Broken hands, broken hearts

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Forest Service decision to allow a Jesus statue to remain on Big Mountain in Whitefish.

The permit recognizes that the statue is important to the community for its historical heritage based upon the early development of the ski area; the fact that the statue is considered to be a memorial to World War II Veterans, especially those of the 10th Mountain Division; and that it is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Foundation maintains that the land is being misused and the statue furthers Christianity in general and Roman Catholicism in particular and reflects a flagrant governmental preference for religion and Christianity.

But based upon our history and the law, which are entwined, the statue should stay.

America’s beginnings were by Christians, the founders of “New” England (i.e. the Puritans). They interpreted the Second Commandment (“You shall not make for yourself a graven image — any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.” Exodus 20, 3-4) such that a statue of Jesus would have been unthinkable. If they found anyone with such, the person would have ended up in the stocks or more likely, would have been “banished” from the colony, like Roger Williams, and forced into the Wilderness, now known as Rhode Island.

When King Henry VIII separated from Rome and established the Church of England, he retained most of the Catholic rituals.  Puritans believed that the English Reformation and the Church of England were too tolerant of such practices and thousands embarked for the New World in the early part of the 17th century, bringing their own brand of religious intolerance with them.

Gov. John Winthrop and Minister John Cotton of the Massachusetts Bay Colony would have had apoplexy upon finding a statue of Jesus in their midst as such statues and crosses were considered idolatry. They believed, as the Muslim and Jew both do today in their faiths, that neither Jesus nor God could or should be made into a caricature. This belief was required of all members of the colony.   

There was neither religious freedom nor separation of church and government and the government did not take kindly to those who questioned such. Obedience to God and his Commandments was part of the foundation of John Winthrop’s sermon, “Citty (sic) on a Hill”, given upon their departure from England aboard the Arbella for the New World.

Winthrop referenced a parable from the Bible, (“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden”) in his sermon encouraging his fellow shipmates as they embarked for the New World. The “City upon a Hill” metaphor has been used by both President John Kennedy and President Ronald Reagan for their vision of America. The full sermon is a wonderful read as it planted the seeds of democracy in America.  

Shortly after the Arbella arrived in the New World, another ship, the Lyon, sailed from England with Roger Williams, a minister. The intolerance was soon to be challenged.

The colony government required church attendance and loyalty oaths, both of which Roger Williams opposed as well as the government enforcement of the first four of the Ten Commandments. Roger Williams believed these human obligations or duties lay outside the realm of government. Because of his beliefs, his willingness to preach and air them and his subsequent openness to other religions upon his founding of Rhode Island, Roger Williams, (not Thomas Jefferson) is credited with starting the concept of separation of church and state in America.

While I am a proponent and believer in Roger Williams’ heroic stance (he was banished into the wilderness in the middle of winter with only his clothing that he was wearing, surviving because of his friendship with Native Americans), I support the Forest Service’s decision and the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Salazar v. Buona, which upheld a cross on federal land, with similar circumstances of Whitefish’s Jesus.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the plurality, wrote, “The goal of avoiding governmental endorsement does not require eradication of all religious symbols in the public realm.”

In my 20-year military career I visited many of our national and state historical and military cemeteries in the United States and in foreign countries. Upon visiting the American Cemetery in Manila I was greeted with acres upon acres, thousands upon thousands, of white crosses, with a few Stars of David intermingled, reflecting Americans and their faiths, which they died defending throughout the Pacific Theater during World War II. The same is true for the numerous American National Cemeteries in France, Italy, England, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Tunisia, Panama, and Mexico.

Carrying the separation of church and state argument to its extreme, one could argue that those thousands upon thousands of white crosses and Stars of David that overwhelm a visitor to any of these 24 permanent American burial grounds should be removed. Good luck on that argument!

The Foundation’s objection to the statue has reeducated us to its historical significance by reminding us of the service of World War II veterans. These men, having survived World War II, were instrumental in establishing ski resorts throughout the West. They include Whitefish’s 10th Division veterans Ole Dalen, Karl Hinderman, Otto Ost, and Ed Schenk, of the 82nd Airborne.

An 82nd Airborne private, during the Battle of the Bulge, stopped a retreating sergeant in a tank destroyer and yelled out, “Pull your vehicle behind me — I am the 82nd Airborne, and this is as far as the bastards are going.”

This is as far as the Foundation is going as well!

We need to embrace our common history, including the faith shown by our founders, as well as our country’s commendable history of fighting religious intolerance, including the right not to believe. The Foundation should recognize the faith relied upon by most of our military and veterans, especially those who gave their life for what many believed to be service to “God and Country.” It is a small price by the Foundation to pay, for their ability to file such lawsuits, safely behind the front lines.

In closing, I have skied, biked and hiked by the statue for decades. Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of the statue is its ability to grow back its hands that tend to fall off. It’s miraculous! What would be even more miraculous is if the Foundation actually took my suggestion.

Tom Muri, of Whitefish, is an attorney and is running as a Democrat in House District 4.