Cardinal Keith O'Brien urges Christians to 'proudly' wear cross

[muriel_volestrangler]

Britain's most senior Roman Catholic Church cleric has called for Christians to wear a cross every day.

In his Easter Sunday sermon, Cardinal Keith O'Brien will tell worshippers to "wear proudly a symbol of the cross of Christ" each day of their lives.

The leader of the Church in Scotland, he will voice concern at the growing "marginalisation" of religion.

His comments come as a case is going to the European Court of Human Rights to allow employees to wear crosses.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-17611036

(It should be noted that the cases to 'wear crosses at work' are about wearing crosses when other jewellery is banned)

I think the cardinal is suffering from turban and hijab envy - he wants his own gang colours, now that you can't assume the typical person in the UK is Christian.

[SamG]

1. Nice points, love that "gang colors" image!

Sociologcially speaking, most groups and affiliations have similarities, either a gang, or a religion, or something in between. There's a need for herd affiliation among all mammals, this is pretty well documented in the wild, in those close bred offspring, it pops up here and there in various fights for survival among the close to extinct herds.

Borrowing partly from animal husbandry, and from sociology, a nexus point where threats of extinction exist.

[2ndAmForComputers]

2. The cases to 'wear crosses at work' are about wearing crosses when other jewellery is banned.

Amazing how the Oh Poor Me I Am So Persecuted Brigade makes such a valiant effort not to let that tiny bit of information be known.

[Hugabear]

3. In other words, he wants followers to flaunt their religion in our faces

How noble.

[Thats my opinion]

5. I don't know about Britain, but in the US, the Constitution affirms the practice of religion

Tell us why you object to that freedom?

[darkstar3]

6. By individuals, and never with the support of the state.

[zbdent]

7. or the ENFORCEMENT by the state ...

[Hugabear]

8. Nice strawman.

Show me where I ever stated that.

[skepticscott]

10. No, it doesn't...why are you making things up?

The US Constitution prohibits the government from restricting the free exercise of religion. It affirms nothing. It does not require the government to help promote or support religion or religious practices or endorse religious beliefs, nor does it apply to private employers.

And accusing someone of objecting to that freedom when you know full well that they did no such thing is dishonest. Wouldn't you agree? I would say it even qualifies as a Personal Attack.

[LeftishBrit]

11. People should have that freedom...

and I think that unless there are safety concerns, or people are truly inappropriate and outrageous in their workplace appearance, employers should not be telling adults what they can or cannot wear. (There are special situations where a uniform is justifiable, but this is not relevant here.) There are in fact very few employers who have banned the wearing of crosses, and it is certainly not something imposed by the government

However, it is one thing to defend people's freedom to wear crosses if they choose to do so; another for a religious leader to instruct them to do so as a sort of protest against secularism. It would be one thing if wearing a cross were in fact a requirement of the Christian faith; but this is basically an act of defiance for the sake of defiance - and an unnecessary one, as society is not banning or suppressing crosses or Christianity.

In fact this issue is fairly trivial in either direction. It does me no harm, whether people do or don't wear crosses. What does bother me, is that Keith O'Brien is applying this aggressive anti-secularism to other, more important issues:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/9121424/We-cannot-afford-to-indulge-this-madness.html

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/british_government_systematically_attacking_family_values_cardinal_obrien_states/

Once relatively liberal, he seems to have become a self-appointed standard-bearer for the British Christian Right; and this issue of the crucifix is just one minor symptom of that.

[CJCRANE]

4. I thought pride was a sin. Also, did Jesus ask his followers to wear crosses?

I don't think so. He asked them to help the poor and the sick.

It would be better for Christians to exhibit some 'Christian' behavior in helping their fellow man (and woman) instead of playing catch up with other religions by having special things to wear.

[Hugabear]

9. He also instructed them to pray in private

And not to make a big display of their prayer.