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Philip Paulson, who filed suit to remove Mount Soledad cross, dies at 59
San Diego Union ^ | 24 OCT 2006 | Kelly Thornton

Posted on 10/25/2006 6:15:14 PM PDT by radar101

Philip Kevin Paulson, who fought a 17-year legal battle to remove the Mount Soledad cross from public property, died Wednesday of liver cancer. He was 59.

Paulson, a 6-foot-5 Vietnam veteran who lived in City Heights, became so passionate about the separation of church and state that he filed a civil lawsuit against the city of San Diego in 1989 without an attorney. He won the case, and as the appeals dragged on he became one of the county's most reviled and respected characters.

The Cross

Typical Memorial Plaque around base

During interviews with The San Diego Union-Tribune in September and October, a few months after doctors told him he did not have long to live, Paulson said he was unconcerned about death and proud of the stand that defined his life.

“The real message is equal treatment under the law, and religious neutrality. That's the purpose of why I did it,” said Paulson, who turned away from religion early in life. “It has nothing to do with me being an atheist or whether I was a Bible-thumping fundamentalist Baptist preacher.”

Paulson, the grandson of a Lutheran preacher who shunned media attention to protect the case, agreed to exclusive interviews on the condition that his comments remain confidential until his death or the end of the case.

He said he wanted people to understand why he pursued the removal of the cross, and that he was never motivated by a hatred of Christians.

“I don't harbor those kind of feelings,” Paulson said. “My mother's a Christian. I was raised a devout Christian. I'm not anti-Christian. The reason I did it is because it's not fair to the other religions. America is not just the Christian religion.”

Paulson, who grew up in Clayton, Wis., a town of 300 people, taught computer and business classes at National University.

When it became clear last summer that Paulson's condition was terminal, he and his lawyer, James McElroy, made plans to add another plaintiff to the case so that it could continue. The city has agreed to the move, although the change awaits the judge's signature. The new plaintiff, Steve Trunk, is a Vietnam war veteran, an atheist and also the product of a religious upbringing.

The city has argued that while the cross has religious significance, it also has a secular purpose – to honor war veterans. Paulson contended the memorial portion of the hilltop site was built only after he filed suit. The cross is a religious symbol that should be moved from public land, Paulson contended.

President Bush signed a bill this year that transferred ownership of the cross and war memorial site to the Department of Defense.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: aclu; athiest; mountsoledadcross; mtsoledad
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To: Mr. Brightside
These type comments remind me why I am glad HE is God, versus those "Christians" who enjoy seeing people going to hell.

Just for the heck of it, would you enjoy knowing that any of the following people are burning (or will burn) in Hell? (or if not 'enjoy', would you at least be gratified?):

a.) Adolf Hitler

b.) Joseph Stalin

c.) Mao tse Tung

d.) Osama bin Laden

e.) Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

f.) Mohammed Atta

g.) Kim Jong Il

h.) Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini

There are a few examples to get you started. Should we regret the eternal punishments that such depraved and evil souls are receiving and shall receive from Almighty God? If God Himself sees fit to mete out Justice for the likes of these, who are we to question Him? Indeed, should we not applaud and praise Him for His Wisdom and Justice?
101 posted on 10/26/2006 12:54:06 PM PDT by mkjessup (The Shah doesn't look so bad now, eh? But nooo, Jimmah said the Ayatollah was a 'godly' man.)
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To: radar101

People who attend church regularly live longer on average than people who do not. Several scientific studies have this to be true. So, one wonders if whether being an agressive atheist doesn't hasten one's journey to death.


102 posted on 10/26/2006 1:01:47 PM PDT by WashingtonSource
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To: n230099

This man was as anti-Christian as they come. He lied when he said otherwise.


103 posted on 10/26/2006 1:03:49 PM PDT by WashingtonSource
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To: radar101

Does this moot the lawsuit?


104 posted on 10/26/2006 1:05:23 PM PDT by No Truce With Kings (The opinions expressed are mine! Mine! MINE! All Mine!)
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To: hardworking

The purpose of some people's lives on earth is to show other people what happens when they make certain bad choices.


105 posted on 10/26/2006 1:07:43 PM PDT by WashingtonSource
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To: rahbert
Gaydar alert.

My instant reaction, too. If his lawyer was queer, maybe Paulson was, too. If true, maybe this is why he hated God.

106 posted on 10/26/2006 1:11:17 PM PDT by WashingtonSource
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To: Locomotive Breath

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."


107 posted on 10/26/2006 1:41:25 PM PDT by Diplomat
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To: radar101

>>>James McElroy Chair, Center board of directors, Southern Poverty Law Center<<<

The Southern Poverty Law Center is a Hate Group!


