# How do you get rid of a holy symbol? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 26, 2004, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-get-rid-of-a-holy-symbol/261537 "2004-08-26T02:05:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-get-rid-of-a-holy-symbol/261537/21 "2004-08-26T20:33:04Z")
> [@Fuji Kitakyusho](#): > > The very idea of a physical religious symbol having some sort of intrinsic property that demands respect I find rather odd. By the same token, your post has no intrinsic property that demands respect, but you as a person do. I believe that Adam’s respect is for the people who value the religious symbol. If more people were like him, the world would be a better place. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-get-rid-of-a-holy-symbol/261537/22 "2004-08-26T22:09:03Z")
Thank you all for the nice comments you gave about me. You all know how to make a guy feel good. 🙂 In particular… > [@Liberal](#): > > Wow, you are one beautiful person, Angel Foxtrot. […] Here’s a toast to you, the embodiment of class! […tink!..] > > […] > > …If more people were like him, the world would be a better place. I think this is quite possibly the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Thank you, **Liberal**. As for the crucifix, it is being mailed to the SDMB’s resident iconophile, **The Asbestos Mango**. Thanks again for your responses. Adam ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-get-rid-of-a-holy-symbol/261537/23 "2004-08-27T02:19:02Z")
Can’t you ‘decommission’ an icon, so that it simply becomes a profane object, the same way that you can decommission a church? When I was a kid, the Anglican Church decommissioned and sold a church in the middle of Whitby. The buyers remodeled it into an extremely cool if somewhat disconcerting house. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-get-rid-of-a-holy-symbol/261537/24 "2004-08-27T12:43:41Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > By the same token, your post has no intrinsic property that demands respect, but you as a person do. I believe that Adam’s respect is for the people who value the religious symbol. If more people were like him, the world would be a better place. Fuji made a very valid point. He specifically said he wouldn’t do it in the presence of those who worship the symbol. It’s merely an object to those of us who don’t believe in christianity. His post, on the other hand, is a direct extension of his human self. You cannot deny the fact that he’s a human, whereas most people can (and do) deny the worthiness of worshipping a christian symbol. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-get-rid-of-a-holy-symbol/261537/25 "2004-08-27T13:22:14Z")
**lAgent Foxtrot** , I admire the respect you show for others, however I personally think that you may misunderstand how Christians generally feel about icons. I could be wrong but I would ask of the [29% of the SDMB who are Christians](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=5207263#post5207263) if they’d really be upset if you just threw it in the garbage. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-get-rid-of-a-holy-symbol/261537/26 "2004-08-27T13:26:47Z")
> [@](#): > > Can’t you ‘decommission’ an icon, so that it simply becomes a profane object, the same way that you can decommission a church? Not in the Orthodox church, and, I’d suspect, not in the Catholic church either. Once an object has been consecrated, there’s no good way to unconsecrate it. Even if it’s defiled (like someone broke an icon or turned a church into a latrine (like is happening right now in Kosovo)) it doesn’t revert to being a profane object, but remains a holy object that is now in need of restoration. Us Orthodox are still waiting for the day we can resume services in Hagia Sophia. > [@](#): > > I could be wrong but I would ask of the 29% of the SDMB who are Christians if they’d really be upset if you just threw it in the garbage. I’d be upset, but that’s simply because I believe crucifixes and icons are intrinsically holy objects, by virtue of the fact that they represent God. It would be like throwing away a mezuzah that was left behind. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-get-rid-of-a-holy-symbol/261537/27 "2004-08-27T14:35:33Z")
The answer to the question “How do you get rid of a holy symbol?” is clearly that you should post a thread about it on a culturally diverse internet message board. Personally, I wouldn’t find anything wrong with throwing it away, except that it seems a shame to destroy an ornamental item that someone else might make use of. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2004, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-get-rid-of-a-holy-symbol/261537/28 "2004-08-28T01:45:59Z")
> [@yBeayf](#): > > NOnce an object has been consecrated, there’s no good way to unconsecrate it. Haven’t you ever seen _The Exorcist?_ ---
