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Mayor says "Christians to guard Cross"
Manawatu Evening Standard [New Zealand] ^ | September 18 2003 | Bevan Hurley & Susan Fountaine

Posted on 09/18/2003 6:10:20 PM PDT by shaggy eel

The Lions' Den may have gone, but any move to remove the cross atop Palmerston North's clock tower will not happen because we're too Christian, says Mayor Mark Bell-Booth.

His comments come a day after Cr Anne Podd and a spokesman for the Hopwood family, who gave the clock tower to the city, urged the council to remove the cross.

Mr Bell-Booth said the cross was "an iconic symbol" in the city and sent out a positive message.

"It would be the most commonly recognised symbol in Western society, and people choose to wear it round themselves.

"Thousands of (Palmerston North) people would have symbolic crosses that they wear themselves."

Mr Bell-Booth estimated that 70 to 85 percent of local people had a Christian affiliation.

"It's overwhelmingly in favour of the Judaic-Christian faith."

Earlier this week, Cr Podd and Bill Bendall said the time was right to remove the cross as part of City Heart redevelopments in The Square.

Cr Podd said the city centre should be free of religious affiliation. She said designers had come up with new ideas for the clock tower, and they should be considered by the City Heart Steering Committee as alternatives.

But Mr Bell-Booth doubts the campaign to tear down the cross will get much public support.

"I don't think that it's going to gain a lot of traction. Even if the council voted to take it down, I think there would be a huge outcry."

Astrological psychologist, witch and committed Christian Jillian Whyte suggests replacing the existing cross with an Aquarian version that will embrace the whole community.

Ms Whyte said an Aquarian cross would be a more balanced option as the vertical (or masculine) line is the same length as the horizontal (or feminine) line. It also contains two intersecting circles representing heaven and earth.

The Aquarian cross has its roots in Christianity but is more spiritual.

"It's not about throwing the baby out with the bat hwater," she said.

From her Square Edge shop, which was the original mayor's office, Ms Whyte can see the cross. While she has nothing against it, she believes it is dated.

"We're in a changeover period from old to new, so we need to do a new cross," she said.

She predicts the heaviness the city has been feeling will lift if the cross is changed, which will have positive results for the community at large.

"Palmerston North has the potential to lead the way with this," Ms Whyte said.

According to Statistics New Zealand the number of Palmerston North Christians has been steadily dropping over the past decade. But they still have strong support in the city.

In 2001, when the census allowed people to tick up to four religions, Christian religions received 40,035 ticks.

In 1996, people could only affiliate with one religion, and 44,067 had said they were Christian; 47,538 had identified as Christian in the 1991 census.

In 2001, 2370 people were affiliated to a non-Christian religion, 900 were Maori Christian, and 20,727 said they had no religion. There were 4350 people did not answer the question.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: christianity; newzealand; palmerstonnorth
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To: shaggy eel
The kooks on the left never cease to amaze me!
21 posted on 09/21/2003 3:10:58 PM PDT by blackie
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]


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