108 posted on 10/26/2006 1:47:09 PM PDT by PhilipFreneau ( Don't be a sucker for the MSM smear campaign. Vote GOP!)
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To: Diplomat
Bzzt! wrong. Go learn about other religions before you toss their concepts around. BTW, I think both the golden rule and the concept of karma have merit but they are not interchangeable.

And speaking of the golden rule, no matter how much I disapprove of a guy, I'm not going to do a virtual dance on his grave because someone might want to come along and do a dance on mine some day and I'd rather not give them the justification. Can everyone else here say the same?
109 posted on 10/26/2006 1:50:04 PM PDT by Locomotive Breath (In the shuffling madness)
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To: Mr. Brightside
I have no want to be God, and you have no argument. Don't put words in my mouth, actually read my arguments. I do not enjoy seeing people sent to Hell, but argue, admittedly to deaf ears, that it is Free Will and Justice that send people to Hell. Troggie
110 posted on 10/26/2006 1:51:24 PM PDT by TrogdortheBurninator (Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum, Soli proscript catapultas habebunt!)
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To: mkjessup
I am becoming quite sure that more people need to read The Divine Comedy, specifically The Inferno where this is all covered. Dante is upbraided by Virgil (the voice of Reason) for pitying those in Hell. They put themselves there by their own choosing! Granted, we are not allowed to damn people to Hell, nor should we hope for it, But, as you have put, by the actions of their lives, we can only assume, people like Hitler, et al, are receiving their Just and Godly reward in the Pit. Troggie
111 posted on 10/26/2006 1:56:18 PM PDT by TrogdortheBurninator (Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum, Soli proscript catapultas habebunt!)
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To: mkjessup

This guy was not a terrorist. He was simply a misguided athiest.

I think God would have been most pleased if the man made peace with his creator before he died.

And Christians should hope for the same.


112 posted on 10/26/2006 2:12:34 PM PDT by Mr. Brightside
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To: TrogdortheBurninator
HOPE you burn to the hell dude

Here is the comment (from Servant of Nine) that started this whole conversation.

I simply think God's people should be on His side, not the "hope you burn in hell" side.

113 posted on 10/26/2006 2:15:58 PM PDT by Mr. Brightside
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To: TrogdortheBurninator

Would it not be more likely that a loving God reluctantly throws into the fire those rejects where they are instantly ended for all time?


114 posted on 10/26/2006 2:16:26 PM PDT by hoosierham (Waddaya mean Freedom isn't free ?;will you take a creditcard?)
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To: Locomotive Breath
BTW, I think both the golden rule and the concept of karma have merit but they are not interchangeable. ... I'm not going to do a virtual dance on his grave because someone might want to come along and do a dance on mine some day and I'd rather not give them the justification. Can everyone else here say the same?

So answering a post from you about KARMA, and having also never posted a single comment about this man means "I am dancing on his grave?"

The only difference between the golden rule and karma is that karma implies that your destiny is determined by the totallity of your actions, whereas Christians believe their ultimate destiny rests in the acceptance that Christ died for our sins in our place. Both imply humans that should be morally good in their behavior, if I can use this terminology. The golden rule is the same as Christ 2nd commandment.

In either case, Christ is asking us to behave in a certain manner; which to me is the same behavior that the teaching of karma seeks in Hinduism and Buddhism.

If you cannot see the obvious and blantant parrallel between these teachings, I suggest you follow your own advice and "Go learn about other religions before you toss their concepts around."

115 posted on 10/26/2006 2:34:15 PM PDT by Diplomat
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To: GadareneDemoniac

Your living a lie. And you are not very literate either.


116 posted on 10/26/2006 4:31:27 PM PDT by phoenix0468 (http://www.mylocalforum.com -- Go Speak Your Mind.)
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To: No Truce With Kings

NO. His Southern Poverty Law Center Attorney signed up another athiest before Paulson died.


117 posted on 10/26/2006 7:04:37 PM PDT by radar101 (LIBERALS = Hypocrisy and Fantasy)
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To: radar101

Paulson 0.0

God . . . everything.


118 posted on 10/26/2006 7:10:47 PM PDT by Quix (LET GOD ARISE AND HIS ENEMIES BE SCATTERED. LET ISRAEL CALL ON GOD AS THEIRS! & ISLAM FLUSH ITSELF)
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To: Diplomat

Ah yes - now you have it. In other religions "good Karma" alone is sufficient to "get you into heaven". In Christianity, "good works" and the golden rule is necessary but not sufficient.


119 posted on 10/26/2006 8:13:38 PM PDT by Locomotive Breath (In the shuffling madness)
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To: Locomotive Breath
In Christianity, "good works" and the golden rule is necessary but not sufficient.

Good works and following the golden rule are NOT necessary in Christianity, just belief in Christ.

120 posted on 10/26/2006 9:16:44 PM PDT by Diplomat
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