Question.. what does the jesus fish mean?

[julialnyc]

Why a fish?

[stray cat]

1. I think because Jesus said he would make Peter a fisher of men

instead of his previous occupation as a fisherman.

[Emit]

2. Here's a start

http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_symb.htm
~snip~
The history of the Christian fish symbol:
The fish outline is a logical symbol for the early Christian church to adopt. Fish play a major role in the gospels. For example:

Mark 1:17: "Come after Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."
Matthew 12:40: "...Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
Matthew 14:17: "And they said to Him, 'We have here only five loaves and two fish.'"
Luke 5:6: "And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking."
Luke 24:42: "So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb."
John 21:6: "And He said to them, 'Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.' So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish."
1 Corinthians 15:39: "All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fish, and another of birds."

Some Christians believe that a second link between their religion and the fish symbol is seen in the Greek word for fish (ichthus, spelled: Iota Chi Theta Upsilon Sigma). That is an acrostic which has many translations in English. The most popular appears to be "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior" 16 . Alternate meanings (in order of decreasing popularity on the Internet) are:

"Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior."
"Jesus Christ, of God, the Son, the Savior"
"Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Savior."
"Jesus Christ, God's Son, our Savior"
"Jesus Christ God Son Savior"

An acrostic is an "arrangement of words in which the first letter of each line ordinarily combines with others to form a word or words or the alphabet."
~snip~

and more here:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=jesus+symbol+fish

[oneighty]

3. Drawing from

my vast knowledge of history and a movie I saw fifty years or so past in black and white; the fish was a secret symbol indicating that Christians have passed by.

I think. But now I must go google. Sigh.

180

[XanaDUer]

4. It means...

The Greek word for fish is "ixthus" or "icthus." The Christian fish symbol that many Christians place on their car is known as the “ixthus.” Five Greek letters form the word “ixthus,” and those letters inside the fish form an acrostic which is a message that Christians clearly identified with. The first letter represented the word Jesus. The second letter represented the word Christ, the next two, God Son, and the final letter represented the word Savior. This adds up to “Jesus Christ is God’s Son, the Savior.”

http://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-fish-symbol.html

[Algorem]

5. Jesus said "I love fishies!Fishies!Fishies!"

[walldude]

6. Maybe it has something to do with the story

that Jesus fed 1000 people with a fish and a loaf of bread. Or something like that. I once heard a fundie preacher on TV use that story to convince senior citizens that they could send in their social security checks because Jesus would provide for them, since they gave to the church so generously. It was really sick.

[LA lady]

7. drawn in the sand

The symbol was simple to draw and was often used among Christians as a type of password during times of persecution by the Roman government. If two strangers met and were unsure whether each other was a Christian, one would draw an arc in the earth like:). If the other were a Christian, they would complete the symbol with a reverse arc: (), forming the outline of a fish.

[hvn_nbr_2]

29. That's what I learned in church 50+ years ago before they were flaunting..

it everywhere. Well, I didn't hear about the two-part drawing thing where one finished the other's start. But that kind of makes sense.

[Cleita]

8. It was a sign early Christians used to identify one another

because Peter the first Pope was a fisherman.

[SoCalDem]

9. Jesus had an aquarium..Here's his bronzed favorite..Louie

[bmbmd]

10. It is an "Ixthous", the first two letters of the Greek "Jesus Christ"

and was an early sign of recognition among followers of Christ. Peter was a fisherman, and Jesus promised to make them all "fishers of men". In ancient times, legend has it that if two believers met on the street, one would proscribe an arc with the toe of his sandal, and the other would proscribe a complimentary arc, completing a rudimentary line drawing of a fish. Probably not true, but makes a great story. I wear an ixthous ring.

Here's more

http://landru.i-link-2.net/shnyves/Synbols_for_Christ.html

[tularetom]

11. If you see it on somebody's advertisement

or on their truck it means don't hire this sleezy bastard he's trying to capitalize on the naivete of sincere religous people. If you see it on a car bumper it means stay clear of this asswipe because he thinks that fish will keep him safe no matter how recklessly he drives. If Jesus came back and saw how this symbol was being cheapened he would probably say "Me! WTF are people thinking."

[Conservativesux]

12. Exactly how my family thinks about the scum who capitalise on Jesus.

and avoid these types like the plague.

