#Samuel Laycock

[wordsmithnikki]

Real Lancashire Accent: The Pike A Poem By Frank Speak, Read In The Lancashire Dialect

Time to honour our gradely hill – The Pike – with a reading by Frank Speak in the local dialect.

Frank Speak of Blackrod reads The Pike poem in Lancashire accent with Lancashire dialect phrases Pikes arrrs Sez womon In Aggy Cwop Horwich Mon Sez think Thee not Jog on Borth sez Belmont lad That hills ars Since me Dars Da Da Da were a Dad All of you Best think on Lord Lever wheezes The Pike is On my map For the Bolton weavers To roll down on Good Friday and Crack their yeds Folks…

[lancashire-poems]

Th' Village Pedlar

Th' Village pedlar's a jovial owd brick, A merchant o' great local fame; He goes trudgin' areawnd wi' his basket an' stick, An' a few useful things aw'll just name. He 's needles, an' bodkins, an' thread, An' buttons, an' bobbins, an' tape, An' hair-pins for lasses to stick i' their yead, To keep their hair nicely i' shape.

He's wursted a haup'ny a bo, Blue-peawder, an' furniture paste, An' capital mustard i' packets an' o, If yo' think it's noan good yo' can taste. Neaw th' owd pedlar ne'er gets eawt o' tune, Tho' he's bother'd wi' o sorts o' foalk; Iv they vex him a bit, he forgets again soon, An' passes it off as a joke.

He's carried his basket so long, That at last it's become like a charm, An' he'll tell yo' he feels as if sommat wur wrong, If he hasn't it hung on his arm. E'en at church on a Sunday, awm towd, When his mind should be free fro' sich cares, He's o ov a shiver, his arm feels so cowd, For th' want ov his basket an' wares.

He's a Christian i' th' spite ov o' this, Oh, awve often yeard th' owd fellow tell 'At he thowt he could boast o' moor genuine bliss Than even eawr Queen could hersel'. Earthly jewels one sees up an' deawn, He will tell yo' must crumble to dust; But he's livin' in' hopes o' possessin' a creawn, At'll nother turn faded nor rust.

Owd pedlar, aw wish aw wur poor, Trampin' reawnd wi' a basket an' wares: Leavin' blackin' an' blessin's at every one's door, An' trying to leeten foalk's cares. When tha claps deawn thi basket to dee, Whot a gloom will be felt o areawnd! Hot tears'll stond tremblin' i' mony a one's e'e, As they lower thi body i' th' greawnd.

Th' little childer' 'at loved thee so dear, To that spot where tha 'rt buried will throng, An' they'll say, wi' sad looks, "Th' owd pedlar lies here, Come, let's sing him a noice little song." Then they'll deck thi green grave wi' wild fleawers, Pat it closer to keep thee reet warm; An' say, as they leave thee alone a few neawers, "Bless th' owd fellow, he's tackin no harm!" ~ Lancashire Songs, Poems, Tales & Recitations by Samuel Laycock 1886

This one is labelled as a song in the book. It seems to fit nicely to Grand Old Duke of York and similar tunes.

[ukdamo]

What are we to do?

Samuel Laycock - a dialect poem composed during the Lancashire Cotton Famine, 1861-65. 

We’n etton o’ th’ bacon they’n sent,

An’ th’ cloas are gettin’ worn eawt;

We conno pay th’ lon’lords their rant,

An’ credit we’re some on us beawt.

God bless yo! we’re welly o’ fast,

An’ we’ve parted wi’ o’ ‘at we had;

Iv th’ war so mich longer should last,

It’ll nearly drive some on us mad.

Iv we grumble yo’ll say we do wrong,

But o’ pinchin’ we’re getting reet stowd;

Folk conno stond clemmin’ so long,

They’ll be deein’ an’ go eawt o’ th’ road.

No wonder we’re looking so feaw,

Wi’ pinin’ an’ livin’ so low;

For th’ trifle they’re givin’ us neaw

Just keeps us alive – but that’s o’.

