View Full Version : Supreme Court Accepts Case of Maryland War Memorial Shaped Like Cross
Chris
11-02-2018, 08:00 PM
http://i63.tinypic.com/e14z94.jpg
The case regarding whether or not a Maryland war memorial in the shape of a cross goes against the separation of church and state was accepted for final review by Supreme Court justices on Friday. (Algerina Perna /The Baltimore Sun via AP, File)
The case regarding whether or not a Maryland war memorial in the shape of a cross goes against a separation of church and state was accepted for final review by Supreme Court justices on Friday.
The controversial memorial, which stands in Bladensburg, Maryland, was previously deemed to be in violation of the Constitution by a federal appeals court in Virginia, who determined that it “has the primary effect of endorsing religion and excessively entangles the government in religion.”
In petitioning the nation’s highest court to take the case, Maryland officials who maintain the monument, otherwise known as the “Peace Cross,” insisted that what it’s meant to honor proves that its purpose is to portray a secular message of remembrance, not one of religion.
Should the appeals court’s decision be allowed to stand, it could potentially affect hundreds of similar monuments across the country and would force “the removal or dismemberment of a cherished war memorial that has served as a site of solemn commemoration and civic unity for nearly a century.”
The cross, finished in 1925, was erected in remembrance of 49 local men who died in World War I. A plaque on the cross' base lists the names of those soldiers, and both faces of the cross have a circle with the symbol of the American Legion, the veterans organization that helped raise money to build it.
The memorial’s location is roughly five miles from the Supreme Court.
Those in favor of the statue argued that earlier Supreme Court rulings determined that monuments, particularly longstanding ones, which incorporate religious symbolism to send a secular message did not go against the Constitution.
The shape of the “Peace Cross,” which they maintain falls into that category, was picked as a means to bare a likeness to cross-shaped grave markers used for soldiers buried in American cemeteries overseas, supporters said.
The American Humanist Association, the group against the memorial who, along with three local residents, filed a 2014 lawsuit against Maryland officials, argue that the symbol "discriminates against patriotic soldiers who are not Christian, sending a callous message to non-Christians that Christians are worthy of veneration while they may as well be forgotten."
The organization attempted to persuade the Supreme Court against hearing the case, arguing that the appeals court's ruling is specific to the Bladensburg memorial and doesn't threaten any other monuments.
Arguments for the case are expected to be heard in early 2019.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/supreme-court-accepts-case-of-maryland-war-memorial-shaped-like-cross
spurraider21
11-02-2018, 08:09 PM
eh, these are the fights that aren't worth fighting imo
boutons_deux
11-02-2018, 08:10 PM
Obviously a Christian crucifixion cross, promoting Christianity, excluding non-Christians who fought, died in the war.
To pander to Christian supremacy as key to the oligarchy's duping of Christians to screw themselves, and to screw separation of church and state (right wing / Christian power politics fucks the Constitution), SCOTUS 5 whores will OK it, opening the floodgates to such shit all over the USA
koriwhat
11-02-2018, 08:11 PM
Obviously a Christian crucifixion cross, promoting Christianity, excluding non-Christians who fought, died in the war.
To pander to Christian supremacy as key to the oligarchy's duping of Christians to screw themselves, and to screw separation of church and state (right wing / Christian power politics fucks the Constitution), SCOTUS 5 whores will OK it, opening the floodgates to such shit all over the USA
you need GOD in your life. what a sad existence you lead.
spurraider21
11-02-2018, 08:13 PM
you need GOD in your life. what a sad existence you lead.
i'd argue the inverse. it's a sad existence if you need to need some external reason to justify it
FrostKing
11-02-2018, 08:25 PM
i'd argue the inverse. it's a sad existence if you need to need some external reason to justify it
People are not usually worshiping alone. Faith is the entire package.
spurraider21
11-02-2018, 08:40 PM
People are not usually worshiping alone. Faith is the entire package.
irrelevant to what i just said, tbh
Pavlov
11-02-2018, 08:46 PM
Meh.
FrostKing
11-02-2018, 08:51 PM
irrelevant to what i just said, tbh
It is difficult for an American to comprehend when the religious figure looks like and unites the nations people. In Poland he is one of us, like a family member in the distant past that we all respect.
Pavlov
11-02-2018, 08:51 PM
It is difficult for an American to comprehend when the religious figure looks like and unites the nations people. In Poland he is one of us, like a family member in the distant past that we all respect.Sounds like a a recipe for oppression and repeated foreign occupation.
Chris
11-02-2018, 08:57 PM
Sounds like a a recipe for oppression and repeated foreign occupation.
