Two weeks after the Supreme Court ruled to protect the Mojave Desert War Memorial, thieves stole the Sunrise Rock cross. 

On May 10, a Park employee noticed the cross was missing and said it was probably removed during the night, according to CityWatch (CW).  

An anonymous caller who clamed to know who stole the cross sent an email to a reporter saying the cross was “lovingly” removed and would be returned after a non-sectarian memorial is placed on the site, CW reported.

CW cited US Reps Buck McKeon, Ken Calvert and Congressman Jerry Lewis who condemned the theft of the cross.  Calvert called it an act of vandals and an insult to anyone who had served in the US Armed Forces. 

Calvert also promised that he, Congressmen Lewis, McKeon, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Liberty Institute will work with all involved entities to recover the cross and replace it on its rightful place on Sunrise Rock, CW reported.

Wanda Sandoz, who with her husband Henry were longtime caretakers of the cross said, “Whoever did this either cut it off or put a chain around it a dragged it off with their vehicle,” according to CW.

The memorial was first set up in 1934 by a group of World War I veterans.  It has been torn down and replaced twice, and 10 years ago received the ire of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), according to The Press Enterprise.

The Park Service has collected some physical evidence from where the cross was located, and investigators are reviewing messages left on a tip hot line that was set up after the theft, The Press Enterprise said.

Liberty Institute is also offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who vandalized the area and stole the cross, according to CityWatch.

In 1999, the ACLU sued to have the cross removed after a former employee of the park, Frank Buono, retired and moved to Oregon, then claimed that it offended him to see the cross on public land, according to the Tulsa Beacon.

In 2002, the U.S. District Court in Riverside, California ruled in favor of the ACLU case.  An appeal was immediately filed to forestall the cross’ removal, but it was covered by a wooden box, the Tulsa Beacon reported.

Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.), helped the Legionnaires get the cross legally designated as the “National WWI Veterans Memorial” and worked in Congress to transfer a one-acre tract of land containing the cross to private ownership through a land swap deal, the Tulsa Beacon reported.

The ACLU complained that this was done solely to evade the District Court’s order for the cross to be removed. In the appeal, the 9th Circuit Court upheld the lower court’s decision and invalidated the congressional act in transferring the land to private ownership, according to the Tulsa Beacon.

However when the case was raised to the U. S. Supreme Court, the decisions of both lower courts were overturned by a 5-4 vote, and the SC refused to order the removal of the cross, the Tulsa Beacon noted.

Justice Kennedy, who wrote the majority opinion, said “The goal of avoiding governmental endorsement (of religion) does not require the eradication of all religions’ symbols in the public realm.”

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) failed to find mutual ground at a recently held meeting in Chicago regarding ELCA’s stand on ordaining partnered gays.

ELCA’s Rev. Marcus R. Kunz denied they have abandoned scriptural authority in so doing.

Rather, he said “We seek to be faithful to the evangelical purpose that God intends with the Scriptures” according to Christian Today.

LCMS President Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick called it a difference in understanding of scriptural authority and interpretation.

Last month the LCMS presented ELCA with the document, “Theological Implications of the 2009 ELCA Decisions” which stated, “A church body‘s acceptance of homosexual activity promotes a false security about behavior and conduct which God has forbidden and from which He longs to redeem us.”

ELCA is the largest Lutheran church body, seconded by the LCMS.  According to ELCA’s website, they are a 20 year old assembly with 4.8 million members and some 10,500 congregations across the US and the Caribbean.

Because of this theological point of disagreement, LCMS expressed the possibility of severance from mutual projects the two groups are engaged in.

ELCA Rev. Mark Hanson however expressed hopes that relationships would not be severed but rather that they could engage in deeper conversation, according to Christian Today.

Christian Today also reported that hundreds of ELCA congregations have already taken steps to leave the denomination, with some forming a new Lutheran body, and others joining LCMS.

ELCA’s Rev. Rebecca Larson complained that the LCMS document gave the false impression that ELCA’s recognition of same gender relationships is the sole position of the whole church.

Larson said that same gender relationships are not central to determining salvation, hence ELCA believes they can live together with different practices, respecting the bound consciences of each other.

LCMS President Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick/Credit: lcms.org

ELCA’s website cites, for example, how Paul felt it was okay to eat meat that was sacrificed to idols.  Paul also felt that rituals of holy days were issues where salvation was not at stake.

“This social statement draws upon this rich understanding of the role of conscience and calls upon this church, when in disagreement concerning matters around which salvation is not at stake, including human sexuality, to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), honor the conscience, and seek the well-being of the neighbor,”  according to ELCA’s website.

In the LCMS document they stated that they will not encourage discord in ELCA, but neither will they turn their backs on ELCA members who choose to leave their denomination to join the LCMS, Christian Today reported.

