Rain God is offensive to Christian

[Borillar]

The article (op-ed) by Jeff Ross is a bit strange. It doesn't say the person who brought the suit is a Christian. It says that the is "identified as a Christian". It's an important distinction. It seems that the suit is about the cost of special license plates rather than the snide way it's portrayed as a religious issue.

Guy doesn't want to spend a few bucks for a specialty plate, but he'll spend a bunch more for a lawyer and a idiotic lawsuit?

 

[hjmick]

I bet someone could make hay out of the "In God We Trust" license plate here in South Carolina...

 

[Gracie]

Title is not quite what I had in mind. Sorry. It should be Rain God is OFFENSIVE to a Christian.

Curious. It's only OK when a Christian does it?

Office of the Governor Rick Perry - [Proclamation] Gov. Perry Issues Proclamation for Days of Prayer for Rain in Texas

What's the difference between mystical chants for rain and mystical chants for rain?

Depends on which sides of the proverbial fences one sits on, I guess.

 

[whitehall]

This whole religious angle stinks. Christians are a hell (no pun intended) of a lot more tolerant of Native American beliefs then left wing agnostics are towards Christian beliefs. I think the good people of San Diego are still fighting a suit by an agnostic (taken up by the ACLU) that he was personally offended by a Korean War monument that featured a 40 ft Cross. The monument to Korean War Veterans was ordered demolished by several (left wing) federal judges and might be gone by now.

 

[hoosier88]

Oklahoma man allowed to sue state over native american rain god on license plate - Autoblog

I need to stop reading the news every morning with my tea. I ruins my day. Like this asshole did. And the asshole judge that is allowing this to proceed further.

(My bold)

Nah, drink your tea in peace. There is no native american rain god on the plate - there's a depiction of a believer or supplicant of the NARG, perhaps. But that's as far as it goes.

& so the state isn't quite depicting & thus endorsing any particular religion. (That might be a hard sell in court. The state can always plead the cost & bother of recalling the existing plates out in the World, destroying the unissued stock, & printing up & issuing something suitably bland as a replacement. For that matter, the NARG isn't even named - can anyone tell us His name, without doing a search on the Internet?)

 

[Luddly Neddite]

What a beautiful plate. This litigation is brought by someone who really doesn't understand Christ or his teaching.

I find this awesome. But then I'm a different sort of Christian.

Who can call this vile in the name of our Lord? Only a fool.

Its not a christian god.

If non-christians have to "respect" christians gods, why don't christians have to show the same respect to the gods of other religions?

 

[Luddly Neddite]

I bet someone could make hay out of the "In God We Trust" license plate here in South Carolina...

Doesn't belong on our money either except, strictly speaking, that is what the US worships. Especially at Christmas.

There is no native american rain god on the plate - there's a depiction of a believer or supplicant of the NARG, perhaps. But that's as far as it goes.

The god I worship is probably not the same god that man worships. Its not my business to tell him his god isn't a "real" god.

 

[hoosier88]

OK, the original inspiration for the license plate is a piece of secular art by a noted deceased Native American artist. See - Methodist Minister Challenges License Plate As Affront To Christian Beliefs « CBS Houston - for an image of the original & some background on the case.

Our complainant, by the way, is an OK Methodist minister whose complaint in re was turned down once before. I think he's SOOL because the original piece is secular art, not sacred art - not a kachina, for instance.

& of course, the switch to this image on OK license plates took place five years ago. Did it take constant exposure all this time for the minister's ire or hackles to be raised?

If it were up to me, I'd apply latches to the whole issue, reprimand the judge who reversed the original dismissal for wasting the court's time, & advise the minister to either render unto Caesar or shut his eyes tightly whenever he happens to look towards his license plate. Or I'd offer the minister a deal - you get rid of "In God we trust" on US money - an offensive statement on coin that goes to poorboxes, taxes & God-alone-knows-what sinful expenditures, & we'll see that the offending image is removed from the licenses.

This image on the OK license is @ least aesthetically pleasing.

 

[whitehall]

The article (op-ed) by Jeff Ross is a bit strange. It doesn't say the person who brought the suit is a Christian. It says that the is "identified as a Christian". It's an important distinction. It seems that the suit is about the cost of special license plates rather than the snide way it's portrayed as a religious issue.

Guy doesn't want to spend a few bucks for a specialty plate, but he'll spend a bunch more for a lawyer and a idiotic lawsuit?

I get it now. Every license plate in Okla would feature the sculpture of the Indian and the guy who is filing a law suit says he doesn't like it and he doesn't want to shell out extra money for a plate that doesn't feature the Indian. The (left wing?) media was quick to pick up on the religious angle but he doesn't claim that his Christian beliefs are offended and the story claims he "is identified" as a Christian. Some people just like law suits and some people don't want an Indian on their license plate. Maybe the guy is offended by the violent image of an Indian shooting a weapon. I know the left wing is desperate for an issue but this ain't it.

