# My drive to work today (multiple Christian fish decals confuse me) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 28, 2003, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-drive-to-work-today-multiple-christian-fish-decals-confuse-me/177995 "2003-05-28T12:43:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-drive-to-work-today-multiple-christian-fish-decals-confuse-me/177995/1 "2003-05-28T12:43:18Z")
So I was just driving to work a little while ago, and found myself behind a van with one of those ubiquitous Christian fish decals (you know the kind). Only this one was slightly different: it had one big decal, followed by three smaller fish. A school of Christian fish decals, as it were. What was up with that? If there were three big decals, that all seemed to merge into one, I’d think it was a clever (OK, maybe not so clever) statement about the mystery of the Trinity. If it was one big fish and _four_ small fish, I’d think it was God (big fish, obviously) with the Four Evangelists. But there were _three_ little fish, with no sign that a fourth had fallen off. So, who were those three little fish supposed to represent? ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-drive-to-work-today-multiple-christian-fish-decals-confuse-me/177995/2 "2003-05-28T13:02:55Z")
My best friend has done this on the back of her minivan. The 1 big fish represents her; and the 2 little fish represent her kids. So in a way it is a school of little fishes… ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-drive-to-work-today-multiple-christian-fish-decals-confuse-me/177995/3 "2003-05-28T13:02:59Z")
Maybe her children? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-drive-to-work-today-multiple-christian-fish-decals-confuse-me/177995/4 "2003-05-28T13:04:10Z")
Heh. Simulpost with DeVena. ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-drive-to-work-today-multiple-christian-fish-decals-confuse-me/177995/5 "2003-05-28T14:49:30Z")
I considered that it probably represented her family, but I decided I’d make it more difficult by interpreting the fish symbol as Christ rather than as “any Christian.” But I suppose that the fish symbol really shouldn’t be taken to mean Christ so much as a follower of Christ? I know that the symbol is derived from the Greek word for “fish” as an anagram for Christ (or more accurately, a title for Christ). And I seem to recall (though it may be purely legend) that Early Christians during times of persecution used to identify themselves to each other by drawing a curve in the sand, which the other Christian would complete by drawing a reverse curve, thus making the fish symbol. Thus, the symbol for the deity of Christianity is bound up with the identity of the Christian worshipper, suggested an interesting process by which the worshipper identifes him or herself with the God that he or she worships. Almost pantheistic! Should I burn her as a heretic? (what is it with me slinging accusations of heresy lately? I called Mel Gibson a heretic in another thread) Nevertheless… if she can use symbols for Christ to represent her family, can I use Darwin fish? That is, if and when I ever have kids. It would be cute, a whole line of little Darwin fish following along after a big Darwin fish. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-drive-to-work-today-multiple-christian-fish-decals-confuse-me/177995/6 "2003-05-28T15:27:13Z")
Huh. I’d be tempted to cut & paste the decal so it looked like the big fish was eating the smaller fish, but that’s just me… ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-drive-to-work-today-multiple-christian-fish-decals-confuse-me/177995/7 "2003-05-28T17:06:10Z")
Well, they had one of those, with a fish called ‘Truth’ eating the Darwin fish, but since the [Northern Snakehead](http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/snakeheadinfosheet.html)’s appearance in Crofton, MD last summer, I bet people with that one get laughed at a lot. ---
**Author:** ![UnwrittenNocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/6de8d8/32.png) [@UnwrittenNocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwrittenNocturne)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-drive-to-work-today-multiple-christian-fish-decals-confuse-me/177995/8 "2003-05-28T17:08:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ethilrist \* > \*\*Huh. I’d be tempted to cut & paste the decal so it looked like the big fish was eating the smaller fish, but that’s just me… \*\* I think I want the Darwin shark eating the Christian ones… ---
**Author:** ![lauramarlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a5b964/32.png) [@lauramarlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lauramarlane)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-drive-to-work-today-multiple-christian-fish-decals-confuse-me/177995/9 "2003-05-28T17:19:59Z")
I like the gefilte fish, personally 🙂