or in those immortal words:
Posted on 04/23/2007 1:47:44 PM PDT by Zakeet
The Wiccan pentacle has been added to the list of emblems allowed in national cemeteries and on government-issued headstones of fallen soldiers, according to a settlement announced Monday.
A settlement between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Wiccans adds the five-pointed star to the list of "emblems of belief" allowed on VA grave markers.
Eleven families nationwide are waiting for grave markers with the pentacle, said Selena Fox, a Wiccan high priestess with Circle Sanctuary in Barneveld, Wisconsin, a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
The settlement calls for the pentacle, whose five points represent earth, air, fire, water and spirit, to be placed on grave markers within 14 days for those who have pending requests with the VA.
"I am glad this has ended in success in time to get markers for Memorial Day," Fox said.
The VA sought the settlement in the interest of the families involved and to save taxpayers the expense of further litigation, VA spokesman Matt Burns said. The agency also agreed to pay $225,000 in attorneys' fees and costs.
The pentacle has been added to 38 symbols the VA already permits on gravestones. They include commonly recognized symbols for Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and Judaism, as well as those for smaller religions such as Sufism Reoriented, Eckiankar and the Japanese faith Seicho-No-Ie.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Point up, or point down?
Points to where they're going.
God Bless these Brave Men who gave their lives for the Freedom of Our Nation.
Heros.
Finally. Glad it is settled.
Good for them. They fought for our country, there’s no reason not to bury them under the symbol of the faith that they’ve chosen.
But you know what? If you have died in the service of your country I figure you have earned the right to have what ever you want on your tombstone.
Whatever they want is fine by me.
And rightly so.
Amen!
Whatever they want is fine by me too. I have my own salvation to worry about.
bump
The only people who will care are the families and friends of the fallen soldiers. Though I might disagree with their beliefs, I salute their sacrifice to their country.
Agreed. We should honor their sacrifice in whatever manner their families wish.
Point up, or point down?
Points to where they’re going.
____________
LOL. You are the first freeper I have encountered to ever suggest that Wiccans go to heaven (the point is up, btw).
Die for this country, and you have earned the right to put just about anything you want on your headstone.
VA idiots. This should have been settled a long time ago. If you can put Wiccan on your dog tags, you can have a Wiccan symbol on your headstone.
Thank God! (Yes, I see the irony here)...
Why is this a problem? Not all of us bow to Jesus or Allah, you know.
Agreed. If our government allows Wiccans to serve in our military they should be allowed to have their symbol on their headstones.
If a man is good enough to die for his country, he deserves to have his faith respected in this one, final gesture.
The term "Wiccan" is a made-up word, but is supposed to be an "ancient" variant of the word "witch" in Middle English.
So if "Wicca" has any meaning it refers to the pre-Christian pagan beliefs of English.
In that pre-Christian milieu the "pentacle" was not a known symbol.
It was introduced in the south of France in the 1300s by Christians who were playing at alchemy using symbols they found in Hebrew texts - and these symbols were not associated with pagan magic, but with the numerology of Kabbalah.
The symbol has absolutely no ties to the mythical nature paganism that "Wicca" supposedly is.
Hmmmm, I’m sure the Cult of the Huge Phallus will have a neat design.
In the eyes of a secular government, all faiths should be treated equally.
or in those immortal words:
Put whatever you want on your loved one’s tombstone, but enough with the “ancient, historic symbolism” of a religion that was made up in London less than a century ago.
Not to be confused with Sufism Disoriented.
“They fought for our country, there’s no reason not to bury them under the symbol of the faith that they’ve chosen.”
Agreed. This is American. They’ve fought for the right to believe any way we — or they — choose. It’s very sad this was the choice, but...
The billions of nice folks who don't recognize Jesus as the son of God for starters.
And Superman is Jewish. ;)
It turns out that Superman is Jewish. A lot of people don't know that because it was impossible to circumcise him.
Personally, I just add that to the pile of ridiculous things people choose to believe in the name of religion and move on.
Yes indeed. That lost, wondering tribe on Krypton.
Oh, balls. There isn't a geometrical shape in the world that hasn't been used as a symbol for something since antiquity.
Frankly I don't care if they want a Hula Girl or a #3 inscribed on their tombstone. If they died in the service of their country then their wished should be honored.
There are two questions here:
(1) Is "Wicca" the ancient religion of the pre-Christian British Isles, or a new invention of a recent vintage? The answer is: a new invention.
(2) Was the ancient religion of the pre-Christian British Isles ever known to use "pentacles" as a symbol, or are the earliest documented users of this geometrical pattern Mediterranean Jewish students of the Zohar? Answer: the first people to use this symbol were of a different religion than the pre-Christian British and lived almost one thousand years after them.
Next your favorite sports teams!,
you favorite disney characters!,
why not your favorite film star! let those grieving you think you looked like that famous film star!
Chicago Bulls (Da BULLS) fans, Cheese heads, and etc.
Ever been to a SF/Fantasy Convention (Trekies, Strazinkites, and Star Wars fans).
Groupies everywhere, but ELVIS has left the building.
It is a religion for some of these people, so why not?
Worship the comic.
Of course I am opposed to such lunacy (another religion).
Their wish or someone else’s wish?
Only if the Dervishes over whirl...
So? If I were still in Scientology and died in service of my country, I would want the S and Double Triangle on my marker.
His wish.
Not relevant in any way.
If this hero believed in it, if it was his faith, than it is every bit as legitimate as Christianity when it comes to recognizing his faith on his grave.
I personally think that Scientology is a silly religion, but I would never be so crass as to say so to the grieving family of a military hero who wanted that symbol on his gravestone.
All faiths were once new, after all. The important thing is honoring the wishes of our dead soldiers, not nitpicking those wishes.
Tee hee hee. See post 39...
A travesty. There are no pentacles at the U.S. military cemetery in Normandy, where our men are buried beneath the cross. The mere suggestion of such a thing would have been met by that generation of American heroes with disbelief and scorn. The first pentacle to appear at Arlington will be a tragic desecration.
If you wish to die for our freedom, you can put anyone or anything you wish on your tombstone.
?
They deserve better from you.
Thank you
Gods warriors are the warpath again....
So what Christianity continues to be made up today as well as several thousand years ago. How long a made up religion has kicked around is its measurer of believability?
Christianity, as a matter of historical fact apart from all supernatural beliefs, is not a made-up religion.
It is true that certain made-up religions like Islam are very much older than the invention of "Wicca."
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