Banning nativity sets#3 - and related issues............?

Question

There is a lot of passion these days over nativity scenes on public property.....see my first two questions along this line. So many folks want these nativities banned. You know folks, how long will it be before prayer for a dying loved one in a hospital is banned? My brother passed away this morning in a hospital, surrounded by his loved ones, who sang hymns to him and prayed with him as he passed into the Lord's arms. NOW - what do you think? Should this sort of thing be banned and outlawed ??? A bit of anger is in order here........anger at those who try to deny the Christian right to display the nativity scenes......and a lot of other things such as Bibles in schools.....and prayer in public places.........yikes.....what, what will you do when YOUR time on earth is over........and someone bans your loved ones from praying with you in a public place such as a hospital???????

Answer 1

You're one of my contacts so I think you know exactly how I feel about this government attack on Christianity. It's a complete perversion of what this nation was founded to be. Our government supported Christianity for hundreds of years before 1948 when the so called separation of church and state was created. What kills me is all these folks who say they are worried that their tax dollars are going to pay for a Nativity scene. Would they care that their tax dollars went to pay for a jar of piss with a crucifix in it was passed off as art and funded by our government or some of the other nasty things that are so nasty I refuse to list them that have been paid for by our tax dollars.Probably not and they would still bltch and moan if the Nativity was paid for by the church or a private supporter. They just want to target Christians and use tax dollars as an excuse. The truth is that tax dollars have paid for Christian and religious monuments all over this country. The Capitol building is loaded with religious paintings, sculptures, etc. Our founders never intended this to be a Christian hostile nation and if anyone would look into our true national heritage they would see it. God, please send us leaders who see THE TRUTH about our heritage and Constitution. God Bless!!

Answer 2

First let me say how sorry I am for your loss. No one complained did they when you all prayed and sang songs to him did they. That was done in the privacy of his room. This was a private moment for you and your family. The public was not invited to attend was it? There will never be a movement to stop this kind of healing.

As for Christian rights, there are none. The Constitution says you have the freedom of religion. It does not say Christian religion. You have your right to believe what you believe. As I have the right to believe what I believe. I am not Christian, I am Jewish and feel that the Naivety Scene on public property is wrong. It discriminates against me and my fellow Jews. Discrimination is illegal in the United States. Also, I do not believe that there should be a Hanukkah Candelabra set up either. Put religions things on religious grounds, there they do not offend anyone.

Bibles do not belong in schools because who determines which Bible is the correct Bible. Should it be the Old Testament, the Old and New Testament, the Koran, or any other of the many Bibles that exist. The Christian Bible alone has about six different versions. Which Bible is right?

Prayer is supposed to be a private act between you and God. It is not supposed to be a public event. How would you feel if you went to a Baseball game and before the game there was a benediction that ended with "in Allah's name Amen". That is a true example of public prayer. Who's God is the correct God.

Your rights end where my rights begin. Again I am sorry for your loss. But it is wrong for you to take out your anger on people who do not believe the way that you do.

Answer 3

We have a city park in our town , it's huge. Anyone can put up their religious symbols. It's usually businesses and churches but there are sculptures, paintings and Christmas decorations depicting all religions, even Masons. From the moment it opens there is a long line of traffic every night to see what's been added. There has been no discrimination at all. That's the way I think it should be. We all come together and worship by decorating in our own way. For those that don't believe in any religion, just don't look. I agree with you that slowly Christian's rights have been dissolving almost to the point of having to keep it hidden from the world without being persecuted because of it. Of course this has been revealed to us in the bible along with the Jewish religion. And Jews are God's chosen people. So why not abolish their rights to have menorahs? Well I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing. Can't we let each other alone for a few weeks to celebrate as we want? Or not celebrate. Who is it hurting? For those of you who these symbolism's offend, grow up, shut up and stop whining. Will someone throw rocks in YOUR window for being a non believer?

Answer 4

That is what's called a Camel's Nose fallacy.

Nobody wants nativities banned--they want other faiths to be able to participate, or for the nativities to be on non-public land. There is no "Christian right" to have public funds used to display YOUR religious symbols while denying others the same.

