Hard to find a better example of religious intolerance, ignorance, stupidity, and self-defeating attitudes than this:
A sign in front of a Baptist church on one of the most traveled highways in the county stirred controversy over religious tolerance and first-amendment rights this weekend.
A sign in front of Danieltown Baptist Church, located at 2361 U.S. 221 south reads “The Koran needs to be flushed,” and the Rev. Creighton Lovelace, pastor of the church, is not apologizing for the display.
“I believe that it is a statement supporting the word of God and that it (the Bible) is above all and that any other religious book that does not teach Christ as savior and lord as the 66 books of the Bible teaches it, is wrong,” said Lovelace. “I knew that whenever we decided to put that sign up that there would be people who wouldn’t agree with it, and there would be some that would, and so we just have to stand up for what’s right.”
Seema Riley, a Muslim, who was born in Pakistan and reared in New York, was one of those upset by the sign.
She moved to Rutherford County for the “small town friendly” atmosphere, she said. When she saw the sign on the side of the highway Saturday she felt angered and threatened.
“We need a certain degree of tolerance,” said Riley. “That sign doesn’t really reflect what I think this county is about.”
She said that according to Islamic faith, a follower does not even touch the Koran without going through a ritual cleansing. Muslims believe the physical book to be a sacred item that is treated with respect and reverence, much like the image of Jesus in Christianity, according to a report on National Public Radio.
“For someone to put that sign up — the person just didn’t understand — didn’t take into consideration what putting up that sign means,” said Riley. “I don’t think it should be posted on a sign in public viewing on the highway to create a hostile environment for me.”
Yeehaw. While you are at it, Bubba, why don’t you kick all the Democrats out of your congregation. You know they hate your God, too.
TM Lutas
There is a power to religion in the US because Baptists stopped making those signs up about Catholics et a and vice versa. The problem is that there are an awful lot of muslims who have no problem with flushing the Bible. Tolerance has to be a two way street.
There is a muslim civil war on. One of the sides is intolerant and absolutely out to get us both by denigrating all other faiths and by physically assaulting non-muslims. The other is theologically disagreeable to christians but otherwise something that we can live with. The major problem is that you can’t tell the two sides apart because they don’t do the sensible thing and segregate, adopt different badges, and let outsiders know who is who.
Andrei
“Tolerance has to be a two way street.”
Not according to Jesus.
tim
The major problem is that you can’t tell the two sides apart because they don’t do the sensible thing and segregate, adopt different badges, and let outsiders know who is who.
I have the exact same problem with Christians. I wish the tolerant christians would, like, maybe sew a symbol to all their clothing, so that I could tell who the wingnuts are.
syn
Religious Tolerance in America:
Piss on an image of Christ while calling it a great work of art.
What the fuck?
Andrei
“Religious Tolerance in America: Piss on an image of Christ while calling it a great work of art… What the fuck?”
The irony of someone complaining about an extremist in the art world desecrating religion then using language like “what the fuck” is just too classic.
ppgaz
There is no irony in the bizarro world of the right.
It’s a irony-free zone.
(And a science-free zone. A fact-free zone. I distinction-free zone. A consequence-free zone. etc)
KevinA
syn:
If you actually understood what “Piss Christ” was saying, instead of swallowing Dobson’s talking pointa, you would not say that.
The artist, can someone help with the name, was decrying how the world is, wait for it, pissing on Christ. Doing evil in his name, materialism, etc. Anti-religion it is not.
Gary Farber
“…that any other religious book that does not teach Christ as savior and lord as the 66 books of the Bible teaches it, is wrong….”
Be sure to get rid of the “Old Testament,” then.
syn
Since I’m not a Christian, ‘what the fuck’ was mocking you. And yeah, I live in New York City.
Who the fuck is Dobson anyway?
Jon H
“Piss on an image of Christ while calling it a great work of art.”
Actually, many images of Christ were probably made with piss.
A yellow paint, called Indian Yellow, was for a long time made of the urine of cows who’d been fed mango leaves.
So many renaissance paintings of religious subjects probably incorporate some amount of cow piss. The Sistine Chapel may be covered in piss.
Also, religious sculpture was probably treated with piss to quickly build a patina on the metal.
JPS
ppgaz, you describe the Right as “a science-free zone.”
Smile when you call me that.
I might add, you’re apparently irony-proof, since you then refer to us as “a distinction-free zone.”
Now may I ask you, nicely, to watch it with the invidious generalizations?
