Cross Symbol Controversies Plague Southern California Christians
by Allie Martin and Jenni Parker
July 19, 2005
(AgapePress) - Concerned Christians in Los Angeles County are trying to have a cross returned to their official county seal. Recently, under pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union, Los Angeles County supervisors voted to remove the cross from the county's seal. But now, a petition is being circulated to restore the Christian symbol that had been featured on the seal for nearly 50 years.Brad Dacus is president of the Pacific Justice Institute, a legal organization involved in the battle. He says the kind of "open, confrontational hostility" behind efforts opposing the cross on the L.A. County Seal is the same kind of hostility "that is going to attack every public vestige of faith and religious heritage that our nation has."
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Brad Dacus |
Such continual attacks against religious liberty and public expressions of faith are exactly what Americans can expect to see, Dacus contends, if forces hostile to faith are allowed to "get away with" censoring the religious heritage represented by the L.A. County cross. "That's why it's so important for us to ensure that faith in the public square is not squelched by groups intolerant of faith, like the ACLU," he says.The PJI spokesman says the cross formerly included on the L.A. County Seal was not made a part of its design out of any religious intent or any desire to make anyone uncomfortable. "It was an actual part of the scene," he points out, noting that the seal's original design contained symbols depicting aspects of the area's history and culture. The cross image that once adorned the seal was a representation of an actual cross that stands at the Pilgrimage Theater near the Hollywood Bowl, not far from the famous Hollywood sign. As such, it was just one of several landmarks and symbols that many residents considered important in Los Angeles history.
"Where you have [the word] 'Hollywood' on the mountain," Dacus explains, "the cross is there behind it. Everyone sees it, everyone knows it." The cross is "a part of the scene," he emphasizes, "and the only reason it was taken off was because of government hostility to religion."
Pacific Justice Institute has been chosen by the City of Redlands to defend its city seal if it is challenged in court. For nearly 40 years the California city that lies about 70 miles east of L.A. has had a cross hovering over a church steeple as part of the municipality's official seal. The ACLU has already challenged that cross and demanded its removal, while numerous religious freedom advocates and Christian groups are urging the city to resist complying with the civil liberties group's atheist agenda.
Light in the West: the Southern California Harvest Crusade
But while these battles over attempts to suppress religious faith continue, an annual evangelistic event held recently in the southern part of the Golden State is proving that the gospel message is as relevant as ever to that region and beyond. Over the July 15-17 weekend, the 2005 Southern California Harvest Crusade saw 100,000 people of all ages and backgrounds gathered into Anaheim's Angel Stadium to hear life-changing biblical messages presented through music, sports, technology, and biblical teaching. Featured musical guests included recording artists Crystal Lewis, Toby Mac, Jeremy Camp, and Steven Curtis Chapman, as well as the groups Casting Crowns, Kutless, Delirious, and Jars of Clay.
Harvest Crusades with evangelist Greg Laurie have hosted Christian evangelistic events in Southern California for the past 16 years. In addition to its in-person attendees, the 2005 Harvest Crusade drew an audience of 50,000 people who watched and listened via live Internet broadcasts and, for the first time ever, via podcasting technology. Across the weekend, more than 28,649 people from 61 countries logged on to watch the crusade in California live on the Internet, with nightly "hits" averaging 2 million. And during the past week, some 22,581 requests came in to www.harvestpodcast.org asking for the crusade's podcast feeds.
Each night of the Southern California Harvest Crusade, Laurie presented a gospel message, preaching on such topics as "God's Cure for Heart Trouble" and "How to Change for Good." And although several "virtual" members of the crusade audience made decisions for Christ via new technologies, more than 8,500 people stepped onto the field of Angel Stadium to make in-person professions of faith.
