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David Dodd

David Dodd is a Reader contributor. See staff page for published articles.

Ninth Circuit Refuses to Reconsider Soledad Cross Ruling

You read it correctly, and there is truth in it. The key word is "promote". Religious symbolism, in fact, has often been invented to NOT promote, which could have been deadly in more ancient times. ICTYS, for example, the "fish" symbol, coming from the Ancient Greek and used as an acrostic during the Roman conquest, was meant to be so subtle as to not alert the Romans of a Christian belief, as it was to help Greek Christians know which Greeks were, in fact, Christians, and therefore not a threat. And the symbol itself probably has deeper ancient pagan roots. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the CROSS actually predates Christianity by perhaps thousands of years. While it is unclear if it served a significant religious purpose or was simply displayed for its ornamental value, some anthropologists have offered that perhaps the symbol was first used to celebrate man's discovery of fire by rubbing two sticks together. Since there is no written history of the era, we will likely never know, but the cross symbol in one form or another can be found in the history of practically every culture on Earth. Was the intent of the cross to "promote" Christianity? That seems highly doubtful. One hundred years ago, some private citizens erected a wooden cross in that location. Ironically, the Klu Klux Klan was responsible for burning that original cross down. The modern "memorial" was erected in the same light as the original. The "Easter" memorial became a war memorial, much as now a lot of religious symbolism hijacked beliefs and standards of an earlier time. Does a cross really promote Christianity? Does the Star of David promote Judaism? If you believe it does, then I guess it does, but then, how much money are you willing to spend razing anything that could be considered as promoting religion on public land? The way I see it, religions have hijacked these symbols and use them as they see fit. They do not own them and they did not invent them (and in fact did not employ their use until relatively recently). To me, it is as ridiculous as tearing out the white sheets in the bedroom at the Governor's mansion because the very same Klan that burned down the original Mt. Soledad Cross employed their use during their ceremonies. Waste of taxpayer money.
— October 15, 2011 1:15 p.m.

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