Neaw we’d reyther, iv beggars met choose,

Live gradely a bit, do yo see;

An’ then, iv there’s no better news,

When we’n etten o’ up we can dee.

There’s bin plenty provided for th’ poor –

As mich as we need for to-day –

Better use it, an’ trust God for moor,

Nor dee off bi’ inches this way.

Th’ brass wur once rollin’ in loike a flood,

No wonder it neaw comes so slack;

Heaw con it come on as it should,

Wi’ so mony folk howdin’ it back?

It matters nowt what they may give,

We shall ne’er be no better, bi th’ mass;

There’s nob’dy con help us to live,

Except we con get howd o’ th’ brass.

Dear countrymen, help us a bit;

Stur th’ Executive up iv yo con;

An’ tell ‘em yo’ll shift o’ th’ whole kit,

Iv they winna let th’ money come on.

God bless yo, it’s nowt ov a joke,

“At [they] should keep th’ money down theer,

While hunderds and theawsands o’ folk

Are clemmin’ for th’ want on it here.

It’s really a pity to see

Poor men goin’ trudgin’ thro’ th’ street,

As iv they wur ready to dee,

Lookin’ deawn at their hawve shod feet;

Poor fellows ‘at used to do weel,

But neaw they’re ashshawmed to be seen.

For oh! heaw degraded they feel!

No wonder they’n tears in their een.

Oh, there’s lots o’ chaps wish they wur dead,

For it’s better to dee nor to live,

An’ yer th’ childer cryin’ for bread,

When one hasn’t a meawthful to give.

There’s plenty i’ th’ country, it’s true,

But they’ll noan let us have it – O! fie!

It’s a shawm folk should clem as they do,

While there’s hunderds o’ theawsands laid by!

Let th’ Executive do as they owt –

Oather find us wi’ summat to eat,

Or tell us at once they’ll do nowt;

An’ let em be off eawt o’ th’ gate.

We shall never be quiet as we are,

For we conna get porritch enoo –

An’ porritch is very poor fare –

God help us! what are we to do?

[codigoocultocom]

Enoquiano: el lenguaje olvidado para comunicarse con los «ángeles» (VÍDEO)

Enoquiano: el lenguaje olvidado para comunicarse con los «ángeles» (VÍDEO)

De acuerdo a estudiosos de la antigüedad, existiría un lenguaje (ahora olvidado) para comunicarse con los ángeles, y le llamaron: enoquiano.

LEE MÁS

[weirdletter]

The Penguin Book of Exorcisms, edited by Joseph P. Laycock, Penguin Classics, 2020. Cover image by CSA Image/Getty Image, info: penguinrandomhouse.com.

Haunting accounts of real-life exorcisms through the centuries and around the world, from ancient Egypt and the biblical Middle East to colonial America and twentieth-century South Africa.  Levitation. Feats of superhuman strength. Speaking in tongues. A hateful, glowing stare. The signs of spirit possession have been documented for thousands of years and across religions and cultures, even into our time: In 2019 the Vatican convened 250 priests from 50 countries for a weeklong seminar on exorcism. The Penguin Book of Exorcisms brings together the most astonishing accounts: Saint Anthony set upon by demons in the form of a lion, a bull, and a panther, who are no match for his devotion and prayer; the Prophet Muhammad casting an enemy of God out of a young boy; fox spirits in medieval China and Japan; a headless bear assaulting a woman in sixteenth-century England; the possession in the French town of Loudun of an entire convent of Ursuline nuns; a Zulu woman who floated to a height of five feet almost daily; a previously unpublished account of an exorcism in Earling, Iowa, in 1928–an important inspiration for the movie The Exorcist; poltergeist activity at a home in Maryland in 1949–the basis for William Peter Blatty’s novel The Exorcist; a Filipina girl “bitten by devils”; and a rare example of a priest’s letter requesting permission of a bishop to perform an exorcism–after witnessing a boy walk backward up a wall. Fifty-seven percent of Americans profess to believe in demonic possession; after reading this book, you may too.

