Oakland Zoo removes Ten Commandments monument

[rug]

By Anna Gallegos Oakland Tribunecontracostatimes.com
Posted: 07/25/2012 02:41:24 PM PDT
July 25, 2012 9:42 PM GMTUpdated: 07/25/2012 02:42:36 PM PDT

The Oakland Zoo removed a monument enscribed with the Ten Commandments from its property Wednesday. days before a planned weekend protest by a local atheist groups.

Zoo officials said the removal had been scheduled previously and was not related to plans by the East Bay Atheists and Atheists Advocates of San Francisco, which intended to picket the zoo to demand that the monument be removed.

"We had been wanting to do it for a long time," said Joel Parrott, CEO and president of the zoo. He said he began thinking about taking down the monuments when lawsuits over the religious displays on public land began arising in the early 2000s. "Now, it just seemed like it was a proper time."

Protest organizers said they were surprised at the zoo's decision but do not think the zoo's timing was only a coincidence.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_21157116/oakland-zoo-removes-ten-commandments-monument

Thank you Joel. I can finally see the penguins in peace.

[Goblinmonger]

1. Zoinks. This WASN'T the work

of nasty Wisconsinites? Who would have guessed it?

[rug]

3. Nope, this time it's the East Bay Atheists.

http://www.eastbayatheists.org/

[dimbear]

2. Authorities brace against an outbreak of coveting of asses.

The quadruped kind.

[rug]

4. Lol.

I love a well-placed remark.

[HarveyDarkey]

5. Sure it was a coincidence

That's their story and they're sticking with it.

[MineralMan]

6. What, I wonder, could be the reason for putting

a 10 Commandments monument in a public zoo? Who would even think of such a thing? Zoos are, ostensibly, places of science, not religion. What can a set of religious laws from who knows how long ago have to do with a display of animals and the work of preserving endangered species? None of the commandments thereon address the issue of animals at all. There is nothing relevant to a zoological exhibit in them.

I simply don't understand what it was doing there in the first place.

[cbayer]

7. From the article, it was there when the property was a state park and before it was a zoo.

Why it was in the state park is not explained.

I think taking it down was the right thing to do.

[MineralMan]

8. I'd have the same question regarding a state park.

For what possible reason would someone erect a monument with the 10 Commandments in such a place?

[onager]

9. To remind us of Noah's Ark, of course!

Which is just a cheap way to rant about one of my favorite awesome incredible Bible movies of all time - the 1999 TV miniseries "Noah's Ark" with...(drumroll)...Jon Voight!!!

Did you know that Lot survived the nuking of Sodom, and during the Great Flood became...(drumroll)...a PIRATE! Yeh, yeh, the Bible says everybody was killed except the Noah Family Unit. But every book needs a little re-writing to make a good movie. I was halfway expecting the scriptwriting credit for this one to be "Ed Wood."

Oh, and that wife who got turned into a pillar of salt? Lot kept one of her mummified - or saltified, I guess - fingers in a jar. Well, what the hell, some sentimentalists keep the wedding cake in the freezer. The really interesting ones keep it in the freezer alongside the late spouse...but I digress.

BTW, the Ark wasn't just stuffed with Two Of Every Kind when it came to critters. Noah's sons all married Hot Babes. They all run around the Ark in costumes that look like they may been left over from that Sodom incident.

This was one movie which, in a display of heart-warming ecumenicalism, united Xians, Jews, Muslims and non-believers in one loud voice - everybody thought it sucked.

My 2 fave scenes:

1. Under the blazing sun, Noah and his sons labor mightily, hewing wood to build the ark. Except we can clearly see the wood is stamped "Georgia-Pacific" and just came from the local Home Depot.

2. An artistic metaphor! Aboard the Ark, one of the Hot Babes cuddles a cute little critter. It takes a big shit right in her lap.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168355/

[MineralMan]

10. Well, I missed one reference to animals in the 10 Commandments.

You're not supposed to covet your neighbor's ass. Now, an ass was a valuable piece of property, since donkeys are very good about carrying things for people. Indeed, an ass carried Jesus into Jerusalem, and asses are mentioned a number of times in the Bible.

Because of that, it's clear that the Bible and Jesus support Democrats for election. You'll not find a mention of an elephant in the Bible. God is a Democrat. That's clear!

Of course, given your screen name, I'm sure you knew that anyhow.

[rug]

11. What, I wonder, is a pagan atheist?

"Piscitelli, who identified himself as a pagan, said he had rented the building and that his guests were "shocked" to see the religious display."

[MineralMan]

12. It is a contradiction in terms,

Of course.

[rug]

14. Of course.

"As a pagan atheist, he formally complained to the Zoo in 2008 after discovering a large Ten Commandments monument beside the Snow building at the zoo."

http://www.atheists.org/victory-oakland-zoo-removed-ten-commandments-monument

[MineralMan]

15. OK. He's a confused person, apparently.

I'm not sure what that has to do with what I posted, though.

As a pagan or an atheist, objecting to the 10 Commandments being in a government-owned facility seems quite appropriate. My question about why it would have been put there in the first place stands, the confused status of that person notwithstanding. Perhaps you can contact the person who believes himself to be a "pagan atheist" and ask what he means by that. I'm sure I don't know.

[cbayer]

13. Good question. That would appear to be an oxymoron.