On the Cross and the Law.

[JoeyKnothead]

Is the Cross a Generic Burial Symbol?

From the article here.

Justice Antonin Scalia disputed the premise behind the lawsuit, telling Mr. Eliasberg that it was unfair to view the cross merely as a Christian symbol.

"The cross is the most common symbol of the resting place of the dead," he said. "What would you have them erect? Some conglomerate of a cross, a Star of David, and you know, a Muslim half moon and star?"

"I have been in Jewish cemeteries. There is never a cross on a tombstone of a Jew," Mr. Eliasberg said. "So it is the most common symbol to honor Christians."

"I don't think you can leap from that to the conclusion that the only war dead that that cross honors are the Christian war dead," Justice Scalia said. "I think that's an outrageous conclusion."

Question for debate:

Is the cross too tied to Christianity to not be considered a Christian symbol?

[Homicidal_Cherry53]

Normally I never take this side when it comes to these kind of cases, but, as I see it, in the context, the cross really isn't a religious symbol. When used to mark the grave of a soldier it loses religious connotation, as religion is usually the last thing that crosses a person's mind upon viewing it. Given that this is a military memorial, a cross seems appropriate (though I think it would seem less religious if it looked more like a tombstone).

[McCulloch]

Just an aside...

When I was in the Army back in the early eighties, I declared myself an atheist on the form for declaring such. This information would be placed on our dog tags for whatever purposes.

Somehow "atheist" turned to "no religious preference". Seems I was gonna get prayed over whether I liked it or not.

It looks to me that no religious preference was the military shorthand for stuff they did not know how to deal with. The good news is that if it got to the point where they would be praying over you, you would probably be beyond caring about anything.

I had a friend in the Air Force a few years back. He wanted "Asatru" listed on his tags, but instead was given "No religious preference". He repeatedly asked to get it change, and from what he says, he was simply ignored.

Yet another violation of the separation of church and state. The government has decided (probably based on popularity and degree of establishment) which religions are legitimate and which ones are not. I guess if you list a religion that the brass has not heard of, they assume that it is something like the Jedi; the Church of the SubGenius or Pastafarianism. In my opinion, the military is just being over-zealous in protecting against parody rather than being deliberately discriminatory.

Normally I never take this side when it comes to these kind of cases, but, as I see it, in the context, the cross really isn't a religious symbol. When used to mark the grave of a soldier it loses religious connotation, as religion is usually the last thing that crosses a person's mind upon viewing it. Given that this is a military memorial, a cross seems appropriate (though I think it would seem less religious if it looked more like a tombstone).

Why would a cross be an appropriate symbol for a military memorial? The cross is a symbol of a form of execution reserved for enemies of the state by the Romans. It was abolished as a form of execution in the Roman Empire in 337. Clearly, in context, its use in military cemeteries is due to its religious symbolism, nothing else.