Deputies were called Sunday when a Christian prayer group and Native Americans faced off Sunday at the Great Serpent Mound, the Native American national historic site in southern Ohio.
The Native American leader who was there says they were trying to protect a sacred site that belonged to their ancestors.
The leader of the prayer group says the mound is a place where dark energy is released into the world.
"I'm not calling the Indians dark," Dave Daubenmire told The Enquirer. "This has nothing to do with the Indians."
It's shocking how much Daubenmire concedes to the Satanic forces of Political Correctness here. In the past Christians would not have hesitated to call the Indians "dark," and worse. Denouncing pagans and calling their gods demons is an ancient Christian tradition. Jesus even called his Jewish (that is, not pagan) opponents sons of the Devil. At this rate, before you know it Daubermire will be saying that there are many religions but they all believe in the same God.
Spirituality is so beautiful. Each man believes that the other has spiritual power that he has to cancel, and which his own god can protect him against, though Daubermire seems to feel more protected than Yenyo. Are the Indians' gods so weak that the Christians can exorcise them? Is "sacred space" so fragile? These are serious questions. I've often seen writings by adherents of the old religions complaining that they had their own earth-based gods of great power and holiness, but then the Christians came along and destroyed them. Why didn't all the earth-based gods get together and give Jesus a wedgie? Why did their power depend on the existence of their temples and shrines, even when their members were an overwhelming majority? It's possible to give secular answers to such questions, but the non-Yahwists should answer them in their terms. Mostly they just whine. If I were a theist, I'd prefer gods who aren't losers; and make no mistake: these disputes are about power and winning, about honor and shame, not about "holiness" and "the sacred."
If a Christian prayer group is such a threat to the Indians' sacred site (owned by an unnamed "nonprofit"), why not counter them with the Indians' own rites -- dancing, chanting, burning sage? Executive Director of the American Indian Movement Philip Yenyo told the Cincinnati Enquirer:
"It's a sacred site for us, but other people with other faith beliefs think they have the right to go there and do their ceremonies. In our opinion, they don't," Yenyo said. "It would be like me going into a church and doing my ceremonies in that church – disregarding and disrespecting their believes."This is as disingenuous as Daubermire's claim that he wasn't calling the Indians dark. I hope that Yenyo does "disrespect" Christian beliefs; why the hell shouldn't he? If he can't lead a purification ceremony in a Christian church, why not do it on the lawn, in the parking lot, even across the street if necessary? No wonder the sacred sites are under attack: he doesn't care about them that much.
It's also great to see the tranquility and peace that Faith and Spirituality bring to both sides, as shown in the lovely photograph above. Thanks to Dave Daubermire and Philip Yenyo for strengthening my atheism on a cold morning.