Contents: Introduction by Joseph P. Laycock Suggestions for Further Reading Acknowledgments   THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST An Exorcism from the Library of Ashurbanipal, Seventh Century BCE The Bentresh Stela, Fourth Century BCE   THE GRECO-ROMAN WORLD Hippocrates, “On the Sacred Disease,” 400 BCE Lucian of Samosata, The Syrian Exorcist, 150 CE Tertullian, The Nature of Demons, 197 CE Philostratus, The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, 210 CE Athanasius, The Life of Saint Anthony, 370 CE   MEDIEVAL EUROPE Cynewulf, “Juliana,” 970–990 Thomas Aquinas, The Powers of Angels and Demons, 1274   EARLY MODERN EUROPE AND AMERICA Desiderius Erasmus, “The Exorcism or Apparition,” 1519 A Possessed Woman Attacked by a Headless Bear, 1584 “A True Discourse Upon the Matter of Marthe Brossier,” 1599 Des Niau, The History of the Devils of Loudun, 1634 Samuel Willard, “A briefe account of a strange & unusuall Providence of God befallen to Elizabeth Knap of Groton,” 1673 The Diary of Joseph Pitkin, 1741 Fray Juan José Toledo, An Exorcism in the New Mexico Colony, 1764 George Lukins, the Yatton Demoniac, 1788   JEWISH TRADITIONS OF EXORCISM Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 94 CE The Spirit in the Widow of Safed, 1571 Exorcisms of the Baal Shem Tov, 1814   THE ISLAMIC TRADITION Ahmad b. Hanbal, “The Prophet Muhammad Casts an Enemy of God Out of a Young Boy: A Tradition from Ahmad B. Hanbal’s Musnad,” 855 CE The Trial of Husain Suliman Karrar, 1920   SOUTH AND EAST ASIA A Hymn to Drive Away Gandharvas and Apsaras, Eleventh to Thirteenth Century BCE Chang Tu, “Exorcising Fox-Spirits,” 853 CE A Fox Tale from the Konjaku Monogatrishū, Eighth to Twelfth Centuries CE Harriet M. Browne’s Account of Kitsune-Tsuki, 1900 D.H. Gordon, D.S.O., “Some Notes on Possession by Bhūts in the Punjab,” 1912 Georges de Roerich, “The Ceremony of Breaking the Stone,” 1931   MODERN EXORCISMS An Exorcism Performed by Joseph Smith, 1830 W.S. Lach-Szyrma, Exorcizing a Rusalka, 1881 Mariannhill Mission Society, An Exorcism of a Zulu Woman, 1906 F.J. Bunse, S.J., The Earling Possession Case, 1934 “Report of a Poltergeist,” 1949 Lester Sumrall, The True Story of Clarita Villanueva, 1955 Alfred Métraux, A Vodou Exorcism in Haiti, 1959 E. Mansell Pattison, An Exorcism on a Yakama Reservation, 1977 Michael L. Maginot, “Report Seeking Permission of Bishop for Exorcism,” 2012 Notes Index

[blprompt]

Image taken from page 127 of 'Warblin's fro' an Owd Songster. With an introductory sketch by W. Trevor. [Illustrated.]'

Image taken from: Title: "Warblin's fro' an Owd Songster. With an introductory sketch by W. Trevor. [Illustrated.]" Author: LAYCOCK, Samuel. Contributor: TREVOR, William - of Manchester Shelfmark: "British Library HMNTS 011652.g.8." Page: 127 Place of Publishing: pp. xv. 376. W. E. Clegg: Oldham, 1893 Date of Publishing: 1893 Issuance: monographic Identifier: 002097103 Explore: Find this item in the British Library catalogue, 'Explore'. Download the PDF for this book (volume: 0) Image found on book scan 127 (NB not necessarily a page number) Download the OCR-derived text for this volume: (plain text) or (json) Click here to see all the illustrations in this book and click here to browse other illustrations published in books in the same year. Order a higher quality version from here. from BLPromptBot https://ift.tt/2Ll0kbx

[mechanicalcurator]

Image from 'Warblin's fro' an Owd Songster. With an introductory sketch by W. Trevor. [Illustrated.]', 002097103

Author: LAYCOCK, Samuel.