 

[Flopper]

I think you can go to extremes on this sort of thing and this may well be one of them.
Apollo, the Greek god of music and the name of the manned mission to the moon.
Jupiter, god of sky and thunder and the name a US missile
US currency carries the statement "In God We Trust".
Bible verses are etched in stone all over the Federal Buildings and Monuments in Washington, D.C
The Washington Monument is a copy of the Egyptian Obelisk the symbol of the sun god Ra.
There have been a number of church related license plates issued.

We have to use some common sense in separation religion and government.

 

[Dot Com]

Native American gods are just as legitimate as any other gods. They are the only non-illegal aliens here as well.

 

[TemplarKormac]

Here are two sides that I see. Only my God can be offensive to anyone else. Being a Christian and all, we aren't allowed to sue if we are offended by a "rain god". But even Atheists are allowed to be offended by my God and sue for it. I can't help but notice the double standard here.

Then again, convicting other people for their beliefs is not part of my faith. If a person chooses to ignore the pleas of the Holy spirit, that is between them and the Almighty. Making a spectacle of yourself as a representative of Christianity is out of line, and is not what Jesus taught us to do. We are to judge one another, not those who perhaps have not grasped the gospel yet. We are to spread the word, not subjugate people.

 

[TemplarKormac]

What a beautiful plate. This litigation is brought by someone who really doesn't understand Christ or his teaching.

I find this awesome. But then I'm a different sort of Christian.

Who can call this vile in the name of our Lord? Only a fool.

Its not a christian god.

If non-christians have to "respect" christians gods, why don't christians have to show the same respect to the gods of other religions?

Well, we see non-Christians or agnostics suing to remove Christian beliefs from the public sight all the time, why doesn't that offend you?

 

[whitehall]

Actually I'm surprised that the ACLU's antennae didn't pick up on the audacity of the state of Okla. to violate the broad restrictions in the modern version of "separation of church/state" with a spiritual symbol on a license plate. Maybe Native American spirituality isn't as offensive as Christian spirituality.

 

[rdean]

Title is not quite what I had in mind. Sorry. It should be Rain God is OFFENSIVE to a Christian.

Curious. It's only OK when a Christian does it?

Office of the Governor Rick Perry - [Proclamation] Gov. Perry Issues Proclamation for Days of Prayer for Rain in Texas

What's the difference between mystical chants for rain and mystical chants for rain?

Depends on which sides of the proverbial fences one sits on, I guess.

Sounds good to me.

 

[rdean]

What a beautiful plate. This litigation is brought by someone who really doesn't understand Christ or his teaching.

I find this awesome. But then I'm a different sort of Christian.

Who can call this vile in the name of our Lord? Only a fool.

Its not a christian god.

If non-christians have to "respect" christians gods, why don't christians have to show the same respect to the gods of other religions?

It's like with gay people. Right wing Christians feel their "rights" are being infringed upon if they can't discriminate. I don't really hear much about that coming from the left even though the right insists it must exist.

 

[hoosier88]

The article (op-ed) by Jeff Ross is a bit strange. It doesn't say the person who brought the suit is a Christian. It says that the is "identified as a Christian". It's an important distinction. It seems that the suit is about the cost of special license plates rather than the snide way it's portrayed as a religious issue.

Guy doesn't want to spend a few bucks for a specialty plate, but he'll spend a bunch more for a lawyer and a idiotic lawsuit?

I get it now. Every license plate in Okla would feature the sculpture of the Indian and the guy who is filing a law suit says he doesn't like it and he doesn't want to shell out extra money for a plate that doesn't feature the Indian. The (left wing?) media was quick to pick up on the religious angle but he doesn't claim that his Christian beliefs are offended and the story claims he "is identified" as a Christian. Some people just like law suits and some people don't want an Indian on their license plate. Maybe the guy is offended by the violent image of an Indian shooting a weapon. I know the left wing is desperate for an issue but this ain't it.

(My bold)

Nah, the OK license plates were switched to feature an image of the Native American five years ago. Other plates, with no or some other image, are available for a fee.

The minister - the complainant - is pretty unclear, for a Methodist minister. Apparently he feels the image is religious somehow, & refuses to have it on his license. He also refuses to pay for no image or some image of his choosing. He is not merely a Christian - @ least, I assume that Methodist ministers have to take some ecclesiastical training, get the appropriate diploma, attend seminary, swear an oath, take holy orders, etc.

He doesn't seem to object to the image of an archer - but then again, I don't understand what he's objecting to. We'll just have to read the transcript, assuming this critter actually goes to trial.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

What a beautiful plate. This litigation is brought by someone who really doesn't understand Christ or his teaching.

I find this awesome. But then I'm a different sort of Christian.

Who can call this vile in the name of our Lord? Only a fool.

Its not a christian god.

If non-christians have to "respect" christians gods, why don't christians have to show the same respect to the gods of other religions?

It's like with gay people. Right wing Christians feel their "rights" are being infringed upon if they can't discriminate. I don't really hear much about that coming from the left even though the right insists it must exist.

Bingo.

 

[koshergrl]

The image isn't of a rain god. It's of a warrior shooting an arrow into the air.

There's no problem with it.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

What if he were Native American and didn't want to display a Christian image on his car?