Undeniably, the cross is among the most powerful symbols of the Christian faith; as St. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (v. 25 NKJV) Now, at a time when a bishop may be sent to jail for ringing the church bell, the U.S. Supreme Court may soon make a ruling on whether a cross honoring the dead of World War I will be allowed to remain standing.

The cross at the center of the controversy is, frankly, pretty much in the middle of nowhere, in the Mojave National Preserve in California. As the Washington Post reports,

It would be easy to miss among the yucca and Joshua trees of this vast place — a small plywood box, set back from a gentle curve in a lonesome desert road. It looks like nothing so much as a miniature billboard without a message.

But inside the box is a 6 1/2-foot white cross, built to honor the war dead of World War I. And because its perch on a prominent outcropping of rock is on federal land, it has been judged to be an unconstitutional display of government favoritism of one religion over another.

Whether the Mojave cross is ever unveiled again — or taken down for good — is up to the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. Next week, it will get its first major chance to divine the meaning of the First Amendment command that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."

The Mojave cross has stood since 1934 when it was raised by local veterans of the First World War; as the Washington Post observes, “It is unlikely the veterans who erected the cross knew or cared that Sunrise Rock was on federal land. World War I vets had flocked to the desert, either for mining opportunities or because doctors had suggested the climate for those with "shell shock" or respiratory problems from the war.” The nearest road — unpaved, at that — is a hundred yards away, and so one wonders how many Americans would even know the cross was there, if not for a lawsuit brought by Frank Buono (a former assistant superintendent at the reserve) and, of course, the American Civil Liberties Union.

Again, according to the Washington Post,

Park officials agreed to take down the cross, but before they could act, Congress and the courts got involved. Congress forbade the Park Service from using any funds to remove the display. A district judge agreed with Buono that he had standing to bring his complaint and that the cross violated constitutional standards. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit affirmed the decision.

Then Congress declared the site a national memorial, and proposed to cure any constitutional problems by transferring one acre on which the cross stands to the VFW in exchange for five acres owned elsewhere in the preserve by the Sandozes [the unofficial custodians of the Mojave cross].

But Buono and the ACLU went to court again, and the courts agreed that such a plan would not resolve the constitutionality question. The deal "would leave a little donut hole of land with a cross in the midst of a vast federal preserve," the appeals court said.

According to the National Park Service, the whole preserve encompasses 1.6 million acres; what is at stake in this supposed "constitutional crisis" is the disposition of one acre, and with the promise of an exchange of five acres for that one (arguably a tidy profit for the government), the proposed solution would avoid even the appearance of a constitutional “issue” since the cross would then stand on private land. Such inholdings are common throughout the United States. Will the courts now begin to tell residents of such inholdings — or even those who live adjacent to federal or state-owned lands — whether they may place religious symbols on their land? Or, to take it a step further, may one build a church within sight of a county courthouse or military base? Is such a notion really any more improbable than that a little cross hidden away in the middle of the Mojave desert is somehow an unconstitutional "favoritism" of one religion over another?

Meanwhile, crosses are readily visible on federal lands — Arlington National Cemetery provides many ready examples of future targets for the litigiously-oriented. The battle for the Mojave cross may be seen as simply one of the latest fronts in an ongoing war against any and all public expressions of the Christian faith within the United States of America. For 75 years a cross has stood on Sunrise Rock, erected by men who risked their lives in the service of their nation, and that cross has stood in the desert without posing a threat to the liberties of a single citizen.

Yes, the cross is a powerful symbol, and for those veterans who built the Mojave cross and dedicated it to the memory of those who gave their lives in the defense of these United States, it was deemed to be a fitting memorial of the sacrifice of those who were never able to return home.

Rt. Rev. James Heiser has served as Pastor of Salem Lutheran Church in Malone, Texas, while maintaining his responsibilities as publisher of Repristination Press, which he established in 1993 to publish academic and popular theological books to serve the Lutheran Church. Heiser has also served since 2005 as the Dean of Missions for The Augustana Ministerium and in 2006 was called to serve as Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America (ELDoNA). An advocate of manned space exploration, Heiser serves on the Steering Committee of the Mars Society. His publications include two books; The Office of the Ministry in N. Hunnius' Epitome Credendorum (1996) and A Shining City on a Higher Hill: Christianity and the Next New World (2006), as well as dozens of journal articles and book reviews.

