November 2016 Persecution Magazine (1 of 3)

Cross in the Seal of Lehigh
County, PA, Will Remain
In another Freedom from Religion
Foundation (FFRF) lawsuit to remove
Christian symbols from the public eye, the
atheist group has now targeted the cross in
the seal of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.
The group had issued two prior letters of
complaint over the cross in the seal, and has
now filed suit.
According to a statement from the cofounder
of the atheist group, Annie Laurie
Gaylor, “Lehigh County is not a Christian
county; it should be equally welcoming to
all its citizens regardless of their religion or
their reject of religion.”
Lehigh County officials have stated that
the cross holds historical significance for
the county and does not serve as an endorsement
of religion.
In addition, members of the public contacted
the county board in support of keeping
the cross in their county seal. The
commissioners voted unanimously to retain
the cross and to communicate this decision
to the FRFF.
PERSECU ION.org
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
Ten Commandments Monument
Will Remain Outside Maryland
Courthouse
T
his
past March, Jeffrey Davis, a humanist
who objected to a Ten Commandments
monument outside of a Maryland courthouse,
filed a federal lawsuit to have the monument
removed. Davis filed the suit saying that he
deemed the monument unconstitutional.
The lawsuit stated, “Plaintiff believes that
the monument represents only one particular
religious point of view and therefore sends
a message of exclusion to those who do not
adhere to that particular religion (Christianity),
in violation of the US Constitution. Plaintiff
does not want to have exposure to the monument
on government property in the future.”
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a legal
group defending the monument, filed a motion
asking for the case to be dismissed. ADF’s
motion reads, “His broad stroke recitation
of the elements of an Establishment Clause
claim does not survive Van Orden, where the
Supreme Court made abundantly clear that the
presence of a Ten Commandments monument
identical to the one at issue here – indeed, one
that, like here, was donated by the Eagles –
on public lands is not itself a violation of the
Establishment Clause.”
In August, Davis sent a letter to the US
District Court stating his decision to drop the
case against the monument, although he did
not detail his reasoning and declined to speak
to press about the decision.
Newspaper Advertisement
Rejected Over the Word
“Christian”
I
n
Tennessee, a local bookstore, Cedar
Springs Christian Store, recently tried
to place an advertisement in the Knoxville
News Sentinel classified section. However,
the Sentinel refused to print the ad saying
that they deemed the ad offensive for containing
the word “Christian.”
The advertisement read: “Store closing
sale – Cedar Springs Christian Store –
Clinton Highway location – All merchandise,
fixtures, slat walls must go. Sale
through August 13.” After seeing that their
ad did not run on their requested days, the
owner of the store made an inquiry to the
paper. The owner states that the “ad did
not run because it contained an offensive
word. I asked what that offensive word
was and she said the offensive word was
‘Christian.’” The newspaper did not notify
the owners that the ad was rejected, nor did
they refund the owners’ money.
The owners, feeling this response was a
“slap in the face” to Christians, published
a Facebook post entitled, “Do you find the
word ‘Christian’ offensive?” An outcry of
public support for the bookstore ensued,
and the Knoxville News Sentinel issued an
apology for any “misunderstanding about
their stance on Christianity.” They ran the
ad at no extra charge.
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