Bend over, I'll show you a recipe for oppression and repeated foreign occupation.
CosmicCowboy
11-02-2018, 08:59 PM
Obviously a Christian crucifixion cross, promoting Christianity, excluding non-Christians who fought, died in the war.
To pander to Christian supremacy as key to the oligarchy's duping of Christians to screw themselves, and to screw separation of church and state (right wing / Christian power politics fucks the Constitution), SCOTUS 5 whores will OK it, opening the floodgates to such shit all over the USA
What a sad, pitiful piece of shit.
FrostKing
11-02-2018, 08:59 PM
Sounds like a a recipe for oppression and repeated foreign occupation.
Most "open minded" nation in Europe at one point. All those non-Poles enjoyed themselves and bailed when it was time to rebuild.
Pavlov
11-02-2018, 09:06 PM
Bend over, I'll show you a recipe for oppression and repeated foreign occupation.You're doing the troll thing.
Chucho
11-02-2018, 09:06 PM
LOL. The Poles are a bunch of meat headed, pirogi eating surrender monkeys. The French would beat them in a war at any time in history...if they havent already.
FrostKing
11-02-2018, 09:07 PM
LOL. The Poles are a bunch of meat headed, pirogi eating surrender monkeys. The French would beat them in a war at any time in history...if they havent already.
Polaks were Napoleon's best foreign division
spurraider21
11-02-2018, 09:10 PM
It is difficult for an American to comprehend when the religious figure looks like and unites the nations people. In Poland he is one of us, like a family member in the distant past that we all respect.
Doesn’t matter. You’re just saying a bunch of things that are irrelevant to my earlier comment.
Chris
11-02-2018, 09:12 PM
You're doing the troll thing.
That's called a joke.
You're posting on a sock account doing the troll thing.
Pavlov
11-02-2018, 09:13 PM
That's called a joke.
You're posting on a sock account doing the troll thing.But you're doing the troll thing, Chris.
FrostKing
11-02-2018, 09:16 PM
But you're doing the troll thing, Chris.
Ya, what's up with that. Just use 1 account try hard.
Pavlov
11-02-2018, 09:20 PM
Ya, what's up with that. Just use 1 account try hard.:lol this isn't your only account.
Chris
11-02-2018, 09:25 PM
Polaks were Napoleon's best foreign division
They also were professional Islam ass whoopers :tu
http://www.historyofjihad.org/poland1.jpg
The Battle of Varna was the first battle in which Polish arms crossed those of the invading Ottomans. Responding to the appeals of help from the Serbs and Bulgarians and a general appeal from the Pope to all Europeans to rush to the aid of Bulgaria which was being ravaged by the Ottoman Jihadis, the Poles joined in large numbers to challenge the Ottoman at Varna.
spurraider21
11-02-2018, 09:48 PM
Ya, what's up with that. Just use 1 account try hard.
newcastle keg and infinitelimit want a word with you
FrostKing
11-02-2018, 10:15 PM
newcastle keg and infinitelimit want a word with you
I was once the Caravan :sombrero:
Spurs Homer
11-02-2018, 10:16 PM
Waste of the courts time.
FrostKing
11-02-2018, 10:19 PM
https://youtu.be/fj_bn62EbRQ
SnakeBoy
11-02-2018, 11:08 PM
i'd argue the inverse. it's a sad existence if you need to need some external reason to justify it
That doesn't make any sense even from an atheist perspective. You're basically saying that any other than complete selfishness is a sad existence.
I'll spare you the suspense... of course the Supreme Court will allow it. 5-4 Vote.
i'd argue the inverse. it's a sad existence if you need to need some external reason to justify it
Are your parents or grandparents theists?
Blake
11-02-2018, 11:54 PM
you need GOD in your life. what a sad existence you lead.
Lol koriwhat having god in his life
That doesn't make any sense even from an atheist perspective. You're basically saying that any other than complete selfishness is a sad existence.
Not necessarily. He used the term "need". Christians aren't about need. They believe God is, and their need isn't about his existence. If anything they exist to please him, not the other way around. As an atheist, even I understand this. It's from that perspective that Philo is wrong.
Blake
11-02-2018, 11:56 PM
Not necessarily. He used the term "need". Christians aren't about need. They believe God is, and their need isn't about his existence. If anything they exist to please him, not the other way around. As an atheist, even I understand this. It's from that perspective that Philo is wrong.
Where are you getting this info from?
spurraider21
11-03-2018, 12:08 AM
Are your parents or grandparents theists?
My grandparents all were. Grandpa was a minister
spurraider21
11-03-2018, 12:09 AM
That doesn't make any sense even from an atheist perspective. You're basically saying that any other than complete selfishness is a sad existence.