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DDW said:

Why is it that the Cross of Christ causes so much uproar and yet it seems to be alright that we are having Islam shoved down our throats? Why no uproar on SAT26SEP09 regarding events by Muslims in Washington DC? Why do I see Islam advetised on DART busses and have yet to see one single advertisement for, say, a Baptist or a Methodist church? What's wrong with this picture? I'm all for standing up and fighting before it's too late (if it's not already too late, that is).

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September 29, 2009
Votes: +8

Sweet William said:

Why, indeed? DDW, further, why is it that this small cross has caused so much disdain and yet Islamic prayers are allowed to be broadcast from a public broadcast system multiple times a day throughout a Detroit suburb? Or, why is the Quran taught within the California's public school curriculum under the guise of a Social Studies class? Why are such issues going unchallenged and Judeo-Christian culture are allowed to be attacked and suppressed by our court systems?

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September 30, 2009
Votes: +6

Lee Gonzales said:

	Solutions to this situation The federal government needs to release its hold on all federal land and hand it over to the states. If this case goes against the First amendment then impeachment of a Supreme Court judge. The Congress could use its power granted them under article III, section, 2 to curtail the courts jursidiction in ruling on this particular matter.
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September 30, 2009
Votes: +5

Stophel said:

... Congress will NEVER attempt to curtail the powers of the Supreme Court. The Court has been making law and ignoring the Constitution for a hundred years or more, and Congress doesn't care...they even are in favor of it. The court will probably issue some vaguely worded ruling that says the cross must come down, but they'll find some reason other than a 1st amendment one (likely being that the cross was not put up by the central government, and the veterans had no right to erect a monument on federal land, so it should never have been there in the first place).

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September 30, 2009
Votes: +1

realtorgal said:

	"never"? What's stopping us? To state that congress will NEVER check the Supreme court is to deny that it can be done. We the People own this government. It takes the will of the people to do it and Congress will have to comply. It's basically that simple. I am not going to say it is an easy task, but the bottom line is that we have to have the power right now to force congress to do its duty.
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October 01, 2009
Votes: +2

Sweet William said:

	... realtorgal, I agree. We must begin to proactively force our elected representatives and all appointed officials to abide by their Constitutional obligation and duty. Otherwise, they should face federal criminal charges for obstruction of justice, sedition, and treason.
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October 01, 2009
Votes: +3

Stophel said:

	... You have higher hopes in Congress, and what's left of the American people than I do.
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October 02, 2009
Votes: +0

realtorgal said:

I have "higher hopes" in myself and in the people that make up The John Birch Society. I beleive Robert Welch that there are "many layers of strength" still left in the American people. That is the difference between those who see no hope and those that do see our organization overcoming any obstacle and taking back Congress. The animal kingdom teaches us never to give up. Have you seen "Battle in Kruger?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM The baby buffalo didn't give.

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October 02, 2009
Votes: +1

Stophel said:

... There's no secular answer for a spiritual problem. America is in the state that it is in, because Americans are in the state that they are. As it stands right now, I simply do not see enough Americans that actually have real American values and the gumption to stand up for them. As thrilling as the "tea party" movement and the opposition to BarryCare may be, "we" are still outnumbered, and most of "us" are still not willing to do something crazy, like, say, not voting for a Republican, because he's the "only" alternative to the Democrat, or doing something really stupid like "throwing their vote away" by voting for a candidate other than those offered by the Omniparty. Most "conservatives" in America today are still way too heavily influenced by the neocons, who have total control over the "conservative" media. Maybe this will change...someday....but will it happen before amnesty for every illegal alien changes the face of America? I pray so, but I am not counting on it. There has to be a deep, philosophical change in this country. A profound change, not just a slight course modification. A change to completely reverse over a hundred years of cultural shift in the wrong direction. Can that happen? As it stands, the background of moral individualism which started this country, and led it through the 19th century, is essentially gone. I think America has only just begun to pay for its sins.

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October 02, 2009
Votes: +1

Lee Gonzales said:

Overlooking the battles we have won. The "deep philosophical change in this country" will likely come after we stop Obama care and begin to fill the seats in congress with people who will counter the Pelosi- Reid - Obama trio. Obamacare: It could be totally stopped but Republicans are in the way in the Senate trying to give us their version of the unconstiutional medicine. The Obamacare train has had to make some unscheduled stops for its engineer to step out of the drivers seat and sell his plan on TV. Why aren't you relishing the fact that he isn't getting everything he wants and has to go on tour to promote his poison plan? We have stopped amnesty under a Republican president pushing it, the majority of religious organizations, major lobbyists, the Chamber of Commerce and still some folks don't see that as a major victory for America! The religious rebirth is being stymied by false religious leaders but they will soon be taken to the wood shed once the pews are shaken not by the preachers as much as by the Birchers. Re-read The Blue Book. It's a free download at JBS.org