Page: 376

Year: 1893

Place: pp. xv. 376. W. E. Clegg: Oldham, 1893

Publisher:

View this image on Flickr

View all the images from this book

Following the link above will take you to the British Library's integrated catalogue. You will be able to download a PDF of the book this image is taken from, as well as view the pages up close with the 'itemViewer'. Click on the 'related items' to search for the electronic version of this work.

[lancashire-poems]

Foot Passengers, Keep To The Right

Foalk tell us there's sarmons i' stones: Excuse me for bein' so bowd, But aw'm just o' th' same mind as Tom Jones, 'At sich sarmons as thoose 'll feel cowd. This 'o mine, tho' it's noan o' th' first stamp, Is as good as this heart can indite; Mi text, taen fro' th' post ov a lamp, Is- "Foot Passengers, keep to the right."

An' furstly, aw'd ha' yo' beware O' that dandy 'at's struttin' through th' street; For he mak's more ado ov his hair, Than he does ov his brains, a fine seet! There's words o' deceit on his tongue, Calculated fair prospects to blight; If yo tread i' his steps you'll be wrong, Young fellows! keep on to the right.

Let the standard yo' go by be true, Measure man by his mind, not his purse; There's mony a great squire 'at's a foo', An' a drunken foo' too, an' that's worse. We'n rich men areawnd one could name, Who are hurried whoam drunk every night, That's no reason why yo' should do th' same, Foot passengers, keep to the right. Let your motives be upright an' pure, Proceedin' fro' hearts fill'd wi' love; Extend your kind acts to the poor, Seek wisdom an' help fro' above. To lead foalk to virtue an' God, Exert o' your influence an' might. Bid 'em guard against fashion's smooth road, Ask 'em kindly to keep to the right. Keep eawt o' thoose man-traps, mi boys, Th' "Pig an' Whistle," th' "Black Horse," an' th' "Blue Bell," They're nobbut owd Satan's fawse toys, To beguile, an' allure yo' to hell! Oh! as long as yo' toddle through th' world, Mak' the law o' the Lord your delight; Let th' chart o' God's truth be unfurl'd, It'll point yo' an' keep yo' to th' right. Th' owd Tempter'll come wi' his wiles, To prevent yo' fro' choosin' th' reet track; Never heed his fine coaxin' an' smiles, But, like Jesus, just tell him t' stond back. I' th' strait narrow way allis tead, Should yo' live till your locks are grown white; - Hoary hairs'll be th' creawn o' your yead, Iv yo'll mind an' keep on to the right.

When dark cleawds o' adversity come, An' hang o'er your yead like a pall, Keep an anxious look eawt for your whoam, An' be ready, your Master will call! When your sky is o cloudless an' clear, When your prospects are hopeful an' bright, Beware! for a storm may be near; Be cautious, an' keep to the right.

When death your last summons shall bring, An' tells yo' t' pack up an' begone, Yo' can calmly, resignedly sing, "Tha'rt welcome, reet welcome, owm mon!" Oh, heaw th' angels i' heaven will rejoice That moment your soul ta'es its flight; An' you'll hear Christ's own welcomin' voice, "Come up hither, my friend, to the right!" ~ Lancashire Songs, Poems, Tales & Recitations by Samuel Laycock, 1886. Been ill for the past week or so, typical timing with Christmas. Coincidentally this next song is one of religion. I'm not entirely sure on any previous songs this one would fit to melody-wise, but it's a nice one regardless.

[lancashire-poems]

Th' Courtin' Neet (Part 1)

It's getten time to leave mi wark, An' wesh and dress misel'; Becose to neet, at th' edge o' dark, Aw meet wi' Rosy Bell; Before aw left, last Sunday neet, Aw grasp'd her hont i' mine, An' promised her, iv o wur reet, Aw'd go,if it wur fine.

We're rare an' noicely matched, us two, It's plain enough to see, For nob'dy could mak' more ado Nor Rosy does o' me; We allis meet abeawt one place, At th' end o' th' garden wo; Hoo grins an' laughs all o'er her face, Aw grin an' laugh an o.