Where did selfishness enter the equation? There’s no reason for you to “need god” to give your life meaning or purpose.
Pavlov
11-03-2018, 12:13 AM
Are your parents or grandparents theists?
:lol obsessed with dudes who post here.
Where are you getting this info from?
Christians believe they are born into sin, and God through grace has offered a path to salvation through Jesus Christ. This means that Christians (believing in Christ as the eternal savior and son of God) have already met the conditions, so there's no need. They then have to honestly attempt to walk the path of righteousness. This is where need arises. They need strength to accept their own short comings, something many cannot do even non-Christians.
These are basic tenets of Christianity. So they don't need the god to exist. They already accept this to be undeniable truth. They need spiritual and emotional comfort that comes from the delusion that they will live forever (not perish, but have everlasting life). Death is hard to accept, and some have found a creative way to meditate themselves into this grand delusion. At best it's a delusion. At worst a mental illness, but then the "sad existence" depends on which side you're looking from. They think atheists are doomed to eternal hellfire, and we have orgies and kill babies.
Where did selfishness enter the equation? There’s no reason for you to “need god” to give your life meaning or purpose.
Some say that without a divine cause there's no real purpose to life. Everything can simply be opinion so completely subjective. In that case, feeling a purpose can meet the "purpose" requirement.
My grandparents all were. Grandpa was a minister
Do you think they had a sad existence?
:lol obsessed with dudes who post here.
:lol creates alt to avoid going over 100K posts
:lol does so because he cannot stop rapid responding to dudes here... all day and night
:lol projecting - ironic for Pavlov...
Pavlov
11-03-2018, 12:40 AM
:lol creates alt to avoid going over 100K posts
:lol does so because he cannot stop rapid responding to dudes here... all day and night
:lol projecting - ironic for Pavlov...
lol I did go over 100k and will go back to that name.
You'll still posting about me obsessively.
Chris
11-03-2018, 12:45 AM
They think atheists are doomed to eternal hellfire, and we have orgies and kill babies.
You're confusing Atheism with witchcraft.
Generally I think of Atheists as harmless Fedora sporting neckbeards.
They also love to tell the world how atheist they are and attack Christians for their faith.
lol I did go over 100k and will go back to that name.
You'll still posting about me obsessively.
:lol Following me around white knighting for dudes
:lol Faglov
You're confusing Atheism with witchcraft.
Generally I think of Atheists as harmless Fedora sporting neckbeards.
They also love to tell the world how atheist they are and attack Christians for their faith.
Never met an atheist at my front door advertising their non-belief. It's not your faith that's under attack.
Atheists can be anyone who doesn't believe a god exists. You can imagine them as whatever you like.
Chris
11-03-2018, 01:08 AM
Never met an atheist at my front door advertising their non-belief. It's not your faith that's under attack.
Atheists can be anyone who doesn't believe a god exists. You can imagine them as whatever you like.
Doesn't matter how the conversation goes. At some point the inevitable "well I'm an Atheist so..." Every time. Like I said they are mostly harmless.
spurraider21
11-03-2018, 01:17 AM
Do you think they had a sad existence?
Nope. I also think they had enough going on with family, hobbies, etc where their lives wouldn’t feel empty without religion
remember, original premise here is that “you need god in your life.” Im not saying everybody who is religious has a sad life. I’m saying if you “need” god to give your life meaning or purpose then you were sad to begin with imo
spurraider21
11-03-2018, 02:14 AM
you need GOD in your life. what a sad existence you lead. DMC for reference... began with him saying you need god and otherwise you have a sad existence. So your whole “Christmas don’t NEED god” thing is moot given this context
Pavlov
11-03-2018, 03:30 AM
:lol Following me around white knighting for dudes
:lol Faglov:lol following me around collecting information.
:lol fat.
Will Hunting
11-03-2018, 08:10 AM
you need GOD in your life. what a sad existence you lead.
:lmao a tatted up crackhead telling people they need god
Spurminator
11-03-2018, 10:11 AM
Doesn't matter how the conversation goes. At some point the inevitable "well I'm an Atheist so..." Every time. Like I said they are mostly harmless.
:lol
I know dozens of atheists. They've never said "Well I'm an atheist, so..." But generally we don't talk about religion because we have other things going on.
Online forums and Twitter aren't representative of real interactions.
Not necessarily. He used the term "need". Christians aren't about need. They believe God is, and their need isn't about his existence. If anything they exist to please him, not the other way around. As an atheist, even I understand this. It's from that perspective that Philo is wrong.
