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May 7, 2006 This is a response to Samuel and this article. The Mount Soledad Cross memorial offends one atheist who has battled for 17 years to have it removed from the spot originally designated as the spot to honor American war dead. Various religious monuments adorned with likenesses of the Ten Commandments or the 23rd Psalm; dioramas depicting the birth of Jesus Christ in a Bethlehem manger; countless depictions of a crucified Jesus that adorn public buildings and lands are all equally offensive to at least one atheist who is prepared to make it his life’s goal to tear down. I say let the atheists have their way. Excellent, though I don't know anything about this specific case, nor do I care, quite frankly. In general I say, “cool beans”. You will thank “us” later. I don't mean this in a snotty way, and, it's not just our way - read on. I will say that I, as an atheist, agree with the previous Supreme Court on the matter. If a religious monument is part of a display which represents the historical nature of the religiosity of this country, then I have no problem with it. If the display is deemed to attempt to push a specific faith onto the public, then it should be removed. Judge Moore's monument was correctly taken down. This man snuck a two ton monument into a courtroom in the middle of the night. How should a Wiccan or Hindu standing in front of this judge respond? Is this appropriate in a pluralistic country, whose original motto was, “Out of many, one”? You may not care about religious minorities or the non-religious, but the Constitution protects us all, Samuel. The Framers had ample chance to put the Christian God into the Constitution, they did not. During those days many more Americans were active, vigorous, church-going, Christians. Why should the monetary resources of Christianity be used in endless litigation involving atheistic stupidity? Why do Christians insist in spending millions of dollars to save objects that bring offense? Feed the poor and help the meek instead, good call. Don't question the laziness or ambition of those asking for assistance and don't judge them. Did Jesus? If someone suffers, simply assist. I believe Paul once wrote that if “for meat [offered to idols] I would cause a brother to offend, then I would eat no meat”. We should consider such words when dealing with things. Things have a way of becoming idols. Idols draw men away from the truth of faith. Many idols depict the view of artists who did not stand to take the photograph or formulate the sculpture or pose the subject of their art. It is all subjective and all basically untrue. If all these personal affronts to atheists are removed from the public view and placed inside the art museums and church halls atheists have no reason to venture into then much of the brouhaha and cost of litigation will end. The atheists will have nothing more to complain about and they will be without the culture and the artistry that is much a requirement of Master Degrees of Art and Literature. Let them study the art of their own. I'm not sure how to response to this? Certainly, atheists taking art courses would avoid museums at all costs...[sarcasm] And certainly, Christian art majors only study the art of “their own”, and not the heathen art of the ancient Greeks and Egyptians. [sarcasm] The point is Christianity is supposed to care for the unbelieving elements of society. The only real examples that the world needs to see God are the examples set by living Christians. Statues, sculptures, paintings and monuments not only do not preach the whole gospel of Christ but somehow manage to bring offense to the ignorant and unlearned elements of society that would believe the lies of atheism over the truths of scripture. It is far better for atheists and unbelievers to see the Christian example of Christ set, not in concrete, but in flesh. All major religions are supposed to give a hoot about the less fortunate. What kind of mess is the world in? 97% of the world follows religion. What examples of living Christians can you provide that we should all follow, and, if most Americans are Christians, why does our nation score lower on every social indicator, from abortion, to crime rates, to homeless rates, as compared with our more secular European allies? When Jesus pointed to the Temple of Herod that replace the Temple of Solomon the crowd was surprised that he did not commend the great structure but rather explained how the structure would be destroyed. The more important “temple” was that of his physical life. That too would be torn down. But as the Temple of Herod would never rise again, the physical body of Jesus would return to life three days after its destruction. Well, no one has ever come back to life after being dead for three days, but, given enough time, science may make that more common than you might think. These lessons are sure. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. It is surely a shame that any society calling itself democratic would allow the opinion of one boorish individual to overrule the votes of thousands with the aid of judicial fiat. When the law is arbitrary and filled with double standards that permit the rule of atheism then the democracy is wise to not waste its money in frivolous battles. Faith is believing without evidence. If faith is indeed evidence, then all faiths are correct. Yet, all faiths cannot be correct because they conflict. How to differentiate between various faith-based belief systems? Must we not rely on NON-faith evidence? Seems we are back to square one: faith is not permissible as evidence. Science provides evidence of things not seen, a good example being energy. Energy is orderless, colorless, and tasteless, yet it exists. Move the artifacts and the statues to venues that allow the safe and unobstructed viewing by those who do not object. Atheists will then have nothing to say and no one to sue. They will have believed they have acted in the best interests of society and society at large will see their intolerance and bigotry. History can have them. Intolerance from atheists? Certainly, we have no historical examples of Christian atrocities, intolerance and general evil... [sarcasm] I believe it is enough that churches exist and are permitted to stand. Each church adorned with its crosses and statues on strategic corners in America’s heavily populated cities and small villages are proof enough that there are people who care for people. I find that statement amusing, but I'll assume it was not meant as a joke. The area I live in is loaded with churches and let me tell you, they have no demonstrable positive affect around here. What evidence do we have that Christianity and its churches help people care for people more than they otherwise would? Atheists pretty much have proven historically that they do not care about the greater good. They have a special selfishness that takes them into courtrooms across the nation to demand the destruction of anything that the religious portion of society (the greater mass) holds in reverence. We have? Where is this “proof”? Upholding the wishes of the Framers of the constitution is hardly selfish. I mentioned above that I would address this, that you, Samuel, “would thank the atheists later.” Demographics change. Assuming current trends continue, Islam may be more prevalent in this country at some not-so-distant point. The “greater mass” will then be Islam. Should this paradigm shift make you swear to a God you don't believe in when you stand before a judge? Should your classroom be disrupted five times per day to allow Muslim students to pray? One of the more prominent groups pushing for this kind of secularism is Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. The president is a Christian, ordained in some manner. Truly smart, forward-thinking Christians should be pro-active in getting secularism established completely in the public sector. It will protect all of us from each other's religion. But to give the atheists your cloak after they have taken your coat should never be a problem for the person who holds the faith of Jesus Christ. Christianity should save its money and use it to feed the poor; not feed the greed of lawyers and the pride of atheists. Cool, you have no argument from me. Most lawyers, as most Americans in general, are Christian. Christianity is the biggest religion in the world, the world makes more than enough food to feed everyone twice over, yet a good deal of humanity is starving. Christian, get off of your duff and act like what you pretend to stand for! Instead of attacking gays, contraception, science education and choice, why not do something worthwhile? Does Jesus have a purpose for you other than to attack political ideals? Would Jesus approve of the constant whining from some American Christians? Why do the ones which whine the loudest tend to be the Conservative types, eager to get government on their side? Christianity is the major religion, the popularity of Christian music is on the rise, there are many Christian TV channels, tons of churches large and small exist all over as tax-free entities. Is there discrimination here? Isn't this whining an affront to truly persecuted people? Did you forget the days when you were being fed to lions? ------------ About the author Frederick Smith: I enjoy writing about the positive virtues of humanism - humanists are the good guys. I now have a blog that I will start to increasingly maintain and update. Here is the link: fredsuberview.blogspot.com/ About my personal background and life: I was born, I got some education, worked, ate, and had some kids. It seems I like to write � something that was unknown to me until relatively recently...How's that for detail? ;) Hate mail is welcome unless you are from the Army Of God. Please! It's not that I mind seeing pictures of aborted fetuses in my inbox, but once you've seen one you've pretty much seen them all... Email: dahlek65@gmail.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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