RE: Where?

["Neal Tovsen" <ntovsen@piper.hamline.edu>]

OK...this has gotten WAY off-topic, but I gotta put in my $.02...

> No.  Absolutely not - the Jesus fish are not making fun of another
> religion.  The Jesus fish are not taking a symbolic part of another
> religion and grafting feet onto it(or whathaveyou).

Actually, they are. In fact the majority of supposedly Christian symbols are
"borrowed" from other faiths/philosophies. I'm not saying that there's
anything wrong with it, but Christianity has had a tendency to adopt the
symbols of religions that it displaces. Pentagrams, crosses, and even the
sacred Jesus fish fall into this category. Early missionaries in Europe
built churches on pagan holy grounds, and many Christian holidays coincide
with pagan holidays. Coincidence?

>
> They simply say "this is what I believe in".
>

And why do you feel the need to proclaim this? I would venture to guess that
your reasons are similar to the reasons that people put the Darwin fish on
their cars. There's nothing wrong with that. We could get into a whole
debate about inclusive vs. exclusive symbolism here, but let's not...

> They also imply that Christians are wrong.

Speaking as the pedantic that I am (I see Greg's eyes perk up here), putting
any symbol of faith implies that all others are wrong. This is particularly
true of Christianity, which is very clear about It's "one true God."

> Some Christians choose
> bumperstickers that are offensive, but that is a choice
> they've made(to
> offend, they know it, I'll leave out examples - we've all
> seen them).

Yes, and they will all go to H-E-Double-you-know-what for it!  ;-)

The bottom line contains two points:
1) People have the right to say what they want, no matter how tastless or
rude you or I think it is.
2) The use of symbolism is simultaneously very powerful, yet limited and
elusive. Every time you see a symbol (especially a religious or political
one), it is impossible to determine the exact reason that that person chose
to use that symbol. Symbols by nature are designed to invoke emotion, and
the effect is dependent on *both* the sender and the recipient. Be careful
about drawing conclusions without considering this.

(once again strapping on his well-worn and trusty bullet-proof vest, Neal
signs-off)

OK, so that was at least $.05 worth... ;-)
Neal

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