[fudge stripe cookays]

16. He he

"Me!"

:rofl:

[randr]

13. Have you ever watched fish swim in schools?

[bloom]

14. "The pre-Christian history of the fish symbol" / JESUS, PISCES PERSONIFIED

A couple non-Biblical perspectives:

The pre-Christian history of the fish symbol:

The fish symbol has been used for millennia worldwide as a religious symbol associated with the Pagan Great Mother Goddess. It is the outline of her vulva. The fish symbol was often drawn by overlapping two very thin crescent moons. One represented the crescent shortly before the new moon; the other shortly after, when the moon is just visible. The Moon is the heavenly body that has long been associated with the Goddess, just as the sun is a symbol of the God.

The link between the Goddess and fish was found in various areas of the ancient world:

In China, Great Mother Kwan-yin often portrayed in the shape of a fish
In India, the Goddess Kali was called the "fish-eyed one"
In Egypt, Isis was called the Great Fish of the Abyss
In Greece the Greek word "delphos" meant both fish and womb. The word is derived from the location of the ancient Oracle at Delphi who worshipped the original fish goddess, Themis. The later fish Goddess, Aphrodite Salacia, was worshipped by her followers on her sacred day, Friday. They ate fish and engaging in orgies. From her name comes the English word "salacious" which means lustful or obscene. Also from her name comes the name of our fourth month, April. In later centuries, the Christian church adsorbed this tradition by requiring the faithful to eat fish on Friday - a tradition that was only recently abandoned.
In ancient Rome Friday is called "dies veneris" or Day of Venus, the Pagan Goddess of Love.
Throughout the Mediterranean, mystery religions used fish, wine and bread for their sacramental meal.
In Scandinavia, the Great Goddess was named Freya; fish were eaten in her honor. The 6th day of the week was named "Friday" after her.
In the Middle East, the Great Goddess of Ephesus was portrayed as a woman with a fish amulet over her genitals.
The fish symbol "was so revered throughout the Roman empire that Christian authorities insisted on taking it over, with extensive revision of myths to deny its earlier female-genital meanings...Sometimes the Christ child was portrayed inside the vesica, which was superimposed on Mary's belly and obviously represented her womb, just as in the ancient symbolism of the Goddess." 4 Another author writes: "The fish headdress of the priests of Ea later became the miter of the Christian bishops." 5

The symbol itself, the eating of fish on Friday and the association of the symbol with deity were all taken over by the early Church from Pagan sources. Only the sexual component was deleted.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_symb.htm

Christian Answers for the New Age

THE PISCEAN AVATAR: THE JESUS OF ASTROLOGY

by Marcia Montenegro, former professional astrologer

JESUS, PISCES PERSONIFIED
Astrologers view Jesus as the New Age Christ who models Christ Consciousness and embodies the purest principles of Pisces in order that humanity can learn from the Age of Pisces.

His lesson was that we need to give up the illusion of being separate so that we can be “liberated from the cycle of births and deaths,” and “be reborn in the womb of God.....This is symbolized in the Resurrection (Easter), which takes place in Aries. This completes the Zodiac circle, for he who died as a mortal Man on Earth was reborn as immortal Spirit in the Heavens.”47

One can see how easily the spiritual sign of Pisces can be welded to the new spiritual Jesus, one who came at the beginning of an age representing cleansing, compassion, and martyrdom for a higher spiritual understanding and evolution. Jesus’ modeling of Christ Consciousness fits into the Piscean ideal of spiritual self-sacrifice like hand in glove. Jesus’ teachings on loving your neighbor, turning the other cheek, humility, and even his sacrifice on the cross, are seen by astrologers as a perfect match for Piscean qualities.

http://cana.userworld.com/cana_pisean5.html

[bloom]

