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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: radar101

You mess with The Man and you will get burned.


41 posted on 10/25/2006 6:52:09 PM PDT by NCC-1701 (To boldy go where no FReeper has gone before. Live long and prosper.)
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To: Alter Kaker
Technically, no. Only the meat dies. But for some, that is all they have, or at least acknowledge.
42 posted on 10/25/2006 6:52:31 PM PDT by Dead Dog
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To: radar101

Well, he won't be winning THIS one on appeal...


43 posted on 10/25/2006 6:52:39 PM PDT by Tall_Texan ("Journalislam" - reporting about murderous extremists as if they are moral equivalents.)
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To: radar101

SAINT PETER: Howdy, Phil.

PHIL: Who're you.

SAINT PETER: I'm the receptionist. Take a seat. the COO will be here shortly.

PHIL: COO?

JESUS: Hello, Phil.

PHIL: Who're you?

JESUS: Da guy on da cross, Phil. Phil? Phil? Wake up, Phil.


44 posted on 10/25/2006 6:52:44 PM PDT by hardworking (Just once, I'd like to vote for a candidate who's actually had to meet a payroll.)
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To: radar101

What a shame all around....

When Paulson, an atheist, was lying in his casket, you cant help but feel sorry for the s.o.b.-
All dressed up and No Where To Go .....


45 posted on 10/25/2006 6:53:34 PM PDT by austinmark ("May the Flea's of a Thousand Camels Nest in ALLAH's Pubic Hair" !!!)
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To: radar101
"It has nothing to do with me being an atheist or whether I was a Bible-thumping fundamentalist Baptist preacher.”

Does too. Just look at which one's whining.

46 posted on 10/25/2006 6:54:46 PM PDT by bannie
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To: radar101

Good!


47 posted on 10/25/2006 6:56:52 PM PDT by sport
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To: Locomotive Breath

ping


48 posted on 10/25/2006 7:07:20 PM PDT by Dick Vomer (liberals suck......... but it depends on what your definition of the word "suck" is.)
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To: radar101

I bet he isn't an athiest now.


49 posted on 10/25/2006 7:08:31 PM PDT by tiki
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To: Locomotive Breath
Jude 1:4

For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

2 Peter 2:1

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Mark 8:38

If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."

Psalm 81:15

Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever

Exodus 20:5

You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

it aint about "karma"... but more..... ironic doncha think....like rain on your wedding day.....

like a free ride when you've already paid.....

50 posted on 10/25/2006 7:21:20 PM PDT by Dick Vomer (liberals suck......... but it depends on what your definition of the word "suck" is.)
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To: Locomotive Breath
I can't find Karma in my Bible. Can you cite chapter and verse?

Try looking up principles like "as you reap, so shall you sow", "doing unto others as you would have them do unto you". In a legal sense, Paulson essentially declared war against the Mount Soledad cross, a cross that is the symbol of Christianity. The Cross of Christ represents the free gift of eternal life to all who accept Jesus Christ as the Son of the Living God, who believe that He died upon that Cross as a sacrifice for their sins, and that through Him, they may be reconciled to the Father, their sins are washed away, and their eternity is secure in Christ. Paulson sought to take that Cross away, that symbol of eternal life, and it would appear that God, Who Alone giveth life, chose to take Paulson's life from him.

Let me know how you make out with that, and happy to help. :)
51 posted on 10/25/2006 7:36:11 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: mkjessup; Locomotive Breath

>I can't find Karma in my Bible. Can you cite chapter and >verse?

Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.

Job 4:8


52 posted on 10/25/2006 7:51:54 PM PDT by ROTB (Our Constitution ... only for a moral and religious people... -- John Q. Adams, October 11, 1798)
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To: phoenix0468

He spent years trying to remove a war memorial because it was a cross -- I find his claim that his atheism was not a motivating force for this crusade unbelievable.




53 posted on 10/25/2006 8:07:44 PM PDT by tdewey10 (Can we please take out iran's nuclear capability before they start using it?)
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To: Mr. Brightside

So in a way, he did us a favor

An excellent point. And, interestingly, atheists do cause believers to question themselves, and usually to come away being glad they have their faith. The Lord works in mysterious ways.


54 posted on 10/25/2006 8:26:55 PM PDT by hardworking (Just once, I'd like to vote for a candidate who's actually had to meet a payroll.)
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To: elcid1970
God to Paulson,

"You got some essplainin' to do!"

Ricky's God?


55 posted on 10/25/2006 8:30:08 PM PDT by Revolting cat! (We all need someone we can bleed on...)
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To: radar101

No sense in telling an atheist to rest in peace, so...


56 posted on 10/25/2006 8:31:17 PM PDT by Zeon Cowboy ("Show me just what Muhammad brought... and there you will find things only evil and inhuman.")
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To: radar101

That guy has weird-alien eyes.


57 posted on 10/25/2006 8:33:29 PM PDT by madison10 (Live your life in such a way that the preacher won't have to lie at your funeral.)
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To: radar101

bump


58 posted on 10/25/2006 8:35:05 PM PDT by VOA
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To: elcid1970
God to Paulson,

"You got some essplainin' to do!"

Moses didn't get to see the Promised Land either!!!

59 posted on 10/25/2006 8:35:23 PM PDT by danamco
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To: radar101
I can see him now standing in that BURNING LAKE OF FIRE crying out, "But I really didn't know!" I bet satan is getting a really good laugh out of that.
60 posted on 10/25/2006 8:38:25 PM PDT by Hoodat ( ETERNITY - Smoking, or Non-smoking?)
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