WTH is wrong with ppl these days???
[FONT size=5]'White poppy in keeping with Christianity'[/FONT] London - A religious think-tank urged British churches on Thursday to provide alternatives to the red remembrance poppy worn by millions of people around the world, saying a white poppy was more in keeping with Christianity.
The red floral symbol has been worn on lapels since just after the end of World War One to honour those who die in battle, because the poppy was the only plant that grew in the aftermath of the bloody trench warfare.
However Jonathan Bartley, director of the religious theological group Ekklesia, wrote in an article for the Church Times, the largest Church of England newspaper, that there was "political correctness" surrounding the use of the red poppy.
He compared its acceptance to a recent national debate about the wearing of religious symbols in public sparked after a British Airways worker was sent home for refusing to conceal a small crucifix while on duty.
"Whilst apparently banned from wearing one symbol of hope (the cross), public figures in Britain are simultaneously urged, indeed in many cases required to wear another (the red poppy) almost as an article of faith," Bartley said.
"Whilst the red poppy implies redemption can come through war, the Christian story implies that redemption comes through non-violent sacrifice. The white poppy is much more Christian in that respect than the red variety."
The Royal British Legion charity, which runs the Poppy Appeal to raise money to help serving and ex-Service personnel and their families, said Bartley's views were misguided and a white poppy would only confuse the public.
"The colour has become an internationally recognised symbol," said Brigadier David Wills, the Legion's director general.
"If you start to dilute that recognition by bringing in other colours, I don't think people will fully understand what they are buying the poppy for," he told BBC radio, adding the poppy was not about glorifying war.
The debate echoes a similar row which broke out in Canada earlier this week when the Royal Canadian Legion accused peace activists of hijacking their symbol by selling white poppies.
The tradition of wearing commemorative red poppies comes from the 1915 poem "In Flanders Fields", written by Canadian Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, which begins: "In Flanders fields the poppies blow, Between the crosses row on row..."
The first official Poppy Day was held in Britain on November 11, 1921, and the Royal British Legion says it distributes around 36-million red poppies each year. They raised 24,7-million pounds in 2005.
[FONT size=1]Source: [/FONT][A href="vny!://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=24&art_id=qw1163065502302B264"][FONT size=1]vny!://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=24&art_id=qw1163065502302B264[/FONT][/A]
[FONT size=1]More: [/FONT][A href="vny!://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=b6082418-4abd-4d4d-b11d-94472f6d8425&k=73506"][FONT size=1]vny!://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=b6082418-4abd-4d4d-b11d-94472f6d8425&k=73506[/FONT][/A]
