You've really got to love these college presidents who think that compromise actually works but don't have a clue about the people they are dealing with:
In a move aimed to appease Christians who were offended by the removal of a cross from the campus chapel, College of William and Mary President Gene Nichol on Wednesday announced a "compromise" that acknowledges the chapel's Christian roots - but keeps the cross stored most times.A plaque over a cross? What kind of Christian would take that deal? I think Klugewicz is right, it's evident that Christianity is in the past at William and Mary College. This is to be expected in a post-Christian society. The symbol of our religion is regulated to storage because it carries no weight in society, it's just one of many religious symbols. It has lost it's power as far as society is concerned because Christianity is no longer central to our nation. We are no longer a Christian nation as we were when William and Mary was founded. So, a plaque or a cross, what does it matter? They are just symbols of the past and share the same meaning. This is the culture that we live in today.
The move seems to have backfired, as a group of Christians who want the cross returned called Nichol's decision "insufficient."
In October, the college president announced the cross would be removed from its permanent position in the Wren Chapel in order to make the building more inclusive of other religions that use the building for services and events.
[...]
In a statement Wednesday, Nichol announced what he called a "compromise." Under the new policy, the school would commission a plaque to be hung in the chapel commemorating its Anglican roots, he said. The cross would also be displayed all day on Sundays.
But it will remain in storage at other times during the week unless the group using the building asks for it to be displayed.
Mathew D. Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel, praised the move in a press release, calling it "a step in the right direction. The plaque commemorating the religious heritage of the school is a welcome addition to serve as a memorial to the religious history of the College of William and Mary."
But other Christians, including some William and Mary alumni, criticized the decision.
[...]
In a statement released by a group calling itself Save the Wren Cross, Klugewicz said the plaque "merely implies that the chapel's Christian identity is part of its past, not its present.
But the good news for Christians is that even though they may regulate the symbol of Christianity to storage, they can't contain the power that it represents because it's the power of God and He can't be held in storage. Maybe those who are trying to put the cross back in the chapel should be working to bring Christ back to that campus as well.
BTW, I know that some will think it strange that I would say that we live in a post-Christian society when we have the day off on Monday to celebrate the birth of Jesus but I think this is just a remnant of our history. It's a Federal holiday, do you think anyone wants to give that up? And as a society Christmas has become a time of celebrating family and friends, not the birth of a Savior. The meaning of Christmas isn't Christ but peace on earth and good will toward men. That phrase means one thing to Christians and another to the rest of the world.
Don't you know that Santa is the reason for the season? Sad but true.
Related post:
Cross Removed from Chapel at William and Mary College
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