It took time for the church to come to terms with the ignominy of the cross.
Church fathers forbade its depiction in art until the reign of the Roman emperor Constantine (280? - 337 AD) who had seen a vision of the cross and who also banned it as a method of execution.
Thus not until the fourth century did the cross become a symbol of the faith.
(As C. S. Lewis points out, the crucifixion did not become common in art until all who had seen a real one died off.)
Now, though, the symbol is everywhere: artists beat gold into the shape of a Roman execution device, baseball players cross themselves before batting, and candy confectioners even make chocolate crosses for the faithful to eat during Holy Week.
Strange as it it may seem, Christianity has become a religion of the cross -- the gallows, the electric chair, the gas chamber, in modern terms.
This, the power of the cross
Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath
We stand forgiven at the cross.
-- Keith Getty
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