18. What is an age?

What is the Piscean Age? This question requires further consideration. The Piscean Age is identical with the Christian Dispensation. The word Pisces means fish. The sign is known as a water sign, and the Piscean Age has been distinctly the age of the fish and its element, water. In the establishment of their great institutions John the Harbinger and Jesus both introduced the rite of water baptism, which has been used in some form in all the so-called Christian Churches and cults, even to the present time. Water is the true symbol of purification. Jesus himself said to the Harbinger before he was baptized:" All the men must be washed, symbolic of the cleansing of the soul." Aquarian Gospel 64: 7.) Fish was a Christian Symbol. In the earlier centuries of the Christian Dispensation the fish was everywhere used as a symbol. In his remarkable book, "Christian Iconography," Didron says: "The fish, in the opinion of antiquarians generally, is the symbol of Jesus Christ. The fish is sculptured upon a number of Christian monuments, and more particularly upon the ancient sarcophagi. It is also upon medals, bearing the name of our Savior and also upon engraved stones, cameos and intaglios. The fish is also to be remarked upon the amulets worn suspended from the necks by children, and upon ancient glasses and sculptured lamps. "Baptismal fonts are more particularly ornamented with the fish. The fish is constantly exhibited placed upon a dish in the middle of the table, at the Last Supper, among the loaves, knives and cups used at the banquet."

In the writings of Tertullian we find this statement: "We are little fishes in Christ our great fish." The last two thousand years, comprising the Piscean Age, has certainly been one of water and the many uses of that element have been emphasized, and sea and lake and river navigation has been brought to a high degree of efficiency.

What is the Aquarian Age? The human race is to-day standing upon the cusp of the Piscean-Aquarian Ages. Aquarius is an air sign and the New Age is already noted for remarkable inventions for the use of air, electricity, magnetism, etc. Men navigate the air as fish do the sea, and send their thoughts spinning around the world with the speed of lightning.

The word Aquarius is derived from the Latin word aqua, meaning water. Aquarius is however, the water bearer, and the symbol of the sign, which is the eleventh sign of the Zodiac, is a man carrying in his right hand a pitcher of water. Jesus referred to the beginning of the Aquarian Age in these words: "And then the man who bears the pitcher will walk forth across an arc of heaven; the sign and signet of the Son of Man will stand forth in the eastern sky. The wise will then lift up their heads and know that the redemption of the earth is near." (Aquarian Gospel 157: 29, 30.)

The Aquarian Age is pre-eminently a spiritual age, and the spiritual side of the great lessons that Jesus gave to the world may now be comprehended by multitudes of people, for the many are now coming into an advanced stage of spiritual consciousness; so with much propriety this book is called "The Aquarian (or Spiritual) Gospel of Jesus, the Christ."

An Important Event. The transfer of dominion from one Age to another is an important event in the world of Cherubim and Seraphim. Among the manuscripts of Levi we have found a most remarkable paper describing the transfer of dominion from the Piscean Age to the Aquarian Age, but it is difficult to determine whether it is a recital of facts or a prophetic statement. We reproduce the paper in full.

http://www.spiritlight.com/age.htm

[pscot]

15. It means there's a new one born every second

Fish is slang for mark, sucker. It means, "I bought it, hook, line and sinker."

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

17. Jesus is renowned for his bait.

[China_cat]

19. It's just the religious preoccupation with sex

Turn that 'jesus' fish on it's tail and what have you got?

[joefree1]

20. Well, isn't this an interesting thread

Somewhere, in some dark dank closet, a freeper troll is outraged. :hi:


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PaganWarrior/

[SPKrazy]

21. Jesus was a fly fisherman

really loved to fly fish

[AnnieBW]

22. Warning Symbol

It's a warning symbol that the wearer/occupant will spout Fundamentalist Xtian crap at any opportunity, so avoid them like the plague.

[NAO]

26. Bwahh haaa!

Yep, it's a warning sign. Don't get them started.

[khashka]

23. Originally it was a sign between Christians

so they could recognize each other during a time of persecution. The first two letters of the Greek word for fish were the same as the first two letters in the words Jesus Christ.

Nowadays it means "I haven't read the New Testament or taken it to heart".

Khash, being cynical (but those who profess the most have the least to profess).

[catbert836]

24. ICHTHYOS

The Greek word for fish. Here we go:
I= IESUS= JESUS
CH= CHRISTOS=CHRIST
THYO=THEOS=SON OF GOD
S=SAVIOR

Back in the day, when Christianity was a subversive movement in the Roman Empire, Christians who wanted to indicate that their house was a safe place for their coreligionists to come eat, pray and hold mass would put an ICHTHYOS sign on their door. The Roman authorities didn't know what it meant.