**Author:** ![laigle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@laigle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/laigle)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2004, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-get-rid-of-a-holy-symbol/261537/29 "2004-08-28T01:54:56Z")
I, for one, vote for a crucifix bong. It would just fit on so many levels. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_On\_My\_Sleeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/77aa72/32.png) [@Heart\_On\_My\_Sleeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_On_My_Sleeve)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-get-rid-of-a-holy-symbol/261537/30 "2004-09-01T04:43:15Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > …The symbol has no feelings, and I assume that if you’re Jewish, you don’t think it’s gonna piss off God for you to throw the symbol out. What, then, is the problem? What harm would there be in tossing it? > > Daniel You never know, even Flanders ate Kosher just to be safe. ;j ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-get-rid-of-a-holy-symbol/261537/31 "2004-09-01T13:20:32Z")
> [@](#): > > Haven’t you ever seen The Exorcist? I have, but it was some years ago. Is there a part in there where a sacred object is unconsecrated? ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-get-rid-of-a-holy-symbol/261537/32 "2004-09-01T15:12:01Z")
> [@The Asbestos Mango](#): > > Sure, I really want it. It would make a welcome addition to my icon corner. Cool! I thought mine was unique. Years ago I was at a flea market and found a box filled with “religious stuff”. Crosses, crucifixes(sp?), pictures, fishies, even a little gold horseshoe filled the box. I created a space on the wall where they are displayed. And I am an agnostic with atheistic leanings. But you can’t be too careful nowadays. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-get-rid-of-a-holy-symbol/261537/33 "2004-09-01T19:51:58Z")
> [@yBeayf](#): > > I have, but it was some years ago. Is there a part in there where a sacred object is unconsecrated? Speaking of that scene in **The Exorcist** , the above question would be a bit of an understatement. However, just to give your memory a nudge, think hormones, applicable entrances and exits and about the _most_ profane thing a female _could_ use a cross for. Hope that explains it delicately enough. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-get-rid-of-a-holy-symbol/261537/34 "2004-09-02T01:13:58Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > FWIW, I am often involved in setting up and cleaning up after services at my church. This involves cleaning up the unused bread and wine after the Eucharist, and there is a set of rules for disposing of these. > > The bread is crumbled and thrown to the birds. The leftover wine, and the first rinsing of the chalice that held the wine, is poured onto the bare earth, as Jesus’ blood was spilled onto the ground. And there is a prayer that we say as we do it. > > Your scruples do you honor, **Agent Foxtrot**. > > Regards, > Shodan Whoa, never heard of this. What religion? I was always taught that if the eucharist is blessed, it MUST be consumed. I remember one service in particular (a youth service), Sister Pat went around giving out extra bits of eucharist, as the priest had blessed too many. (Catholic) ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-get-rid-of-a-holy-symbol/261537/35 "2004-09-02T01:30:09Z")
> [@](#): > > Speaking of that scene in The Exorcist, the above question would be a bit of an understatement. However, just to give your memory a nudge, think hormones, applicable entrances and exits and about the _most_ profane thing a female could use a cross for. Oh yeah. Ugh. It would still be a holy object, though, just a very icky one. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-get-rid-of-a-holy-symbol/261537/36 "2004-09-02T11:20:26Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Fuji made a very valid point. He specifically said he wouldn’t do it in the presence of those who worship the symbol. It’s merely an object to those of us who don’t believe in christianity. > > His post, on the other hand, is a direct extension of his human self. You cannot deny the fact that he’s a human, whereas most people can (and do) deny the worthiness of worshipping a christian symbol. Setting aside the fact that, for all I know, he could be a web bot, and setting aside the fact that I know of no one who worships _any_ symbols, Christian or otherwise, a faded and scratched photograph is merely an object to those of us who don’t know the photo’s subject. But if we were to know, as Agent Foxtrot did, that there were people to whom the photo was dear and meaningful, then finding one of them to give it to is a superior moral decision to tossing it in the trash. Whom would you prefer as a neighbor, Agent Foxtrot or his antithesis? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-get-rid-of-a-holy-symbol/261537.md?page=1)