DMC for reference... began with him saying you need god and otherwise you have a sad existence. So your whole “Christmas don’t NEED god” thing is moot given this context
Poor wording on my part. From the perspective I was responding to, you'd be wrong. You didn't use that perspective.
SnakeBoy
11-03-2018, 12:33 PM
Where did selfishness enter the equation? There’s no reason for you to “need god” to give your life meaning or purpose.
You didn't say "need God" you said "need some external reason". Even atheists will list external reasons (friends, family, community, etc) that give their life meaning, purpose, and provide a sense of happiness.
Chris
11-03-2018, 01:12 PM
:lol
I know dozens of atheists. They've never said "Well I'm an atheist, so..." But generally we don't talk about religion because we have other things going on.
Online forums and Twitter aren't representative of real interactions.
Dozens as in 24+ atheists? That's a lot of people that you know personally that never say "well I'm an atheist". I'm definitely going to take your word on this :tu
spurraider21
11-03-2018, 01:35 PM
You didn't say "need God" you said "need some external reason". Even atheists will list external reasons (friends, family, community, etc) that give their life meaning, purpose, and provide a sense of happiness.
Oh. I think we’re just not on the same page with what i meant as external reasons. I wasn’t including any of those things you mentioned. My point was those things should generally be enough.
koriwhat
11-03-2018, 01:37 PM
Lol koriwhat having god in his life
it's ok blake.
koriwhat
11-03-2018, 01:38 PM
They also were professional Islam ass whoopers :tu
fuck yeah!
koriwhat
11-03-2018, 01:38 PM
:lmao a tatted up crackhead telling people they need god
this crackhead bs is just that. you're a loser who parrots the same bs as the other losers here. yall don't need god, yall need each other you pack of losers.
Spurminator
11-03-2018, 01:42 PM
Dozens as in 24+ atheists? That's a lot of people that you know personally that never say "well I'm an atheist". I'm definitely going to take your word on this :tu
It's well over 24. It's less than "hundreds" which would be the next increment.
I don't expect you to take my word because you tend to favor the word of people who validate your limited worldview. I'm just telling you there's a whole different world out there than what you've gleaned from online interactions. You should go out and meet people. Friendships are good for you. :tu
koriwhat
11-03-2018, 01:47 PM
DMC for reference... began with him saying you need god and otherwise you have a sad existence. So your whole “Christmas don’t NEED god” thing is moot given this context
who said i was christian? i don't subscribe to any ideology per se. however, i believe there's more to this life, this world, universe, etc that's beyond my comprehension and that alone humbles me. experiencing what i did when i was 17 changed my whole outlook on religion/spirituality/etc. then taking care of my grandfather a couple years back really opened my eyes up even more.
i'm bad at putting my thoughts into words; sorry for that.
koriwhat
11-03-2018, 01:49 PM
I'm just telling you there's a whole different world out there than what you've gleaned from online interactions. You should go out and meet people. Friendships are good for you. :tu
why do you assume you're such the world traveler and chris isn't? you'd probably assume the same of me but i can bet you've never driven yourself all the way down to acapulco am i right?
Will Hunting
11-03-2018, 01:52 PM
who said i was christian? i don't subscribe to any ideology per se. however, i believe there's more to this life, this world, universe, etc that's beyond my comprehension and that alone humbles me. experiencing what i did when i was 17 changed my whole outlook on religion/spirituality/etc. then taking care of my grandfather a couple years back really opened my eyes up even more.
i'm bad at putting my thoughts into words; sorry for that.
:lol what happened when you were 17? You get diddled by your uncle?
Spurminator
11-03-2018, 01:57 PM
why do you assume you're such the world traveler and chris isn't? you'd probably assume the same of me but i can bet you've never driven yourself all the way down to acapulco am i right?
It's kind of weird that you want to make this about you.
koriwhat
11-03-2018, 01:57 PM
:lol what happened when you were 17? You get diddled by your uncle?
a heavy dose of lsd but go ahead and go down your sick and twisted fantasy hole if you'd like. i wouldn't expect less of you.
Will Hunting
11-03-2018, 02:47 PM
a heavy dose of lsd but go ahead and go down your sick and twisted fantasy hole if you'd like. i wouldn't expect less of you.
:lmao an LSD user trying to preach god
koriwhat
11-03-2018, 03:13 PM
It's kind of weird that you want to make this about you.
not making it about me at all but making a point that you can't base your perception of another solely on your interaction with them online. it's the same with those that want everyone here to believe that i smoke crack; i don't even know what crack looks like nor have i ever had an interest in said drug.
i'm basically pointing out how out of touch you are and how you've let your ego ride shotgun.
