Its also an argument for not having crucifixes in every room, which I disagreed with because then that is saying there should be less witness to faith, and less expression of it. This could then apply to other things like Christian shirts, personal crucifixes, or even churches.
But upon discussing it with my teacher, he made a distinction between the meaning of the crucifix and the symbol of the crucifix. The meaning of the crucifix is its message of salvation for everyone. But the symbol of it is its ability to point to another reality, which is the message of salvation. So, the question on the exam was simply stating that if someone sees a crucifix in every room, they could get so used to it that it no longer has any effect on them. For example, if someone wears a neon pink shirt, people notice it on the first day, but on the 10th day that someone wears it, people are used to it and may not even think about it.
This question then seems acceptable, but useless. For instance, seeing my teacher every day of the week could lessen the power they have of making me think to do my homework. Still, this question is worth pondering and certainly made me think. Maybe next time we look at a crucifix we should not take it for granted, but instead realize and think about how Christ died on a cross for us.
A very interesting post, Ian! I have never really thought of how having too many crucifixes or other religious objects can lessen their impact. But I can see how that would be true, and you did a nice job explaining it.
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