RE: Mt. Soledad cross ordered to be taken down
December 15, 2013 at 10:22 pm
(This post was last modified: December 15, 2013 at 10:24 pm by Polaris.)
(December 15, 2013 at 2:17 am)Esquilax Wrote:(December 14, 2013 at 10:35 pm)Polaris Wrote: The rational atheist view is "it's been here for many years and atheists for decades did not have a problem with it, so I won't be a dick and take issue but I will push that they won't erect new religious monuments on tax dollars hence forth." For all the talk about people saying these momuments waste tax dollars, how many have they wasted debating it just like the Republican Congress with their anti-Obamcare attempts...
And here we see the two deeply rooted tactics of the christian; one is deflection, trying to put the locus of blame onto the atheists, "Oh, you can't have an opinion because you waste money when your argument is about wasted money!"
The second is appeal to tradition: "We've gotten away with it for so long, why won't you just quietly allow us to keep getting away with it now!"
But that's the issue, Polaris: if we give an inch, christians have already shown that they'll take a yard. I don't even think it's a particularly christian trait, it's a very human thing to normalize things even when they're technically wrong, but here it's intensified by decades of christian privilege, and so it's so much stronger now. The fact is, you've got the laws here in place for a reason, and no matter how much you've enjoyed being allowed to break them in the past, the only way the situation is going to improve and be fair is by pushing back the tide of privilege.
Well when you can actually prove that this violated the Establishment Cause, come back to me. If a Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Moslem, etc. monument is erected on public lands, the Establishment clause would still not be violated.
Now when religious law supplants secular law or interferes with the worship of others, then that would be violating the Establishment Clause. And yes, many would want such a society. Many would also want a society that prevents people from worshiping as they see fit from a secular perspective.
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.