By Chad Groening and Jim Brown
August 2, 2002

(AgapePress) - It appears the ACLU has a problem with some displays of Christianity on public lands -- and no problem with others. The legal group has succeeded in getting a judge to order the removal of a memorial cross from a national monument in California. At the same time, it helped a Michigan pastor get the permit he wanted to conduct baptisms in a state lake.

A conservative Christian attorney says the American Civil Liberties Union is once again demonstrating its anti-Christian bias by convincing a federal judge to order a cross removed from the Mojave National Preserve, located east of Barstow, California. The six-foot cross, which has been at Sunrise Point for nearly 70 years, was erected to honor the veterans of the First World War.

But now, thanks to the suit filed last year by the ACLU, the National Park Service has been ordered to take it down -- because the judge says it amounts to a state endorsement of religion.

Brian Fahling of the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy calls that ridiculous.

"The ACLU, apparently concerned that the cacti and lizards may become converted Christians, is now seeking to have it torn down," Fahling says. "This is the type of thing that borders on the ridiculous, and perhaps does indeed become ridiculous."

The attorney describes the dispute as another remarkable, but not so uncommon, example of the ACLU's "absolutely histrionic effort" to stamp out any semblance of Christianity from American culture. "We're talking about a cross ... out in the Mojave National Preserve," he says. "That's not an establishment of religion. The gentleman who put it up in 1934 was attempting to acknowledge the World War I veterans, which seems to me a laudable undertaking on his part."

Fahling also thinks it is telling that the ACLU has been quiet about the ongoing case in North Carolina, where college students are being forced to read literature advocating Islam. "I think it's pretty telling as to what the goal of the ACLU is -- and that's to stamp out Christianity, but to leave in place other religions that are antithetical to Christianity."

Fahling hopes that a higher court, perhaps even the Supreme Court, will overturn the judge's ruling on the cross in the desert.

Public Baptisms
Meanwhile, a Michigan pastor has enlisted the help of the American Civil Liberties Union after he was denied a permit to conduct baptism services at a lake operated by the Department of Natural Resources.

Groups have used the waters of Eagle Lake in Augusta, Michigan, for baptisms in the past, but there have been some problems. According to park officials, last year a Christian group cordoned off part of the beach and played loud music that disturbed beachgoers.

So when Pastor William Stein, the founder of Baptism USA Ministries, requested a permit this year, he was denied on the grounds that the service would conflict with other park uses. In addition, the policy for the recreation area specifies that any church service approved in the parks must be interdenominational and cannot advance a specific religion.

Stein says the DNR's denial was a violation of his First Amendment rights. "By prohibiting us from baptizing in the month of June, [the DNR] also violated the Michigan constitution -- primarily, Article 1, subsections 2 and 4, which deal with religious freedoms in the State of Michigan," the pastor says. "So there's still misinformation that the DNR has provided to the general public regarding this issue."

But with the help of the ACLU of Michigan, Stein has now obtained a permit to conduct baptisms at the lake. That is somewhat ironic, since the ACLU is well-known for its efforts to remove God from the public square. But Stein is grateful for the ACLU's assistance.

"People have to understand that the ACLU investigates issues on a case-by-case basis," he says, "and there are some lawsuits that the ACLU has filed as it relates to biblical issues that I myself do not approve. [But] when we approached the ACLU regarding our specific issue, and after reviewing the information presented, they were more than happy to represent us."

Even though Stein has now obtained the permit he sought, the ACLU is still moving forward with litigation.

© 2002 AgapePress all rights reserved.

E-mail this page to a friend

Printer-Friendly Version

Read all of our current headlines