Architectural Designs - Atheism and the swastika?

Atheism and the swastika?

An earlier questioner attempted to tie via an ad hominim attack the swastika to atheism. In actuality Wikipedia tells us who used the swastika before hitler. In Christianity, the swastika is sometimes used as a hooked version of the Christian Cross, the symbol of Christ's victory over death. Some Christian churches built in the Romanesque and Gothic eras are decorated with swastikas, carrying over earlier Roman designs. Swastikas are prominently displayed in a mosaic in the St. Sophia church of Kiev, Ukraine dating from the 12th century. They also appear as a repeating ornamental motif on a tomb in the Basilica of St. Ambrose in Milan. A proposed direct link between it and a swastika floor mosaic in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens, which was built on top of a pagan site at Amiens, France in the 1200s, is considered unlikely. The stole worn by a priest in the 1445 painting of the Seven Sacraments by Roger van der Weyden presents the swastika form simply as one way of depicting the cross. Swastikas also appear on the vestments on the effigy of Bishop William Edington (d.1366) in Winchester Cathedral. Don't you all think posters like the earlier one make fools out of themselves when they don't research their claims?

Public Comments

they will just give you an excuse
And well before that, Hindus and Buddhists used the swastika in their religious art...whoops, sorry.
Yeah there were swastikas all over these old churches in France when I went to visit and they were there long before hitler....
You're claiming to be more intelligent because you copied and pasted information from Wikipedia. Not much better, I'm afraid.
Swastikas were used by boy scout troupes just prior to WWII. Also, look at the American salute to the flag prior to WWII... http://media.photobucket.com/image/nazi%20salute%20america/CasesCorner/Nazi-Salute_School_1930s.jpg
The swastika is a Hindu --Buddhist symbol of luck .It predates Christianity by about 2000 years
Another "Atheist Nightmare" banana point!
Furthermore, the swastika is not an evil symbol, but a symbol of good fortune, as it has been used by Hindus for thousands of years.
See Hinduism and Buddhism Never meant to be a hateful symbol
It takes a true genius like you to cut and paste, congrats.
They should research their claims but it was, and still is, a Buddhist and Hindu symbol for good fortune.
luv ppl that try to claim the world's problems on others to make themselves look good. things the christians also forgot they did: inquisition, crusades, KKK, the bible quote that asks ppl to wish death upon the homosexual, the one that says stone adulterers to death, and blaming jews for the black plague. P.S. no hindus or buddhists started the holocaust (and the christians did have a thing for torturing jews)
Amusingly, yes.
Yes I think that loudest voice is the most closed minded, and unwilling to see past what they beLIEve
I think a lot of people make fools out of themselves on the internet. I always thought the swastika came from an Eastern religion or tradition but that it was twisted the other way. And we all should be aware that Hitler was very into being a Christian and was searching for religious, occult relics like the holy grail for much of his later life. I mean, Indiana Jones wasn't fighting Nazis without some historical context and background!
Atheism and the swastika have no relation at all. Why ask the question when you seem to know the answer?
In my faith we call it a "fylfot" and it's been in use for many thousands of years across many different cultures. It is merely a representation of a sun wheel. I wear one as it gives me the opportunity to educate people. I also have a t-shirt that has one on it and says "Heritage not hate". Just as the christians have reclaimed their tammuz cross from the Christian Identity Movement hate group and even earlier atrocities, we need to reclaim the fylfot.
As has already been said... The swastika was used in Hinduism long before Christianity came on the scene. Everybody has the right to make a fool out of him/herself... I like to think of it as "cheap entertainment!"
The Swastika, just like the American flag, is a symbol. It's only meaning is the faith, belief, and trust (or lack therefore of) that they put into it. To answer your question, not really. Perhaps they may state/claim some incorrect facts, but perhaps the majority of what they are saying is what it means to them.
I think the poster should definitely have researched its facts better. However, I do not see why you are seemingly trying to attach the swastika to Christianity. The swastika is one of the most ancient symbols in the world, being used by almost every world civilization at one time. Its origins are traced all the way back to India, and its use is for the most part unknown. Some scholars have said it represents a comet, others say it represents the sun. Ultimately the swastika can not be credited to either atheism or christianity.
Yes. A comment that has no basis in reason or fact is frustrating.
Actually Lea T, the asker of this question never claims to be more intelligent than the previous asker, but in fact has just made the point that because of no research the original asker made a fool of himself, which is in fact true.
Actually many cultures used the swastika as a religious symbol over the centuries.
That's a pretty popular tactic used by christian apologists. Trying to make the case that because there have been atheists or 'atheist' societies who committed atrocities, that atheism is somehow inherently 'bad' or 'evil'. It allows them to show how, in contrast, that 'christians' are charitable, and 'good'. Claims like 'Hitler killed more people in a week than the crusades did in the whole time they were going on' are just attempts at derailing the discussion.
Oh it just shows how ignorant and desperate they are!! They try to claim Hitler was athesit despite all the evidence he was a christian and his own quotes!! "My feelings as a Christian points me to my Lord and Savior as a fighter." -Adolf Hitler "As a Christian I have no duty to allow myself to be cheated, but I have the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice... And if there is anything which could demonstrate that we are acting rightly it is the distress that daily grows. For as a Christian I have also a duty to my own people." -Adolf Hitler "The folkish-minded man, in particular, has the sacred duty, each in his own denomination, of making people stop just talking superficially of God's will, and actually fulfill God's will, and not let God's word be desecrated. For God's will gave men their form, their essence and their abilities. Anyone who destroys His work is declaring war on the Lord's creation, the divine will." -Adolf Hitler "Secular schools can never be tolerated because such schools have no religious instruction, and a general moral instruction without a religious foundation is built on air; consequently, all character training and religion must be derived from faith ...we need believing people." - Adolf Hitler "We were convinced that the people need and require this faith. We have therefore undertaken the fight against the atheistic movement, and that not merely with a few theoretical declarations; we have stamped it out." -Adolf Hitler "Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord." -Adolf Hitler
answer: never believe Wiki until you verify yourself. Your rant is in error and pretty lame, actually. The swastika was used by most cultures and had NOTHING to do with Christianity or atheism. Next conspiracy theory?