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    Lawsuit filed over Jesus statue on public land

    By MATT GOURAS | Associated Press – Wed, Feb 8, 2012

    HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The battle over a 57-year-old Jesus statue at a northwest Montana ski resort escalated Wednesday with a new federal lawsuit arguing that the Forest Service needs to remove the relic from its mountaintop perch.

    The legal challenge from a Wisconsin-based group of atheists and agnostics follows a decision last week by the Forest Service to reverse an original decision to reject a new permit for the statue, which occupies a 25-by-25 foot patch of land at Whitefish Mountain Resort. Its appearance in the middle of the woods has long mystified skiers as they cruise down a popular run.

    The Forest Service initially decided last fall that case law was stacked against having such a statue on public land, but officials argued in its revised decision that the historic nature of the statue allowed for its continued placement. In recent months, the agency has been flooded with nearly 100,000 comments, mostly in support of the six-foot tall statue.

    The statue was originally conceived by World War II veterans who saw similar shrines while fighting in the mountains of Europe.

    The Freedom From Religion Foundation argued in their lawsuit that the Forest Service is unconstitutionally sanctioning the Catholic statue maintained by the Knights of Columbus. The religious nature of the statue has been made clear in special-use permit applications since the 1950s, the group said.

    "The continued presence of the statue of Jesus Christ, intended as a religious shrine, gives the unmistakable appearance of governmental endorsement of religion, as does the defendant's orchestrated justification for maintaining a religious monument on public land," the foundation said in its lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Missoula.

    Several out-of-state social conservative and Christian groups have lined up with promises to help defend the statue in court. They have argued that the statue doesn't convey a government endorsement of religion, and have said the Forest Service made the correct decision when it decided to re-authorize a special use permit.

    The American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative Christian group that engages in legal fights over cultural issues, said it will seek to enter the case on behalf of those who believe such a statue represents the history and heritage of the region.

    "It's clear this legal challenge represents the latest move in a troubling pattern designed to remove any religious reference from our history, a tactic that we believe ultimately will fail in the federal court system," ACLJ lawyer Jay Sekulow said in a statement.

    The Forest Service didn't return a request for comment on Wednesday.

     
    • purple and black attack
      purple and black attack  •  Salisbury, Maryland  •  3 mths ago
      This country was started as a place you could come to practice your religion free from persecution and hatred. It is also supposed to be ruled by We the People. This suggests a Majority.not a Law Court. If the Majority want the Statue to stay and the Government is not spending any money to keep it there,then let it stay
    • Joseph
      Joseph  •  3 mths ago
      So why are all these activists groups that are mentioned from out of state. I think it should be left up to the people of Montana.
      • Brenda
        Brenda 3 mths ago
        I agree. Thing is it is federal land not state land.
      • Mr.Lucky
        Mr.Lucky 3 mths ago
        I also agree....maybe the feds ought to return the land to the state it's in!
    • Robert
      Robert  •  3 mths ago
      Some people need to learn to pick their battles, a statue is a statue and wasting court time on it seems pointless. Coming from an atheist.
    • James
      James  •  Los Angeles, California  •  3 mths ago
      If you honestly think that a statue in the middle of a Montana mountain range is a threat to your freedoms, Oh well....
      You might want to look to Washington DC. Every monument and Govt. bldg. has some reference to God or biblical prophets, usually several. And the new Martin Luther King Jr. statue is of a Baptist minister you know, goodness gracious! Why haven't the ACLU and FFRF gone after that one?
      • FSM
        FSM 3 mths ago
        "...has some reference to God..."
        That's true but, if you bother to look, you'll notice that most of those references are to Greek and Roman gods.
      • James
        James 3 mths ago
        FSM, possibly, but we're talking about religion in general, aren't we? You wouldn't think those atheist folks or ACLU lawyers would JUST be going after symbols/organizations of Judeo-Christian beliefs, would you? Like maybe the Boy Scouts?
      • FSM
        FSM 3 mths ago
        Tone down the sarcasm James, i can't tell what you're actually serious about.

        If you Xtians would just admit that Moses and Jesus are only myths, i'm sure we could be convinced to leave them up.