Despite a judge’s ruling that declared the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional, special observations were held across the nation and in several places in the capital city including the Pentagon, the Cannon House Office Building and the steps of the US Capitol, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Rev. Franklin Graham, who had been disinvited to the Pentagon because of comments he had made regarding the Islamic faith after 911 nonetheless prayed on a sidewalk outside the building.  Graham is honorary chairman of the private National Day of Prayer Task Force.

However, President Brack Obama, whose administration on April 22 appealed the judge’s ruling and issued a National Day of Prayer proclamation, did not hold an interfaith observance at the White House, according to the SunGazette.

On April 15, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional and violates the First Amendment.  However in her decision, Crabb said ceremonies could still be held pending appeals.

In observances at Williamsport-Lycoming County, Pennsylvania keynote speaker state Superior Court Judge Cheryl Allen challenged Crabb’s argument centered on the separation of church and state, and alleged violation of the First Amendment, the SunGazette said.

Allen said, “I couldn’t find separation of church and state in the Constitution.” Regarding the First Amendment she cited the first part which says, “Congress shall make no laws establishing a religion” and said the founding fathers came to America to escape England, which had established a church and persecuted those who would not attend.  Allen then noted the second portion of the First Amendment clause which states: “or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

James Dobson, who founded Focus on the Family and whose wife chairs the National Day of Prayer said the event puts a prayer covering over the nation and noted that since 1775 the first Continental Congress called for a national day of prayer.

Dobson noted that 34 out of 44 Presidents have called for a national day of prayer including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, George Herbert Walker Bush and George W. Bush, the New York News Today reported.

Dobson said, “How can something be unconstitutional when it was passed by both houses of Congress unanimously and signed by Ronald Reagan and Harry Truman and implemented by all those Presidents back through the years?”

Charles Haynes, a First Amendment scholar who specializes in religious liberty expects President Obama to succeed with his appeal.  He said a  judge could possibly cite a 1983 Supreme Court decision that upheld the right to legislative prayer on grounds that “the offering of prayer is a tolerable acknowledgment of beliefs widely held among the people of this country,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

Attorneys with the Christian legal firm Alliance Defense Fund urged President Barack Obama to appeal the decision of a federal judge’s ruling that National Prayer Day is unconstitutional recently.

Before thousands of guests, including a dozen foreign leaders, President Barack Obama called for greater understanding and cooperation among people of all faiths at the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 5, 2008.

The ADF lawyers made their plea after U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb struck down a federal statute creating the “National Day of Prayer.” According to Crabb, the statute connotes endorsement and encouragement of a particular religious exercise.

But ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster argues that the national prayer day is “America’s heritage” and “belongs to Americans.”  He added, “The National Day of Prayer provides an opportunity for all Americans to pray voluntarily according to their own faith – and does not promote any particular religion or form of religious observance.”

National Prayer Day (NPD) was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman.  Although it has been celebrated yearly since then, a lawsuit against NPD was filed in October 2008 by the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF).

The FFRF is a Madison, Wisconsin group that was founded in 1976.  They are pledged to promote separation of church and state, and to educate the public on “nontheism”.

The Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State,  praised Judge Crabb’s ruling saying, “This decision is a tremendous victory for religious liberty.  Congress has no business telling Americans when or how to pray.”

Lynn added, “The Constitution forbids the government to meddle in religious matters. Decisions about worship should be made by individuals without direction from elected officials. That’s what freedom is all about.”

Ever since 1952, US presidents have always set an annual National Day of Prayer.  Since 1988, the presidents have always designated the first Thursday of May as the National Day of Prayer.

Last year, President Obama issued a proclamation designating the first Thursday of May as the National Day of Prayer, and prayed privately.  Despite the present ruling, Obama still intends to recognize the day this year on May 6.

Shirley Dobson, chair of the National Day of Prayer Task Force said it is imperative “now more than ever before” to pray.  Dobson has organized thousands of local prayer events throughout the country, including gatherings in Washington, D.C., with government leaders.

Sources:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20100416/ts_csm/294988;_ylt=AkZQP7YV39sLuNafx7pe2jg7Xs8F;_ylu=X3oDMTJldDE4NGhjBGFzc2V0A2NzbS8yMDEwMDQxNi8yOTQ5ODgEcG9zAzE2BHNlYwN5bl9wYWdpbmF0ZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA2ZlZGVyYWxqdWRnZQ–

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20100416/obama-urged-to-appeal-nat-l-prayer-day-ruling/index.html

Billboards like these are popping up all over the U.S., representing the campaign of the American Humanist Association.