Her mother looked as shy as owt, Th' furst neet aw went i' th' heawse, Aw durs'nt speak, nor cough, nor nowt, But ceawer'd theer loike a meawse. At last aw towd 'em what aw meant, An' them aw coom away; An', bless yo're loife, th' next time aw went Hoo ax'd me to mi tay.

An' neaw awm just as welome theer As ony lad i' th' teawn; They allis reach me th' two-arm cheer. An' tell'n me t' sit me deawn. Th' owd chap's a horse worth twenty peawnd, Beside' a lot o' ceaws; An' a bit o' rare good pasture greawnd Comes frontin' up to th' heawse. He's six fine pigs he says he's bred Off Dicky Hampson's sue: Awm welly sure, when Rosy's wed, He'll give her one or two. Yo' needn't think awm after th' brass, For aw wouldn't thank for th' spot, Wi' th' pigs, an' th' ceaws, an' o he has, Unless aw'd her i' th' lot.

Aw've never bin so long to th' schoo', But still aw'm noan a flat, Aw think aw've what'll help me through- Up here, inside mi hat. Iv theyn a table, or a bed, They want to give away, When me an' Rosy's getten wed, Aw'll fetch 'em ony day.

A new-laid egg or two fro' th' hen, Aw shouldn't scorn, not I; Nor a good fat rabbit neaw an' then,- Aw loike a rabbit pie. But yonder sonds mi darlin' dear, Hoo's lookin' eawt o' th' dur; It's no use ceawrin' grabblin' here, Aw'll go an' talk to hur.

~ Lancashire Songs, Poems, Tales & Recitations by Samuel Laycock, 1886.

It's been a while! I moved into a flat and have been getting back on track of some things. This is a lovely poem, one half of two (coming soon!). I might start mixing up which books I reference, because otherwise at this rate this blog will just be a Samuel Laycock blog for the next few years!

[blprompt]

Image taken from page 322 of 'Warblin's fro' an Owd Songster. With an introductory sketch by W. Trevor. [Illustrated.]'

Image taken from: Title: "Warblin's fro' an Owd Songster. With an introductory sketch by W. Trevor. [Illustrated.]" Author: LAYCOCK, Samuel. Contributor: TREVOR, William - of Manchester Shelfmark: "British Library HMNTS 011652.g.8." Page: 322 Place of Publishing: pp. xv. 376. W. E. Clegg: Oldham, 1893 Date of Publishing: 1893 Issuance: monographic Identifier: 002097103 Explore: Find this item in the British Library catalogue, 'Explore'. Download the PDF for this book (volume: 0) Image found on book scan 322 (NB not necessarily a page number) Download the OCR-derived text for this volume: (plain text) or (json) Click here to see all the illustrations in this book and click here to browse other illustrations published in books in the same year. Order a higher quality version from here. from BLPromptBot http://bit.ly/2HgfHA7

[blprompt]

Image taken from page 234 of 'Warblin's fro' an Owd Songster. With an introductory sketch by W. Trevor. [Illustrated.]'

Image taken from: Title: "Warblin's fro' an Owd Songster. With an introductory sketch by W. Trevor. [Illustrated.]" Author: LAYCOCK, Samuel. Contributor: TREVOR, William - of Manchester Shelfmark: "British Library HMNTS 011652.g.8." Page: 234 Place of Publishing: pp. xv. 376. W. E. Clegg: Oldham, 1893 Date of Publishing: 1893 Issuance: monographic Identifier: 002097103 Explore: Find this item in the British Library catalogue, 'Explore'. Download the PDF for this book (volume: 0) Image found on book scan 234 (NB not necessarily a page number) Download the OCR-derived text for this volume: (plain text) or (json) Click here to see all the illustrations in this book and click here to browse other illustrations published in books in the same year. Order a higher quality version from here. from BLPromptBot https://ift.tt/2PGsRsc

[blprompt]

Image taken from page 258 of 'Warblin's fro' an Owd Songster. With an introductory sketch by W. Trevor. [Illustrated.]'

