Remove The Cross From The Chapel Of William And Mary College
Robert Paul Reyes
February 04, 2007
Symbols are important; certain symbols or icons like the American flag unite us. Most Americans, except for a few anarchists and malcontents, feel a sense of pride and unity when they see Old Glory waving in the breeze.
Other symbols, especially religious emblems, are divisive. When Muslims see the Islamic crescent moon they feel a sense of religious pride, but the same image instills in me a sense of dread and apprehension. It’s ridiculous and pathetic that, in the 21st century, millions worldwide still worship a moon God. To be fair, I’m a freethinker who can’t abide any organized religion.
There is a controversy brewing over the removal of a cross from the chapel of the college of William and Mary.
From ABC News:
William and Mary, founded by royal charter in 1693 with a mission that included training Anglican ministers, is the nation’s second-oldest university after Harvard.
William and Mary became a public school in 1906.”
Gene R. Nichol, the school’s president, ordered the cross removed in October to make the chapel more inviting to students of all faiths and creeds.
From ABC News:
In response to early protests, Nichol decided in December to return the cross to the chapel on Sundays, and he recently created a committee that will examine the role of religion at public universities and the use of the chapel.”
William and Mary is a public school, and it has a student body that is as religiously diverse as America. The chapel should be a place where students of all faiths will feel welcome and comfortable.
President Nichol did the right thing when he removed the cross from the chapel in October, and he did the wrong thing when he gave in to pressure and returned the cross to the chapel on Sundays.
Some Christians are not content with having the cross in the chapel on Sundays, they want it to permanently stay there.
The cross should be permanently banned from the chapel; that Christian symbol is like a sign that reads “Muslims, Jews, Pagans &, Buddhists Not Welcome”.
When students pays tuition to attend William and Mary, part of the tuition goes for the upkeep and maintenance of the chapel. Students who are not Christians help pay for the maintenance of the house of worship, and it’s an insult to them to have to look at a Christian symbol while they commune with their deity.
How would Christians feel if a pagan fertility idol was placed in the altar of the chapel?
A private Christian church can have a hundred crosses, but a public chapel in a public university should have no religious symbols.
Other symbols, especially religious emblems, are divisive. When Muslims see the Islamic crescent moon they feel a sense of religious pride, but the same image instills in me a sense of dread and apprehension. It’s ridiculous and pathetic that, in the 21st century, millions worldwide still worship a moon God. To be fair, I’m a freethinker who can’t abide any organized religion.
There is a controversy brewing over the removal of a cross from the chapel of the college of William and Mary.
From ABC News:
William and Mary, founded by royal charter in 1693 with a mission that included training Anglican ministers, is the nation’s second-oldest university after Harvard.
William and Mary became a public school in 1906.”
Gene R. Nichol, the school’s president, ordered the cross removed in October to make the chapel more inviting to students of all faiths and creeds.
From ABC News:
In response to early protests, Nichol decided in December to return the cross to the chapel on Sundays, and he recently created a committee that will examine the role of religion at public universities and the use of the chapel.”
William and Mary is a public school, and it has a student body that is as religiously diverse as America. The chapel should be a place where students of all faiths will feel welcome and comfortable.
President Nichol did the right thing when he removed the cross from the chapel in October, and he did the wrong thing when he gave in to pressure and returned the cross to the chapel on Sundays.
Some Christians are not content with having the cross in the chapel on Sundays, they want it to permanently stay there.
The cross should be permanently banned from the chapel; that Christian symbol is like a sign that reads “Muslims, Jews, Pagans &, Buddhists Not Welcome”.
When students pays tuition to attend William and Mary, part of the tuition goes for the upkeep and maintenance of the chapel. Students who are not Christians help pay for the maintenance of the house of worship, and it’s an insult to them to have to look at a Christian symbol while they commune with their deity.
How would Christians feel if a pagan fertility idol was placed in the altar of the chapel?
A private Christian church can have a hundred crosses, but a public chapel in a public university should have no religious symbols.
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