That Infamous Engine of Grief (IV)

Here is another local monument within the outer limits of the OKC metro area.

I find myself wondering whether such massive structures should be considered "graven images" under Mosaic Law. Any Bible-carrying Decalogue-expert fundies gathered hereabouts?

I also find myself wondering whether Xn's believe that there is something particularly special about the cross itself. Would a Messianic sacrifice count for less if an incarnate deity died of, say, TB or AIDS? How about old age? If not, what precisely is the magical mysterious property ascribed to death by torture?

That Infamous Engine of Grief (III)

Wasn't so long ago (only three or four generations back) when the local churches satisfied themselves with symbolic homages to death by torture which were only seven bricks across!

Now that's a far cry from our more modern emphasis on great monuments which can be easily seen for many miles in any direction. Why the churches have turned the volume up so much of late?

That Infamous Engine of Grief (Part II)

Here stands another great homage to an ancient engine of grief, keeping watch over the east side of town some 8¼ miles across town (as the crow flies) from our other great cross.

As it turns out, the background story behind this particular cross is rather more Machiavellian than one might have reasonably supposed. City council intrigue and church electioneering, and other such antics at the crossroads between church and state, that is, Interstate-35 and Old Route 66.

p.s. A shiny new John Adams dollar to whomever digs up the "engine of grief" quote in its original manuscript form. Thanks!

That Infamous Engine of Grief (Part I)

Earlier I alluded to my hometown's proud tradition of prominently displaying a certain engine of grief as a sacred homage to human sacrifice - wherever and whenever possible, regardless of state law. Here for once we have a good news story of a cross restored to its proper place on church property, rather than being held in trust by the taxpayers for the unconstitutional propagation of the Christian religion. Everyone wins!

The monument formerly situated on the state fairgrounds now resides on the narrow DMZ between Quail Springs Baptist and Quail Springs Church of Christ. Your intrepid reporter has confirmed that it remains there to this day, braving no less than a massive church picnic in order to do so.