Image taken from: Title: "Warblin's fro' an Owd Songster. With an introductory sketch by W. Trevor. [Illustrated.]" Author: LAYCOCK, Samuel. Contributor: TREVOR, William - of Manchester Shelfmark: "British Library HMNTS 011652.g.8." Page: 258 Place of Publishing: pp. xv. 376. W. E. Clegg: Oldham, 1893 Date of Publishing: 1893 Issuance: monographic Identifier: 002097103 Explore: Find this item in the British Library catalogue, 'Explore'. Download the PDF for this book (volume: 0) Image found on book scan 258 (NB not necessarily a page number) Download the OCR-derived text for this volume: (plain text) or (json) Click here to see all the illustrations in this book and click here to browse other illustrations published in books in the same year. Order a higher quality version from here. from BLPromptBot http://ift.tt/2f0WxQd

[maxwellyjordan]

Symposium: Decision does not support new Christian-only monuments

Holly Hollman is general counsel for the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, which submitted an amicus brief in support of the respondents in The American Legion v. American Humanist Association.

When the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in the Bladensburg cross case, many church-state separationists feared a sweeping decision that would fundamentally alter the court’s religious liberty law in harmful ways. The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC) was particularly concerned about arguments that would desacralize the pre-eminent symbol of Christianity in order to justify its display on government land. In a brief written by church-state scholar Douglas Laycock and joined by Christian and Jewish organizations, BJC urged the court to reject the radical arguments of the government and its allies. Simply put, “The cross is not a secular symbol, and neither the Commission nor the Court can make it so.”

After briefing and oral argument, it seemed the court might take a narrower path — one that would retain this particular decades-old cross without clearing a constitutional path for similar government monuments today. That is exactly what the court did in a splintered 7-2 decision that reflects sharp divisions on the court about the history and scope of the religion clauses. The court ruled that this particular cross can remain in place on government property. Importantly for our pluralistic society and the promise of equality without regard to religion, the decision does not support the constitutionality of Christian-only monuments sponsored by government today.

Avoiding religious divisiveness has long been a concern of the First Amendment, which prohibits any law “respecting an establishment of religion” and protects the free exercise of religion. These religious-liberty provisions are credited for keeping the government itself from advancing religion, as well as for preventing the government from undue interference or involvement in religious matters. In general, they protect religious liberty by keeping government out of religion, at least for the most part.

But the Supreme Court is often deeply divided on the meaning and application of religious-liberty law, as this decision illustrates. The separation of the institutions of religion and government, which encapsulates our constitutional design, harkens to experience from the founding era, including the mistreatment of Baptists and other religious dissenters. It has provided religious freedom often envied by those in other countries. But in public debates, separation is also routinely denigrated as hostility toward religion, particularly by the Christian majority that in many cases has taken its freedom and privilege for granted. Justices have often noted the difficulty in striking the right balance and avoiding public misperceptions.

The Supreme Court’s establishment clause jurisprudence is also famously complex. The court applies a variety of tests to different types of cases. The best known is the three-part Lemon test, which has been the target of critics on and off the court. That criticism is now catalogued in the court’s opinion, an opinion that thankfully does not disregard the relevance of government purpose and effects in deciding the constitutionality of a government-sponsored religious display.

Instead, the majority decision, written by Justice Samuel Alito, relies heavily on the longstanding nature of the memorial to uphold its constitutionality. Alito emphasized the facts of this particular memorial that warranted a finding of constitutionality when weighed against the divisiveness of removal. The memorial was dedicated more than 90 years ago and remained unchallenged for decades. The memorial’s design stemmed from the context of World War I. It was dedicated to a particular group of individual soldiers from the area (at least originally); its history lacked proof of explicit intent to disrespect diversity and divide citizens; and its longstanding presence made it a recognizable community landmark valuable to the community’s identity.

Under these circumstances, the majority found that removing the cross would not appear neutral toward religion, but instead would appear to evince hostility and threaten divisiveness that the religion clauses are meant to avoid, especially to the local community.

