THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FIERY CROSS
The Ku Klux Klan receives much criticism because people say that we “burn” crosses, when nothing could be further from the truth. The media is largely responsible for this lie, and I will explain how so. It usually works like this:
Everyone knows that the fiery cross is Klan related, although few know the significance of this symbol to the Klan. When you see newspaper articles about a cross being burned in someone’s yard, the editors will say that some local Klan is being investigated. Then, when the investigation is complete, and the guilty party is apprehended, the media will not print an article reporting that it turned out to be some angry drunk teenager or redneck and not the Klan at all.
To a Klansman, the fiery cross is the most sacred of symbols, and to desecrate this symbol is a serious violation of our Laws. The fiery Cross originates back to the Christian Roman Emperor, Constantine. He had a vision on the eve of Battle with a fiery cross and the words “With this sign ye shall conquer.” He used the symbol of the fiery cross on his shield and was victorious in battle.
Every time that God appeared to man in scripture, he appeared in fire. God is described as a consuming fire in Deuteronomy 4:24 and Hebrews 12:29. God spoke to Moses through a burning bush in Exodus 3, and came down as a “pillar of fire” in Exodus 14. God is symbolized with fire in Genesis 19:24-25, Leviticus 10, 2nd Kings 2, Chronicles 7, and 1st Kings 18. In fact, because God appeared to man through fire, the ancient Indo Aryans were fire worshippers (See Albert Pikes Irano-Aryan, Faith and Doctrine as contained in the Zend Avesta.)
In 1989, thirty fraternity members from the university of San Diego were caught burning a cross in a Nature Preserve by a Park Ranger. They were performing a ceremony where each pledge would write his sins on a piece of paper and burn the paper in the fire of the cross. This was based on Constantine’s vision, and from the Aryan Spaniard Christian Ascetics who performed the same ceremony. Although none of them were Klan affiliated, and there were no racial motives involved in their actions, they were put on probation by Campus authorities for “Racism.”
Klansmen light crosses in private ceremonies, and they surround the fiery cross, forming their bodies into a cross to represent the fact that Christ is the light of our dark world, and that we represent that light. The cross is wrapped in burlap and the wrapping burns, NOT the cross. For this reason, any true Klansman is offended by the term “Cross Burning” because we may light crosses, but we certainly do not burn them.
Anyone who questions that the fiery cross is indeed a Christian symbol need look no further than your local Methodist Church. The symbol for the Methodist Church is a fiery cross. In fact, Col. Simmons introduced this symbol into Klan ceremonies in 1915 when he revived the Klan after it’s disbandment in the 1800’s. Col. Simmons was a former Methodist circuit Minister.
Any person claiming to be a Klansman who burns a cross for intimidation or for any other purposes besides the methods described above should be considered a fake and a liar. Remember, any fool can buy a Klan robe on the Internet, and even any group of fools, but this does not make them true Klansmen.