Upside down cross
Hi, I see a lot of upside down crosses these days: tattoos on people, posts on social media, drawings on kids' notebooks, etc. I know its origin is biblical, but it doesn't seem like people are using it that way in our world today. Is it supposed to be anti-Christian? Satanic? That's what it feels like to me. I Googled this question and all sorts of conflicting answers popped up, ranging from it's not satanic at all, to that's exactly what it is, to everything in between. What's does our synod teach on this? When I see it--and I see it more and more these days--it gives me the creeps. Thanks so much.
There are references in non-canonical literature to the manner in which the apostle Peter became a martyr for the faith: being crucified upside down. As a result, an upside down cross became one of the symbols in church liturgical arts for that apostle.
Over the years, Satanists have used the image of an upside down cross for their own purposes, but their official symbol is the Sigil of Baphomet.
With these different meanings in use, you would really need to ask the person who uses an upside down cross what meaning that symbol has for him or her. We do not have any official teaching on this subject.