And I’ll third it. I can’t even begin to imagine what the workers at the WTC have been going through during the past few weeks. If they choose to find comfort in the cross, so what? You don’t have to believe in it if you don’t want to, but I’m not going to deny these workers what little comfort they may find in the middle of all that destruction.
ya know-- I like bashing the silly God-Freaks as much as the next agnostic/buddhist/taoist/whatever.
But I believe that mankind’s use of the gimmick of religion becomes more necessary, and hence more understandable, as the “stakes go up.”
When a man is about to be sent to the death chamber, or is dying in combat, or has witnessed 100’s of his fellow firefighters die in a huge building collapse he is bound to be much more receptive to the comfort offered by religion.
In times of extreme stress I’d bet that more than one atheist has earnestly prayed to the same God they rejected earlier in their lives.
Lay off the NYC folks and their miracle cross already. They can use all the good thoughts they can manage to discover/manufacture.
Placebos work.
I think the worst idea I could have would be to wear a gun around my neck, or have one as any other kind of adornment, if a family member or friend were shot to death.
As for the attacks, it would be worse still for someone who lost a friend or loved one, to wear a tiny replica of one of the airplanes around the neck…
I agree with other Dopers that the concept mentioned in the OP is really sick and out of line!! :mad:
Dougie - some christians have questioned the use of the cross as a symbol of the Christian faith. However, it is a simple design which directly relates to the greatest Mystery of Christianity - the death and rebirth of Christ. It is also the accepted primary symbol of christianity, appearing prominently in almost every christian church in the world. To most people, it is simply a visual reminder of their faith and their community. To these peope it is a small space of rightness in a place that is horribly wrong. They are not claiming that this indicates the superiority of their religion over others.
If you read the thread, you will notice that most of the dopers responding do *not agree with the OP.
There is a time and a place for criticism of this type of behavior. Now is not the time nor the place.
I’d have to agree with Zyada: these guys aren’t saying God miraculosuly hand-picked this cross from a tower and placed on the top of a church or anything. They’re saying that they see this as a symbol of their faith and a sign that God is still with them.
‘but is this the same God who couldn’t be bothered to save the lives of thousands of people?’ - and that is an utterly ridiculous thing to say. I can’t even estimate how many times people say things like that, but they never seem to learn. As Crunchy Frog said, do you understand the mind of God? Considering he’s (supposedly) the perfect Being, I doubt it.
I’m sure the majority of the rescue workers are also underwhelmed by the cross, since the ranks of rescue workers are going to be made up of agnostics, atheists, skeptics, muslims, jews, hindus, buddhists, scientologists, etc., as well as christians whose faith doesn’t include looking for symbols in tortillas and grease puddles.
ya know I am sick and tired of every one of you fucks you complain of what the folks at ground zero cheer or use a pick me up- I spent amost 2 weeks digging at the rubble before I come back and am beginning to start my life again- give it a fucking rest- ya don’t like it TOUGH SHIT. I have to drink to go to sleep and forget what I saw and your self sefl absorbed bitchen pisses me off- ya want to rant go ahead but pick something you know about- unless you have been there GO FUCK YOUSELF
Sorry but I am a drunk
Carry on
This is the second pit thread that got to me the first was the USA chant rant but this one caught me at the right time
{{{CWN}}}
[sub]This isn’t in the pit…yet[/sub]
TO ALL
I am so sorry I thought It was the pit 
please forgive me- mods is you want to delete or censor me I do understand- damn vodka- but I do like it so- again very sorry
CWN - I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, and I doubt (at least I hope) that the mods won’t fault you for an honest mistake given your circumstances.
{{{CWN}}} <- If you didn’t know, that’s a hug
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Zyada *
**CWN - I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, and I doubt (at least I hope) that the mods won’t fault you for an y mistake given your circumstances.
{{{CWN}}} <- If you didn’t know, that’s a hug **[/QUOTE
You didnt Zyada, I did screw up and am sorry for it- and yes I did notice the hug and thank you for it
And again sorry for the wrong area to rant-but it seems such a minor thing to complain about
Libertarian sez:
She was paraphrasing, and disagreeing with, the sentiment expressed in the thread title.
On a completely unrelated note, how is it that Sultan Kinkari has 1350 posts, and I’ve never heard of him/her?
Well obviously any people clearing the rubble ARE irrational if they think that this cross is anything but cooincidence -even if they’re not having a picnic out there. But we can all expect people to be irrational.
What I really don’t like is that some moron at Yahoo! thought this “story” deserved some webspace, and without any reasonable person to tell how easily this could have occured.
From the language of the reverand, you’d think he’s starting a cult around the thing.
I suspect that most of the people there see the cross differently than the article implies. I think they probably think of it in much the same way as a cross you might buy or make, except that it is intrinsically connected to the site. Its symbolic power doesn’t derive from a miraculous origin, but from 2000 years of philosophy and culture.
I’m sure that the reporter searched pretty hard to find the guy who would call it a miracle - miracles are bigger news than sad, solemn symbols.
And, as has been said before, the people working in that site need whatever help - spiritual or psychological - they can get. I’m not at all religious, but I hope their faith can comfort them.
Who the hell cares what you think about whether it is an “inclusive symbol”, or that it is “unwise to foster any inter-religious tensions”?!?! **
[/QUOTE]
I apologize, I thought I was posting in the IMHO forum. BTW, IIRC IMHO means In My Humble Opinion.
I was at ground zero last week and had they had the cross up I would have had no shame in voicing my opinion, had I been able to get closer than four blocks from the wreckage.
When I was a kid my mom used to say, “Quit playing with your food and eat it.” So why don’t they take that cross to the big rubble pile in New Jersey where it belongs. Seriously, a cross doesn’t belong there. It’s tacky.
Actually people,
I have a better idea. Why don’t they build the new WTC towers in the shape of a big cross. Too outlandish? Not inclusive enough? YA DAMN STRAIGHT!
Exactly. I don’t believe it to be an Act of God any more than the next guy, but what I do believe is that these people are comforted by its presence. That’s all that really matters.
Some people dislike organized religion of any sort because they feel like it’s used as a weapon against people who don’t believe the same way. The same can be said about fighting ignorance. Maybe we’re pounding the drums for fighting ignorance when we should be showing a little understanding and compassion for others.
Tell you what Sultan, why don’t you take yourself back to Ground Zero and try hauling the cross to Jersey? And then, if the workers there don’t take you out back and kick your ass, we’ll all know the meaning of Act of God.
Present for you, Sultan. I wrapped it with a bow and everything.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=91564
Yes, you are correct. What we need definitely need right now is more violence. So then I pull out my stun gun and reduce them all twitching in lumps on the concrete in the name of self-defense. Not to mention that assault is a felony that will difinitely land them in jail. You want to know what else is a felony? Hijacking a plane and flying it into the WTC. What a viscious little circle life is.
Or maybe I could just show them the Star of David that I wear around my neck, tell them about my other Jewish friends that worked in the WTC and ask them whay my God didn’t drop a freaking Star of David out of the sky. Oh, I guess it wouldn’t be likely that a Star of David would just appear in the rubble because they are a slightly more complex symbol. Christians are so damn lucky. Their symbol shows up everywhere, and this whole time I thought they were just excited because they found a chunk of metal that looked like a big “T”.