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October 02, 2009
Votes: +1

Thomas's Pains said:

... Almost 2 million people marched on Washington, DC and it didn't even faze them, the power elites refer to us as Nazis and the mob or attribute racist motivations to our legitimate dissent of their covert socialist revolution. They don't fear us anymore! They have worked for generations to create an ignorant dependency class that can be counted on to keep them in power to keep the benefits coming and the whole purpose of this so-called health care reform (government takeover) is to deepen that dependency on a big central government and destroy our free market capitalist system. The court gave themselves power not delegated by the Constitution with their mulberry versus Madison ruling, does anyone think it's acquaintance our education system is failing? An ignorant population is easier to manipulate. Spiritually speaking, the nation that was founded on Judeo-Christian principles has now been seized by pagan ideals of law and justice as successive generations have been lured away from our founding principles of faith in our creator and divine providence, the further we go down this path the more irrelevant our founding concepts become because they were created for a self-governing people who feared God that's why politicians can disregard their oaths of office because it's meaningless to them just as our founding principles are, they don't see themselves as our servants anymore. The next two election cycles will determine what fork in the road we have taken, I pray that the American people will wake up! Even while Rome was being sacked by the Visigoths the people went on with their diversions completely oblivious until the barbarians put their children and them to the sword. How far are Americans today willing to go to restore their country?

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October 02, 2009
Votes: +2

Lee Gonzales said:

Victory lies in marching Birch style through the neighborhoods of America Going door to door with Birch literature is not as dramatic but can yield results that can have a lasting effect. Jesus didn't organize a million man march on Rome nor did he advocate this approach be taken up as a strategy by the apostles. We pretty much know the problem is lack of a deep understanding on the part of the American people. We aren't trying to reach 300 million people all at once. We are trying to reach the influencers that live in our neighborhood, be they the chief of polcie, sheriff, city councilman, fire chief, the local businessman, school teacher, school board member, or anyone else who is a leader in the community. The communists didn't sit back and allow the odds to dissuade them from implementing their plan for conquering the world. Robert Welch set our plan down in the Blue Book and pretty much told those eleven businessmen that they had to put their minds straight on not looking at the problem from the perspective of can we win, but what will it take to win. Will you give it your all to win? will you forget the "can we win or is there a chance to win" part? Put your mind into what can I do to help the overall strategy that Welch set up to bring us victory. Some use the Tea Party March last month as a barometer that we can't win. Some use it as a gauge that there is sufficient numbers left that say we can win. The march was a tactic and even if the news ignored the TP march didn't it tell you something else? The media had to ignore the numbers. They had no choice. This march was large ( I have seen numbers swing from the hundred thousand to 2 million). The MSM cannot afford to let TV viewers see this manifestation that the American people are fed up with big government. Try looking at it from the media's perspective and from the controllers of the MSM and see if can see their worry translate into a very positive outlook for America.

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October 02, 2009
Votes: +2

Sweet William said:

	I agree... Lee, well stated. We will win.
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October 02, 2009
Votes: +2

Thomas's Pains said:

	... William, Lee, I guess we'll see come next election.
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October 03, 2009
Votes: +1

Sweet William said:

	... Thomas's Pains, it serves no good purpose to be negative. We will do our best in peace, lest we do our best in war.
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October 03, 2009
Votes: +2

eyeopener said:

So why aren't the commentators in action? Interesting, 15 comments, and only three Tweets. So many comments in agreement with the article - so then why am I the first to "Digg" it? If people want to get the word out, then go to: http://digg.com/political_opin...oss_Case. That's the least of what can be done. It's one thing to be a commentator, another to be a player. I'd like to hear from all of these commentators what they are actually doing. Are they writing to their Congressmen? Senators? Letters to the editor in the local paper? We need more players and fewer commentators. If you want to get in action, join the group i-Birching. Or at least write a few letters. I will be writing mine.

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November 12, 2009 | url
Votes: +0

Sweet William said:

	... I can only answer for myself but my reason for not tweetering is due to the fact that I find Tweeter to be a waste of time. It simply has never captivated my interest. I use MySpace, one profile for business and another for social reasons. Even then, I seldom use them. If anyone feels compelled to tweeter an issue, by all means, they should simply do so.
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November 12, 2009
Votes: +1