While the decision maintains a massive Christian symbol on government land, two explicit threats were avoided. First, the court rejected arguments to abandon all concern for neutrality among competing faiths by limiting its holding to the past. Second, the court avoided relying on false claims that the cross has an objective and secular meaning as a universal symbol for sacrifice.

It is foreseeable that advocates who favor government-sponsored religion will use the court’s decision upholding the 90-year old Bladensburg cross to reach for greater changes in the law. They will confuse the role of the facts in this case with the proper role of history in establishment clause jurisprudence to continue to argue for a “history and tradition” test. The decision, however, does not clear a path for similar monuments in the future. The majority opinion states: “Retaining established, religiously expressive monuments, symbols, and practices is quite different from erecting or adopting new ones.”

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg filed a powerful dissent, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, from which she read a portion from the bench. By documenting the massive nature and undisputed prominence of the cross in a busy intersection, she countered any notion that this particular memorial can be seen as having only some incidental religious significance. Neither its context nor its symbolism is analogous to cases involving the Ten Commandments. She aptly described the majority’s decision as eroding the court’s commitment to neutrality, at least with regard to longstanding monuments, symbols and practices that now appear to enjoy a presumption of constitutionality.

The dissent reiterates and expands upon what the majority acknowledges: The cross is a Christian symbol and has been since at least the fourth century. Citing from the BJC brief, Ginsburg described the specific and exclusive meaning of the cross: “The cross is the central symbol of Christianity, invoking the central theological claim of Christianity: that the son of God died on the cross, that he rose from the dead, and that his death and resurrection offer the possibility of eternal life.” Because it symbolizes these beliefs, the cross is a common marker for Christians and not for those of other faiths.

Ginsburg’s dissent explains that a starkly religious message like that symbolized by the Bladensburg cross is not diminished because it dates to World War I, when crosses were common grave markers for U.S. soldiers overseas, noting that the graves of Jewish soldiers were marked with the Star of David. Citing history and precedence, she explains the essential role of government neutrality in protecting individual religious liberty without watering down religious messages.

Honoring veterans does not require altering our country’s commitment to religious liberty, which demands government neutrality among different religious traditions. Thousands of war monuments demonstrate that. Regardless of how this case will be used beyond the specific contexts of religious displays, the majority opinion is commendable for clarifying the important distinction between religious expression that reflects an aspect of an individual’s chosen faith and a government effort to sponsor a religion-specific monument to honor those who would not choose it.

While it is difficult to reconcile the promise of religious liberty for all while upholding a massive Latin cross on government land, the court’s narrow opinion should limit the potential damage of its ruling. The court was right to avoid adopting any of the petitioners’ secular rationalizations for the cross and their poorly articulated tests that would have given carte blanche to erect new crosses.

The post Symposium: Decision does not support new Christian-only monuments appeared first on SCOTUSblog.

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[mechanicalcurator]

Image from 'Warblin's fro' an Owd Songster. With an introductory sketch by W. Trevor. [Illustrated.]', 002097103

Author: LAYCOCK, Samuel.

Page: 187

Year: 1893

Place: pp. xv. 376. W. E. Clegg: Oldham, 1893

Publisher:

View this image on Flickr

View all the images from this book

Following the link above will take you to the British Library's integrated catalogue. You will be able to download a PDF of the book this image is taken from, as well as view the pages up close with the 'itemViewer'. Click on the 'related items' to search for the electronic version of this work.

[mechanicalcurator]

Image from 'Warblin's fro' an Owd Songster. With an introductory sketch by W. Trevor. [Illustrated.]', 002097103

Author: LAYCOCK, Samuel.

Page: 321

Year: 1893

Place: pp. xv. 376. W. E. Clegg: Oldham, 1893

Publisher:

View this image on Flickr

View all the images from this book

Following the link above will take you to the British Library's integrated catalogue. You will be able to download a PDF of the book this image is taken from, as well as view the pages up close with the 'itemViewer'. Click on the 'related items' to search for the electronic version of this work.