[NAO]

25. The Spring Equinox moved from Taurus (Bull) to Pisces (Fish)

It was the Dawn of a New Aeon. The Age of Pisces, the Fish.

In mythology, it was the time of myth of the dying/resurrected gods such as Attis, Osiris, Tamuz, Adonis, Jesus, Dionysus, Mithras etc.

But the Fish symbolism of the New Age, (or New Testament, or New Aeon) of Pisces was in the based in astrology.

[bloom]

28. New Ages

I'm no expert on this stuff - but it seems to me if we are moving into Aquarius and out of Pisces - that prior to Pisces would have been Aries - the Ram - also associated with the Sun - and that prior to Aries would have been Taurus - the bull....

I found this:

Early Witness of Precession

Precession, linked to the change of the spring equinox constellation, is not just a scientific finding that was made evident by Hipparchos, but is mirrored in many myths of the dawning of gods, change of cults, and past turns of the ages. The former spring equinox constellations found their expressions in the symbols of four world ages:

•Gemini, Age of the twins: Golden age, paradise, Romulus and Remus, Cain and Abel, Castor and Pollux (~ 8,000 years ago)
•Taurus, Age of the bull: Apis, Taurus/Minotaurus, golden calf, Baal, Nandhi (~5,800 years ago)
•Aries, Age of the ram: Amun, golden fleece, Moses (~3,500 years ago)
•Pisces, Age of the fish: ICHTHYS, IHS, Vishnu born from a fish (~2000 years ago)

http://cura.free.fr/xxv/21sepp2.html



"When Moses threw out the golden calf, he knew it was the end of the Taurus Age or the fourth age in our present great year. He instructed his followers to get rid of the bull, put lambs' blood on the doors, and place Rams' horns in the temples. By looking at the Master Calendar, the Mazzaroth, or the Zodiac in the heavens, anyone could see that it was the dawning of the Age of Aries the ram or lamb. It was the start of the fifth age in our current great year."

http://www.revealer.com/review.htm


And this about Moses - there could have been a connection with Aries/the Sun sign that the author didn't pick up on:

"There is one longstanding and possibly pagan tradition that Moses grew horns. This is derived from a mistranslation of the Hebrew phrase "karnu panav" ???? ????. The root ??? may be read as either "horn" or "ray", as in "ray of light". "Panav" ???? translates as "his face". If interpreted correctly those two words form an expression which means that he was enlightened, and many rabbinical studies explain that the knowledge that was revealed to him made his face metaphorically shine with enlightenment, and not that it suddenly sported a pair of horns. The Septuagint properly translates the Hebrew word ??? as ??????????, 'was glorified', but Jerome translated it as cornuta, 'horned', and it was the latter image that became the more popular. This tradition survived from the first centuries AD well into the Renaissance. Many artists, including Michelangelo in a famed sculpture, depicted Moses with horns."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses

Also:

The Hebraic Tradition, the Kabbala, has its roots in prehistoric times, with Moses, it is recent enough to spare us to reason on the basis of hearsay. Beyond question the two symbols of the religion of Moses are the Ram (Aries) and the Scales (Libra). The scales are a symbol for justice, as the whole age of Aries was destined to bring a certain type of justice.

[hunter]

27. This is what I get for hanging out with feminists and OB nurses...

The early Christian Church adopted an ancient fertility symbol. I was going to post this yesterday, but since it was the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I was worried it would be too much. (I try not to go out of my way looking for trouble...)

Anyways, to make a long story short, the "fish" is where the baby comes out.

A long time ago, an ex-girlfriend of mine (yeah, the one who turned out to be a lesbian) explained it to me by drawing a picture in the sand, exactly like the story related in a post above. One hidden follower of Jesus would draw an arc, and the other hidden follower would draw the other arc to complete the picture.

Then my friend then added two more lines, which is a sight familiar to anyone who has delivered babies...



It was my friend's perception that the early Christians fully understood this symbolism, and that they were identifying themselves as the legs of the religion.

[Nihil]

30. Legs? Maybe just a bunch of ...

... nah ... too easy!
:evilgrin:

(In all seriousness, the "goddess" link is quite strong and, coupled with
the "icthos" link, explains why it became so widespread a symbol. Now I'm
going to get my wrist slapped for mentioning "coupled" & "widespread" in
association with your diagram ...)