        The Boy Scouts are a pack of homophobic Nazis, and they deserve what they get. There’s no need to bring god into that fight.
    • Mozart1220
      Mozart1220  •  Cedar Rapids, Iowa  •  3 mths ago
      I am an atheist and I think removing the statue is going WAY too far. I like animals as well, but I think PETA should be disbanded. defending the rights of non religious people against conservative religious fruitloops is one thing, but removing a statue that's been there foreve is just petty and put's ammo in the enemy's gun.
      • USS TEXAS
        USS TEXAS 3 mths ago
        Why do you believe that Christians are your enemy? Just because you do not beleive does not make you an enemy of Christians.
      • Joseph Smith
        Joseph Smith 3 mths ago
        Ok I will bite on this one... They can and should replace it with a better monument in honor of the men and women of WWII. My issue is this...How does anyone know if every man and woman that fought in WWII believed in Jesus? This would be like putting up a Chicago Bulls statue for all the WWII vets, how do you think the people that were fans of other teams would have liked the statue?? Now I am not saying that the statue needs burned, they could relocate it onto church property and let them spend their tax-free money on maintaining it.
    • Um...riddlemedis!
      Um...riddlemedis!  •  3 mths ago
      There's just something so bi-polar about our freedom-of religion, yet God's country attitude. Thought God was an all or nothing idea...
    • Ken
      Ken  •  Spokane, Washington  •  3 mths ago
      Confusion created by the overreach of the "federal" government. The constitution was written to protect the "people" from the FEDERAL government. The "people" were considered to be the "states" who were to govern themselves with limited interference from the federal government. All of the "departments" and "agencies" like the "forest service" have muddied the water. If the state of Montana wants a Jesus statue, that should be their business. If the folks arguing against it, really want the "government" to stay out of the religion business, then they should stay out of the religion business. State and local "government" is the "people" not the government. The federal constitution prohibits the federal government from (establishing or interfering) with the "people's" right to exercise their religion. This should be a state issue. The atheist's can't have it both ways. Either the federal government has something to say about religion or it doesn't. The constitution says it DOES NOT.
      • Kevin
        Kevin 3 mths ago
        Did you miss the part about it being on Federal land?
      • Ken
        Ken 3 mths ago
        Did you miss the part about Federal government overreach? Why is there "Federal" land in Montana? Why is there a "forest service"? Is the forest service constitutional? (The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.)
      • Kevin
        Kevin 3 mths ago
        Feel free to try and ammend the law to return all Federal land to the states. Till then, the statue violates the US Consitituion
    • Alencon
      Alencon  •  Westwood, New Jersey  •  3 mths ago
      So I suppose if I were to petition the Forest Service for the placement of an Asatru plaque of the Nine Noble Virtues these people would be ok with that?
    • Tony
      Tony  •  Tampa, Florida  •  3 mths ago
      I guess the giant statue Christ in the Andes in South America will need to be taken down.
    • FOOD FOR THOUGHT!
      FOOD FOR THOUGHT!  •  Dallas, Texas  •  3 mths ago
      MEGA CHURCHES are a threat to our DEMOCRACY! They should not be allowed to politicize from the pulpit and pastors should lead to faith not to a Political Party!
    • well traveled
      well traveled  •  3 mths ago
      Thank you Robert T for showing us how "smart" you truly are. The fact you demand others follow your beliefs clearly indicates a low IQ. You do your thing, let others decide what they believe for themselves.
    • USS TEXAS
      USS TEXAS  •  3 mths ago
      "GOD IS EVERYWHERE" for every place you look, there is GOD at work.

      Christians do not need statues, carvings, writings, or pictures to know that GOD exist, for we can see his creations every single day of our lives. Man created the statues, the writings, the pictures as a way of celebrating their creativity that GOD gave them. GOD gave all his creatures the creativity they would need in order to survive.

      The statue is merely a piece of art and the fact that athiest believe it is a religious figure of Jesus, only proves that they themselves believe that Jesus existed. If your an athiest, then you do not believe that Jesus existed, therefore, how can the statue be a religious figure of Jesus. Christians see the statue as a figure of Jesus, though, in reality the statue is merely a figure of a man from that time period. No one really knows exactly what Jesus looked like.

      So, then how can a man made statue of a man bother a non believer. I would think a non believer would see the statue as just a man, for it could not be a statue of Jesus, for they do not believe Jesus existed.
    • David
      David  •  West Chicago, Illinois  •  3 mths ago
      57 years ago the government allowed the Knights of Columbus to pay for the statue. In fact, the feds honored the constitution by ALLOWING them to build the statue in remembrance of the fallen. No one ever thought anyone would take exception to someone honoring soldiers fallen in defense of this country... these very soldiers who worshiped Christ died to defend the YOUR rights to choose not to worship, and here you are dishonoring their memory by denying them a monument of their faith. What would you say about Arlington National Cemetery? It's government land (the definition of Public Land), and is completely covered in crucifixes and Stars of David marking the graves of soldiers who died in service of their country. These are symbols of their faith, but PAID for by the federal government and placed on government land. The statue you are so opposed to was paid for PRIVATELY, NOT paid for by the feds, nor was it endorsed, only allowed by constitutional right.
    • HARRY
      HARRY  •  3 mths ago
      For crying out loud, if you don't like the statue, don't look at it. What do these people do, hike way back in the woods so they can look at the statue and say, " I don't like that" ?
    • FrankG
      FrankG  •  3 mths ago
      Atheists like this are going to hell. They are, whether they believe it or not, evil. Their hatred of God, Christians, and anyone with a belief in God, regardless of their religion is just that, hatred.
    • GREAT RAGE
      GREAT RAGE  •  3 mths ago
      57-year-old Jesus statue at a northwest Montana.....The legal challenge from a Wisconsin-based group of atheists and agnostics

      The statue is only 1500 miles away from you and your still offeneded????
    • A Yahoo! User  •  Houston, Texas  •  3 mths ago
      there is always something that someone will complain about.... isnt there other things to worry about in this world instead of a statue? IF YOU DONT LIKE IT ...DONT LOOK AT IT!
    • Tony
      Tony  •  Tampa, Florida  •  3 mths ago
      All those crosses in the National Cemeteries!...."we have a problem, Houston."
    • AlBundy
      AlBundy  •  3 mths ago
      If a Christian sees a star of David in a public place, they shrug and carry on with their day. Now we see what atheists and agnostics do. It's not enough that they have their beliefs, or lack of, they have to force it on everyone else. If you don't like the statue, don't look at it.
    • JF
      JF  •  Los Angeles, California  •  3 mths ago
      another stupid, ridiculous person with a complaint...a little of God in their lives might make them better people...why this anger towards Jesus...a statue of Martin Luther King offends me, so why not take his down to, ? what is fair is fair....we could also remove Lincoln;s statue it might offend certain people...and the stupidity of it all is just plain stupid.
     Post a comment
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