The religous significance of a stop sign

[Abigail]

A serious and educated Catholic believes that he cannot understand the stop sign apart from its interpretive community and their tradition. Observing that the interpretive community doesn't take it too seriously, he doesn't feel obligated to take it too seriously either.

An average Catholic (or Orthodox or Coptic or Anglican or Methodist or Presbyterian or whatever) doesn't bother to read the sign but he'll stop if the car in front of him does.

A fundamentalist, taking the text very literally, stops at the stop sign and waits for it to tell him to go.

A preacher (or Wayfer) might look up "STOP" in his lexicons of English and discover that it can mean: 1) something which prevents motion, such as a plug for a drain, or a block of wood that prevents a door from closing; 2) a location where a train or bus lets off passengers. The main point of his sermon the following Sunday on this text is: when you see a stop sign, it is a place where traffic is naturally clogged, so it is a good place to let off passengers from your car.

An orthodox Jew does one of two things:

Take another route to work that doesn't have a stop sign so that he doesn't run the risk of disobeying the Law.

Stop at the stop sign, say "Blessed art thou, O Lord our G-d, king of the universe, who hast given us thy commandment to stop," wait 3 seconds according to his watch, and then proceed.

A practioner of Zen sees the sign and comes gently to a stop. Conemplating the beauty of the world, he resolves to spend even more time enjoying nature and then proceeds at peace with the world.

Edited December 29, 2005 by Abigail

[oilfieldmedic]

I agree abi absolutley...I think? :unsure:

[GarthP2000]

A practioner of Zen sees the sign and comes gently to a stop. Conemplating the beauty of the world, he resolves to spend even more time enjoying nature and then proceeds at peace with the world.

... and then gets creamed by that godless, lawless atheist who just doesn't believe that there are absolutes such as 'Stop'.

He later gets thrown in the drunk tank along with the fundy preacher who was arrested for getting it on with his hot church secretary right there in the front seat, in public, whilst he was stopped at the Stop sign.

[dmiller]

And to those in twi --

Stop is a command ---

Unless you are *spiritually mature* enough to not do so.

;)