Church Ban on Flag Draped Coffin

Tangnefedd said:

Funerals are for the living not the dead who are passed caring. I think the clergyman made a valid point, a church is no place for the glorification of war, which is what a flag draped coffin symbolises. If the dead serviceman's family wanted it then the car park is the place for jingoistic nonsense!

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They are also to pay respects to the dead. They cannot even properly serve their purpose for the living if they refuse to respect the deceased...or the living people's desire to respect the deceased. The pastor's actions offend both groups of people.

On the war thing, it strikes me as an excuse, and I think you're misunderstanding the flag draped on the coffin. If I drape a flag on a veteran's coffin, I'm not sayin "The Vietnam War was great guys," but rather, "This man served honorably in a bad situation with no regard to his own welfare and should be honored for it." There's a clear difference. The flag on a coffin honors the man not the war.

Tangnefedd said:

Funerals are for the living not the dead who are passed caring. I think the clergyman made a valid point, a church is no place for the glorification of war, which is what a flag draped coffin symbolises. If the dead serviceman's family wanted it then the car park is the place for jingoistic nonsense!

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No, a flag draped coffin signifies that the man fought for his country (in many cases that flag represents what the person under it died for). The flag draped coffin signifies that he spent his time since the war as an active member of Legacy, an organisation that helps provide for the dependents of Australia Defence Force personnel killed during service. The flag draped coffin signifies that the man endangered his life so that this minister had the freedom to deny him his dying wish.
I would think that the man has the right to be buried under the same flag he fought under.
I'm sorry...I'd like to know where the ministers valid point was 2 months ago when he not only allowed but participated in exactly the same sort of service he was so against in this case. The only difference between the two deceased is that the one who got his funeral was a former member of parliament, and the other was just a man who devoted his life after the war to helping people.

Actually, the congregation has dropped by about 30% since he took over the church.

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Well, my point wasn't to defend the man. I was just saying not to be rash about judgement without given all of the info. That story alone wouldn't convince me to "fire" a priest.