A Christian Wants Norway to Stop Calling the Statue of Liberty “Freedom Goddess”

This story is right at the sweet intersection of frivolous and insane.

The Statue of Liberty was famously modeled after Libertas, the ancient Roman goddess of liberty. That’s why the Norwegian word for the Statue of Liberty, Frihetsgudinnen, roughly translates to “freedom goddess.”

That’s very upsetting to Reidun LaFleur, an American woman (and Trump supporter) who currently lives in Norway and just realized what they’re saying. In a Facebook post, LaFleur explained that she just wrote a letter to the nation’s Language Council because she’s deeply offended by this.

… I was horrified when I heard a Norwegian call this symbol of freedom a goddess! Do people in Norway pray to this statue as a goddess ??? I’m telling you that no one in America worships this statue as a goddess. No one kneels in front of it and prays to it.

My homeland was based on the desire to worship the one true God freely the way they wanted. To then call this symbolic statue a goddess is to defile that ideal. This is a statue. It is a symbol of something that we American people hold as a God given right. As a woman of strong Christian faith, I strongly oppose your choice of words in this translation. Someone has tried to slander both my country and this statue by calling it a goddess. I know many other Americans who are offended by this translation, and if necessary I can start a petition to collect signatures against this offensive translation.

I think it’s time for Norway to reconsider this very incorrect translation…

This is what happens when you have too much time on your hands because your Lord and Savior is now golfing in Florida after spending four years trying to destroy the democracy.

The Norwegian translation isn’t some sort of law. It’s a word. Words have meanings. Calling something a god or goddess doesn’t mean people automatically pray to them. To complain about a word’s translation because it offends your religious sensibilities doesn’t mean the word needs to change; it means your religion is breaking your brain.

(Featured image via Shutterstock. Thanks to @Ahzwon for the link)