:lmao an LSD user trying to preach god
who's preaching? i think we all need humility and by realizing we are all specks in this vast universe definitely makes me believe and have faith that there's more to this story than just being born, dying, and repeating the cycle.
as well, i haven't done lsd since i was 17 either so i'm no lsd user these days. i've had my fair share of trips on lsd but that last one catapulted me into realms you can't even imagine and don't wish to imagine or endure. i don't even wish a trip like that on any of you tbh. the void is real and it's all of us collectively without a sense of anything other than pure bliss. there's no way i can really convey that trip.
Spurminator
11-03-2018, 03:32 PM
i'm basically pointing out how out of touch you are and how you've let your ego ride shotgun.
What ego? I'm not claiming to be any more than a normal person with normal human connections.
It's ironic that you're telling me I shouldn't judge someone online when I'm talking to someone who literally said every atheist makes a point to talk about his/her atheism. Someone with even an average spectrum of acquaintances, inclusive of atheists, would have a hard time claiming this. "Every single (X) does (Y)" is typically something you hear from people who don't really know a lot of (X)'s. So I'm pretty confident in my guess, especially given your friend's history here.
boutons_deux
06-21-2019, 04:05 PM
SCOTUS’ Bladensburg Cross Ruling is a Church-State Mess
Alito’s majority opinion is bereft of both principle and reason.
He could have been more concise and lost little nuance by simply writing:
'The 40ft tall Christian cross is really old and people will get upset if we remove it, so it stays.' :lolhttps://rewire.news/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GettyImages-1095686412-740x525.jpg
All told, there were seven separate opinions, concurrences and dissents, 87 pages, and odd bedfellows in a fractured, scattershot ruling. Only one thing is clear:
the justices added no clarity to this area of the law, even though seven justices eventually voted to uphold the cross.
the court seeks to reverse engineer politically popular outcomes.
At oral argument, justices and attorneys attacked Lemon repeatedly,
but continued to come back to its core principles:
no religious purpose, no religious effect, and no entangling the government with religion.
the outcome of applying the Lemon test is clear—as Ginsburg put it,
“The principal symbol of Christianity around the world should not loom over public thoroughfares,
suggesting official recognition of that religion’s paramountcy”
the scattered, intellectually impoverished opinions coming from the justices
who voted in favor of Christian nationalism and
betrayed one of the founding principles (https://rewire.news/religion-dispatches/2019/02/25/scotus-likely-to-support-memorial-cross-should-we-even-care/) that has made this nation great:
the separation of state and church.
https://rewire.news/religion-dispatches/2019/06/20/scotus-bladensburg-cross-ruling-is-a-church-state-mess/ (https://rewire.news/religion-dispatches/2019/06/20/scotus-bladensburg-cross-ruling-is-a-church-state-mess/)
Another destructive shove by of America into unfuckability.
koriwhat
06-21-2019, 04:20 PM
SCOTUS’ Bladensburg Cross Ruling is a Church-State Mess
Alito’s majority opinion is bereft of both principle and reason.
He could have been more concise and lost little nuance by simply writing:
'The 40ft tall Christian cross is really old and people will get upset if we remove it, so it stays.' :lolhttps://rewire.news/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GettyImages-1095686412-740x525.jpg
All told, there were seven separate opinions, concurrences and dissents, 87 pages, and odd bedfellows in a fractured, scattershot ruling. Only one thing is clear:
the justices added no clarity to this area of the law, even though seven justices eventually voted to uphold the cross.
the court seeks to reverse engineer politically popular outcomes.
At oral argument, justices and attorneys attacked Lemon repeatedly,
but continued to come back to its core principles:
no religious purpose, no religious effect, and no entangling the government with religion.
the outcome of applying the Lemon test is clear—as Ginsburg put it,
“The principal symbol of Christianity around the world should not loom over public thoroughfares,
suggesting official recognition of that religion’s paramountcy”
the scattered, intellectually impoverished opinions coming from the justices
who voted in favor of Christian nationalism and
betrayed one of the founding principles (https://rewire.news/religion-dispatches/2019/02/25/scotus-likely-to-support-memorial-cross-should-we-even-care/) that has made this nation great:
the separation of state and church.
https://rewire.news/religion-dispatches/2019/06/20/scotus-bladensburg-cross-ruling-is-a-church-state-mess/ (https://rewire.news/religion-dispatches/2019/06/20/scotus-bladensburg-cross-ruling-is-a-church-state-mess/)
Another destructive shove by of America into unfuckability.
i don't see you getting outraged over field trips to mosques and the like. hmmm i wonder why...
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2026 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.