The following is an excerpt from ReligionFacts.com:
The fish was an early symbol of Christian faith that endures today on bumper stickers and businesses as a sign of Christian faith.
The fish is thought to have been chosen by the early Christians for several reasons:
- the Greek word for fish (ICHTUS), works nicely as an acrostic for "Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior"
- the fish would not be an obvious Christian symbol to persecutors
- Jesus' ministry is associated with fish: he chose several fishermen to be his disciples and declared he would make them "fishers of men."
It is said that during the persecution of the early church, a Christian meeting someone new would draw a single arc in the sand. If the other person was a Christian, he or she would complete the drawing of a fish with a second arc. If the second person was not a Christian, the ambiguity of the half-symbol would not reveal the first person as a Christian.
The Annoyed Skeptics take on the Jesus Fish:
I believe wholeheartedly that Christians display the Jesus fish on their cars and other possessions as a display of their self-importance. Regardless of the origins of the symbol, I feel that your average Christian displays the fish to tell others that they feel they are a better person due to their beliefs. There is no more materialistic, in your face religion than Christianity. There are literally Christian gifts stores on every corner. Everywhere you look someone has a fish on their car. Why do the Christians feel that they need to shove their beliefs in the rest of our faces? The more I see propaganda like the Jesus fish, the more of a skeptic I become.
