The Supreme Court has decided to hear a case regarding cross burning by the Ku Klux Klan. Essentially, some ordinances have been instituted in various parts of the US prohibiting or limiting cross burning within their jurisdiction. Is cross burning a right of free expression? Do you feel the Klan has a right to express itself through cross burning events held in public?

It's called "lighting" a cross, not "burning" a cross. It is meant as a display rather than a destruction. It's an old Scottish rite.

I think it is disrespectful to Christianity and should be banned.

I think you have to realize that all religions "light their religious symbol". All of the religions I had contact with in my youth were VERY vehement that only they had the keys to the truth. Now, they're all backing off of this.
The Catholic Church used to say that only that church was the "one true church". Today, from what I heard, they believe that if a person leads a good and ethical life, that Jesus saving power extends to them too (of course this is anathema to non-Catholics) And Orthodox Jews believed that only they had the true understanding of the Bible.
Now if someone lights a cross to symbolize their religious and
sometime racist fervor, I'm not into it. You want to prove how great your religion is? Live a good life and be a good example.

If a person doesn't believe their religion is the best one, they probably shouldn't bother with it. There's a difference between saying your religion is the best and saying that all other religions are bogus and dangerous. I have no problem with people witnessing their faith to me as long as they don't throw the weight of law behind it. As a former atheist, I am no hesitant to point out the logical fallacies of their beliefs if they bring it up.

The acceptance of evangelism is the epitome of freedom.

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VTHokie
If a person doesn't believe their religion is the best one, they probably shouldn't bother with it. There's a difference between saying your religion is the best and saying that all other religions are bogus and dangerous. I have no problem with people witnessing their faith to me as long as they don't throw the weight of law behind it. As a former atheist, I am no hesitant to point out the logical fallacies of their beliefs if they bring it up.

The acceptance of evangelism is the epitome of freedom.

Most faiths, by their very nature in the monotheistic traditions ONLY believe in their way. At least that's what they held for years. And they did teach that only they have the true interperatations of the various holy books (Old and New Testament, Koran). Every Christian and Jewish sect have that sort of belief.
Polytheistic faiths differed from that. Those faiths believed in their gods but also had room for other people's gods. For example, when the Greeks conquered a people they let the conquered nation keep their gods but made them sort of retrofit the Greek gods into their belief system.
The Greeks ran into resistance from the Jews because the Jews didn't believe in adopting any foreign god. I'm not saying it was right or wrong, but these people clashed based upon this.
Eventually, the Jews managed to divest themselves of the Greeks and the world today is about 1/3 monotheistic in population. By contrast, virtually no one worships Zeus anymore.
And when people used to do business and trade with foreign peoples they used to sort of "trade" gods too. "Oh, you believe in this, we believe in that..."
Of course, in the monotheistic faiths that couldn't be done.
But it's thousands of years after monotheism got started and the whole world isn't converted to it in any of it's major forms.

The Jews ran into problems because they would not adopt the religion of the area they inhabited. By and large, many of these "religions" were control methods. The Priest would decide on a course of "worship" and make everyone adhere to that course. A good example would be temple prostitutes. The people who contributed the most to the city would gain access to the best prostitutes. The Jews refused to engage in these practices which made the local leaders very unhappy. It's like some Christians who try to explain the complexity of the Gospel to me. When I counter with the simplicity of Salvation, they look at me like a burped up a frog.

"gods" in the polythiestic sense were more like medicine today. Having trouble getting pregnant? Try one of the fertility gods. Ask your neighbor what she used and give it a try. Of course, you had to buy the god to put on your shelf and then make sacrifices and there was no HMO for that kind of thing.

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VTHokie

"gods" in the polythiestic sense were more like medicine today. Having trouble getting pregnant? Try one of the fertility gods. Ask your neighbor what she used and give it a try. Of course, you had to buy the god to put on your shelf and then make sacrifices and there was no HMO for that kind of thing.

The Bible also says (paraphrased), "....[if you adhere to my laws, I will give you rain in your due season, and your crops will grow, and you will be fruitful ...]" or words something to that effect.
And Temple cult Judaism needed animal and fruit sacrifices.
Eventually, when the second Temple was destroyed, the Jews had to rewrite the Orthodox religion and quite a few of the commandements (mitzvot) could no longer be performed.
The Jewish religious leaders made a ruling that prayer was the equivalent of sacrifice. And they drew upon the writings of the prophets who said in the Bible that God wanted right action and not sacrifice.
The reason the Romans took over Christianity was to consolidate power. It can be extrapolated that if there's one god, there should be one rightful ruler, who's the representative of that deity.
Nevertheless, Catholics pray to various Saints who have "pull" with God. Some Jews do the same thing with Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev, a Hasidic master who was a Jewish folk hero known for his rages against God for his poor treatment of the Jews. (He didn't do it very frequently though).

How did we get this far off-topic? :)

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VTHokie
How did we get this far off-topic? :)

I was merely trying to show how the god of the Bible was also used as a cure for all ills. Remember how people used to take the pages of the Bible and wrap them around people limbs etc.
The Bible makes explicit promises to reward people who follow the "ways of God", so to speak. As such, it's sort of an "all-purpose" god who replaces untold millions of little, disjoint ones.

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richardmgreen


I was merely trying to show how the god of the Bible was also used as a cure for all ills. Remember how people used to take the pages of the Bible and wrap them around people limbs etc.
The Bible makes explicit promises to reward people who follow the "ways of God", so to speak. As such, it's sort of an "all-purpose" god who replaces untold millions of little, disjoint ones.

Man...are YOU off base! cWhew!