There's an article today at ABC news online about the "cross" memorial they're putting up at the National September 11th Memorial and Museum. American Atheists filed a lawsuit saying that you can't erect a Christian symbol on government property. They're right, of course. There's no question about this.
The group states it clearly: since the government allowed this huge icon for Jesus into the museum, they must allow every other religion to put up a totem of similar size alongside the "cross" -- including a totem for atheism. They said they would drop their suit immediately if one of two things happened: the "cross" was removed, or every religion was allowed to erect a totem of similar size at the museum. Sounds fair to me.
But really, I wasn't thinking about the propriety of putting the "cross" in the museum when I saw them load this piece of crap onto a lift. What I thought was "here we go -- they're seeing jeebus in the coffee stains again."
People, this is not a "cross". It's two pieces of metal that are perpendicular to each other -- a "T-joint" -- like the metal T-joints in just about every other building in the world. That you found some perpendicular bits of metal is not a miracle. It's not a sign of gods. It's not anything. It's rubble.
I was aghast as I watched the blessing of this metal and saw people praying to it and telling "miraculous" stories about it. Sometimes I feel like I live in a world of cavemen. I can't do anything but shake my head when I watch something like that.
Yes, it needs to come down. But let's recognize that stupidity is what put it there. It's a T-joint, not a cross. This event is disheartening, as if everything about religion. It's a colossal waste of everyone's time and energy.
What do you think?
The group states it clearly: since the government allowed this huge icon for Jesus into the museum, they must allow every other religion to put up a totem of similar size alongside the "cross" -- including a totem for atheism. They said they would drop their suit immediately if one of two things happened: the "cross" was removed, or every religion was allowed to erect a totem of similar size at the museum. Sounds fair to me.
But really, I wasn't thinking about the propriety of putting the "cross" in the museum when I saw them load this piece of crap onto a lift. What I thought was "here we go -- they're seeing jeebus in the coffee stains again."
People, this is not a "cross". It's two pieces of metal that are perpendicular to each other -- a "T-joint" -- like the metal T-joints in just about every other building in the world. That you found some perpendicular bits of metal is not a miracle. It's not a sign of gods. It's not anything. It's rubble.
I was aghast as I watched the blessing of this metal and saw people praying to it and telling "miraculous" stories about it. Sometimes I feel like I live in a world of cavemen. I can't do anything but shake my head when I watch something like that.
Yes, it needs to come down. But let's recognize that stupidity is what put it there. It's a T-joint, not a cross. This event is disheartening, as if everything about religion. It's a colossal waste of everyone's time and energy.
What do you think?