The American Humanist Association (AHA) has unveiled a new series of billboards that replace the word “God” in the national motto, inscribed on the surface of a U.S. quarter, with the word “Good,” according to their official web site. The revised phrase now reads “In Good We Trust.” The first billboards, which also feature the AHA’s official web address, went up last week in Moscow, Idaho.

Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the AHA, said, “The billboard nicely sums up the two main messages of the American Humanist Association. First, that you don’t have to believe in God to be good—in fact, humanists and other nontheists see being good as one of the most important responsibilities in our one and only life.”

He also added, “Second, that church and state should remain separate for the benefit of us all.”

In Speckhardt’s opinion, the motto “In God We Trust” violates the First Amendment. Last month, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit maintained that references to God on national currency and in the Pledge of Allegiance are completely constitutional.

Prominent atheist and attorney Michael A. Newdow, who argued that the references to God be removed, was defeated by the court’s 3-0 vote.

The American Center for Law and Justice could not have been more thrilled with the outcome, saying, “We’re delighted to see the appeals court reach [this] conclusion with both the National Motto and the Pledge.”

The ACLJ also added, “The fact is that it always has been our position that while the First Amendment affords atheists complete freedom to disbelieve, it does not compel the federal judiciary to redact religious references in every area of public life in order to suit atheistic sensibilities.”

Historically, the motto “In God We Trust” was “placed on United States coins largely because of the increased religious sentiment existing during the Civil War,” according to the U.S Department of the Treasury. After receiving a letter from one Rev. M.R. Watkinson, which pleaded for a national “recognition of the Almighty God in some form on our coins,” Former Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase wrote his own letter to a Mr. James Pollock.

Pollock, you see, was the Director of the Mint at Philadelphia. In the letter, dated November 20, 1861, Secretary Chase asked him to prepare a national motto and said:

“Dear Sir: No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. You will cause a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay with a motto expressing in the fewest and tersest words possible this national recognition.”

Congress approved the motto “In God We Trust” with the passing of several acts and in 1864, the phrase appeared for the first time on the two-cent coin.

Current American Humanist Association president David Niose disagrees with the beginnings of the national motto and has his own ideas about what phrase would better represent America.

“The adoption of the ‘In God We Trust’ motto came at the height of the Cold War and McCarthyism in the 1950s, and it is unfortunate that we still cling to such religious rhetoric today,” he says. “E pluribus unum, the Latin phrase for ‘out of many, one,’ would be a much more appropriate motto. It reflects the true character of American society and government.”

The AHA currently has four other billboards in the Moscow area, which read “Don’t Believe in God? You Are Not Alone,” “Want a Better World? Prayer Not Required,” “Millions are Good Without God” and “No God? No Problem!”

Amid fear and uncertainty, Christian leaders are asking for prayers for their missions in Kyrgyzstan.

Last Wednesday, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was overthrown in a violent uprising that resulted in 81 dead and 1000 injured.

Last Wednesday, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was overthrown in a violent uprising that resulted in 81 dead and 1000 injured.

In the immediate aftermath the nation was paralyzed with armed looting and rampant fear, but it has since calmed down, although the situation is far from steady, the Global Post reported.

An interim government has been established under former foreign minister Roza Otunbayeva, who is now trying to consolidate his power.  Christians hope the new government will permit a freer environment for evangelization.

The Slavic Gospel Association’s (SGA)  Joel Griffith said that while the situation seems to be more political than religious, “these things have ripple effects that are unforeseen.”

The new government expressed gratitude for the Kremlin’s generosity even as they accused the American military of enriching the Bakiyev family through jet fuel purchases from companies linked to Bakiyev’s son, Maxim.  There is no evidence to such claims.

However, the US Manas air base in Kyrgyzstan is a key transit point for troops and supplies to Afghanistan.

Appeals for Prayers, Resources

Sergey Rakhuva, vice president of Russian Ministries asked for prayers for wisdom and courage for believers in Kyrgyzstan so that they may continue to share their faith.  Rakhuva also requested for money and resources so that the church can grow, Mission Network News (MNN) reported.

Russian Ministries has several programs including School Without Walls.

Bob Provost, president of the Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) said “Please join us in praying for our brothers and sisters in Kyrgyzstan, asking the Lord to not only protect the churches, but also to open up many opportunities to proclaim the Gospel, as well as the peace and ultimate reconciliation that can only come through saving faith in Christ,” ASSIST News Service reported.

The SGA lends active support to evangelical ministries in many Central Asian republics, although they are not currently working in Kyrgyzstan.  Provost asked believers for prayers and guidance,  as they “prayerfully seek His will about any possible future assistance to churches in Kyrgyzstan.”

Bakiyev had been in power since 2005.  Immediately after the Soviet breakup churches enjoyed a significant degree of freedom to worship and minister.

However, since 2008, restrictions on evangelical churches increased in Kyrgyzstan and its neighboring countries namely Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.