CROSS-ON-COUNTY-SEAL PETITION FAILS.Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer As a petition drive failed Wednesday for a ballot initiative to restore a Christian cross The Christian cross is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity. It is generally seen as a representation of the crucifixion of Jesus. It is related to the crucifix (a cross that includes a representation of Jesus' body) and to the more general family of cross symbols. to the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County seal, some local religious leaders worried that governments - or the nation's highest court - would banish depictions of the Ten Commandments Ten Commandments or Decalogue [Gr.,=ten words], in the Bible, the summary of divine law given by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai. They have a paramount place in the ethical system in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. from public buildings across the land. And if the Ten Commandments are consigned only to Sunday schools and synagogues, some fear that pillars of American law - and decency - will disappear from sight. ``Our entire judicial system is based on those Ten Commandments,'' said the Rev. Dudley Rutherford, pastor of Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch, who supported returning the cross to the county seal. ``If you go to our law books, all laws are based on those 10 pillars. ``In our society, there are those who don't believe in God or respect God, but our our nation is based on those principles.'' In Washington, D.C., the Supreme Court considered oral arguments on the legality of displaying the biblical Ten Commandments on government property. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles County, organizers of a ballot initiative to restore the cross to the county seal halted their efforts after collecting only 109,000 of the 170,606 valid signatures needed by the March 1 deadline. ``I'm disappointed. We worked hard, but there weren't enough of us,'' said Sandra Need, an executive board member of the Committee to Support the Los Angeles County Seal Ordinance. ``From our perspective, this wasn't about the acknowledgment of religion, but of history - of you take the cross off (the seal), you wipe out 100 years of California missionary history.'' The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the five member governing board of Los Angeles County, California. Members of the board of supervisors are elected by district, the current members as of April 2006 are:
Similar challenges have prompted several Southern California cities to dismantle crosses in civic venues or to sell the publicly owned land on which the Christian symbols were erected. The ACLU ACLU: see American Civil Liberties Union. declined to comment Wednesday about the county-seal issue. An ACLU attorney for the First Amendment in Los Angeles was not available to comment on the Ten Commandments case. Need said that, in addition to the cross, she supported public monuments to the Old Testament commandments. ``The founders (of America) all believed in God and lived by the Ten Commandments,'' she said. ```Thou shalt not Thou Shalt Not is the initial phrase of most of the Ten Commandments brought forth by Moshe the prophet. It can also mean:
aux.v. Archaic A second person singular present tense of shall. not covet cov·et v. cov·et·ed, cov·et·ing, cov·ets v.tr. 1. To feel blameworthy desire for (that which is another's). See Synonyms at envy. 2. To wish for longingly. See Synonyms at desire. thy neighbor's wife.' These are the founding principles of the United States.'' In the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. , religious leaders expressed concern about the loss of religious symbols in public life. If opponents of government-supported displays of the cross and the commandments are successful, they could soon take ``In God We Trust'' off U.S. currency, said the Rev. Beverly Gaard of Chirothesia A Way of Life Church in North Hollywood, who had collected hundreds of signatures for the county-seal petition. ``It's founded on God, based on God; it's where we came from,'' she said of the Ten Commandments. ``(They) show us how to live. We need them. If we forget, we'll be subjected to all kinds of tyranny, dictatorship, everything.'' The Rev. Zedar Broadous, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church of Pacoima, also signed the petition - and supports the commandments displays. ``It's the doctrine of God,'' he said. ``Everything we know is based on those 10 principles. I do believe they should be let alone.'' For Rutherford, the cross and the thought of losing an estimated 4,000 monuments to the Ten Commandments in town squares, public courthouses and other government buildings across the nation is almost too much to bear. ``There is no question - our public schools would be better off with those Ten Commandments on their walls,'' said the pastor of 10,000 conservative Christians. ``When you get rid of moral absolutes, then there's absolute chaos in our society. ``We're heading down a slippery slope 'slippery slope' Medical ethics An ethical continuum or 'slope,' the impact of which has been incompletely explored, and which itself raises moral questions that are even more on the ethical 'edge' than the original issue ,'' he added. ``Everybody has rights and freedoms except Christian churches. It's freedom from religion, not of religion. I have a cross on top of my church. ``The day will come when the government will try to take it off.'' Dana Bartholomew, (818) 713-3730 dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Challenges from civil liberties groups have prompted several Southern California cities to dismantle crosses in civic venues or to sell the publicly owned land on which the Christian symbols are erected. Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer |
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