Jon H
If Serrano had named his photograph “Christ in Amber”, or some such, prints of it would certainly be a hot seller at religious-goods stores.
tim
KevinA: The artist’s name is Andres Serrano.
Jon H
Hm. Serrano. Serrano.
Doesn’t sound Muslim.
Andrei
“Since I’m not a Christian, ‘what the fuck’ was mocking you. And yeah, I live in New York City. Who the fuck is Dobson anyway?”
I never said you were Christian, did I? I just said someone who was making a religious complaint then using harsh language was ironic. I never said anything about you being a Christian.
Learn to read please.
Further, I’m sure many of those who are Christian would prefer the likes of you to not bother trying to protect them given both you’re apparent intellect and your means of expressing it.
JPS
Andrei:
“given both you’re apparent intellect”
Oh ye in glass houses…
TJ Jackson
Sort of like Sen. Reid stating people of religious faith not being able to enforce the laws of the USA? Yes you have to hate that intolerance.
syn
Andrei
Senator Reid’s comment is one reason why I support people of faith, another is having to hear over and over, in one form or another, what “moral retards” religious folks are and my mockery of language comes from years of having to tolerate such intolerable language when spoken by those who are intolerant of religious folks.
Jon H
Interesting information you provided however pissing on something is not quite the same as something made from piss.
Andrei
“Oh ye in glass houses…”
Is that all you can come up with for a rebuttal? I want my $.50 back!
“..my mockery of language comes from years of having to tolerate such intolerable language when spoken by those who are intolerant of religious folks.”
Oh please. You think smarmy phrases like “what the fuck” constitutes “mockery?” [/golfclap].
Like I said… the father’s of my Catholic church growing up would never have wanted anyone using profanity to “protect” or “support” them.
If you actually beleive that using harsh language is some legitimate kind of act used to throw it back in people’s face who are intolerant, and that is somehow acceptable by God-fearing Christians, you apparently have not read the Bible nor been to Sunday school.
Get a grip.
syn
Wow Andrei, around here in NYC you’d be considered an uptight-type for believing the word Fuck is harsh and would be encouraged to loosen your tight-assed ways.
We need to get you a “Fuck this, Fuck that Fuck everything t-shirt”. How’s about a “Fuck Bush, Lick Dick” t-shirt. Where are you from, suburbia?
Calling “what the fuck” a smarmy phrase well, guess you’ve never been outside tight-out assed suburbia or visited NYC’s East Village.
By the way, how does it feel to be ridiculed in much the way an East Village NYC’er would ridicule you for being an up-tight tight-ass?
Understand that you have made the exact argument heard coming from ‘middle’ America regarding the culture wars of language..which I agree is bottom-feeding but I live in NYC where it’s considered cool, hip, and rightous to use such language and am constantly harassed for making the very point you made.
Thanks for supporting all the ‘Jesuslanders’ who are fighting against such cultural degeneration coming from our reknowed reality-based environment of bottom-fed artistic standards.
You are helping to make my point that basically the Liberal Left mocks those religious folks with such intolerant and hateful harshness and that good Americans are tired of such cultural waste.
Good on ya.
tim
Defend Brooklyn!
(The notion that any functional NYC dweller is anything less than religiously tolerant is silly. Yesterday, I made copies at my local Hasidic copy shop, bought a pack of cigarettes from the Coptics working at the Korean deli across from the place where I ate a cheese steak run by Cathoic Italians. How the hell can anyone be intolerant here and function?)
tim
Oops. I didn’t mean to imply that the Catholics run the cheese steak. They run the cheap pizza joint that makes cheese steaks.
TJ Jackson
Tim:
I was wondering if Jews felt safe walking in Crown Heights? Weren’t they the object lession of the universal brotherhood of man NY is so well known for a few years ago?
Course I wasn’t picking on Brooklyn, I seem to remember the Rev Al burning out a clothing store in Manhattan and burning out some Korean stores as well.
Yes tolerance in NY.
Jon H
“Interesting information you provided however pissing on something is not quite the same as something made from piss.”
But that ignores the application of piss to the surface of a metal scuplture. For small sculptures, the item may have been submerged in urine, as is done in the Serrano photo.
If he wanted to just say “Ha, I’m pissing on Jesus, fuck you, Christians!”, he could have just taken a picture of a crucifix in a squalid, nasty urinal, being pissed on.
It’d be funny, if someday it comes out that the photo is actually of a crucifix in honey, or maybe in beer brewed by monks.
If it weren’t for the title of the work, nobody’d know what it is. And, as I said, it’d probably be a hot seller in religious stores.