Would you favour a law that said that only Christian prayer be allowed in hospitals, regardless of the faith of the dying person? Should the Jewish person in the bed next to your brother be denied the appropriate prayers because they aren't Christian? Should atheists in hospital be baptised against their will? That's what you are suggesting by your analogy.

Answer 5

I'm so sorry for the loss of your brother, but happy for his gain. However, I disagree with your assertion that, "So many folks want these nativities banned..." It only SEEMS that there are so many because the very few who do have had their voices amplified a million times over by the media. And so it is that those of us who support public prayer are vilified by a news story on TV about one small group of people. Don't call it "anger." Call it righteous indignation. It wasn't meant to be this way.

Answer 6

Umm, excuse me, but you can't stop people from praying. It's one thing to pray, because that is part of your faith, and you are advertising it like people do with the nativity scenes. Nativity scenes are basically advertisements.

And you are allowed to pray in public places, kids in my school do it all the time before tests. You just can't have a designated prayer time. A principal can come on over the intercom and say "Okay, time for our daily prayers.", but you ARE allowed to pray in any public place you want in the US,you just can't tell people that they need to pray right now. That would be forcing your religion onto someone, which is what a nativity scene does. Get it?

We have freedom of religion, therefore you can't force your religious beliefs onto someone else, and must have separation of church and state. But because we have freedom of religion, we can practice it wherever we want to. So if you don't try to make other people pray, then you can pray all you want whenever and where ever you want. (At least on public property.)


Oh, and by the way, when I die I don't want anyone to pray for me. To me, praying gets you no where. The only thing that helps anyone is action. And besides that, I'm an atheist, so praying for me to go to heaven is kind of pointless, don't you think? If I don't believe in it, it doesn't exist.

Oh, and there is a bible in my school library as well a Torah, and almost every other religious text you can think of. As long as you have something from each faith to make it equal, it's fine.

Answer 7

I am sorry to hear about your brother.

Christians can display their nativity scenes on their own property. Keep it off public property. Separation of church and state.

What if a satanist wanted to hang the upside down cross outside his public office? How about that same guy wanted to show a scene of Satan killing Jesus. Would you still support having these things on public property? Your desire to have rights extended seem to stop at Christians.

Don't' be extreme. No one is going to say you can't pray in a hospital. Your child can pray at school too. Just as long as they do it for themselves and no public official is directing all students to do so.

Answer 8

This comes up every year in Cincinnati. The KKK applies for a permit to display a cross on the public square downtown, where nativity scenes usually go. Why does the government try to stop them? Christians....you cannot have your cake and eat it too. Do you want religious freedom to express view in public, or is all you're searching for is the freedom to express CHRISTIAN views in public? Hmmm.....

Answer 9

the problem is that christians try to ban anything and everything except what is acceptable to them.

if anyone started this chain reaction then it was them.

they protest a chocolate naked jesus because it offends them.

why don't we just compromise and you cut out trying to push your religious icons on everyone else. the nativity scene is a strictly religious aspect of what is mostly a secular holiday (these days). its not candy canes and snowflakes.

would you object to the "woodland critter christmas" version of the nativity scene from south park bieng displayed on public property?

if you support a nativity scene on public property but not the woodland critter christmas then you are a hypocrite as the woodland critter scene is just another religion's nativity scene and is proves you can't respect other religions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodland_Critter_Christmas

Answer 10

No one is denying your rights here. Sorry to pop your martyr bubble. Get over it.

If you are in a private room, go ahead, pray sing, sacrifice chickens, whatever you want. But as soon as you start disturbing the other patients - your rights just ended.

You have no right to put any display on public property. Put one in your garden, put a display outside your church, that is your right, it is private property. But on public property you have no right to put up religious symbols. The same as the Jews, the Muslims, the Satanists, or any other religious group.

So unless you are happy with the Satanists hanging a pentagram off the light post outside your home, sit down and shut up. (At least in public.)

When I die anyone caught begging to their sky pixie will get thrown out of the room. They can go pray for the guy in the other room if that is what they both want.