortunately retained the Sign Of the cross in the baptismal service; but the wisdom Of their course was soon doubted, and half a century later it was deemed necessary to explain The lawful use Of the cross in baptism in the Canons Of 1603, and a feebler defence could hardly have been made, for it is therein stated that the name Of the cross was reverently esteemed even in the Apostles' time, and the sign was used shortly after, for Ought that is known to the contrary. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.