Thoughts Provoked by a Dream About Christianity and Buddhism

This morning right before waking up I dreamt that I was in a large lecture where people were discussing Christianity and Buddhism. The point was being made that the Buddha never asked his followers to worship him instead of someone else. In the dream there had been bumper stickers asking "Do you worship (here there is a cross) or do you worship (here there is a Buddhist symbol)?" ignoring that ignoring that Buddhists do not worship him but follow his teachings. I stood up and said that most Christians tend to forget the things Jesus said and focus all of their attention on his death and resurrection. I questioned the use of the cross as a symbol of Christianity instead of an image of Jesus. I went on to say that Jesus was not afraid to say things that pissed people off. In the hall there were some people who clapped after I said this, but the majority of people did not pay much attention. Some of the people stood up, and I thought they were going to applaud, but they were just getting ready to leave the hall. In the back of my mind I was imagining people saying how true what I was saying was.
When I woke up I started thinking about some of the points that came to my mind in the dream. Jesus told his followers to take up their crosses and follow him. He did not tell them to make a cross a holy symbol. The people whom Jesus pissed off in the Gospels were the religious leaders of his time. Jesus told his followers that if they wanted to be the greatest in Heaven they needed to be servants to others on earth. He never told people that they needed to have large numbers of followers and lord it over them. He never told them to have people to give them money so they could buy expensive houses, planes, clothing, etc. There are so-called evangelists who have large numbers of followers who send them money, and with this money they do the things mentioned above. Jesus did say to take care of the marginalized of society, to poor, the sick and those imprisoned.By his actions he showed that we should reach out to those who are ostracized by society.
I have heard Protestants say they use the cross instead of a crucifix as a symbol, because Jesus did not remain on the cross. To me this is not a valid argument. According to what is written in the scriptures Jesus died on the cross and was removed from it. Do they want to stand and look at a cross and ignore the actions and words of Jesus? I see the words and actions of Jesus as being more important than the means by which he died. It makes me think of someone standing at a podium and speaking. After they leave we do not stand and look at the podium or pictures of the podium. Hopefully, if is is a worthwhile speech we learn from the speech.
My thoughts at the end of the dream made me think about myself. In sharing what I think I do not want to become arrogant. I write about things that interest me. Sometimes these things are intellectual in nature. This does not make me more intelligent than other people. There is more that one kind of intelligence. Gertrude Stein, in The Making of Americans said that everyone has their own way of being stupid. I would to that everyone has their own way of being intelligent. I want to entertain and provoke thought through what I write. I also want to build other people up. I want to be considered equal to other people, not lesser than or better than anyone else.