Last week, officials in Ozark, Missouri promised to take down a Christian cross made of lights that surrounded a utility pole. While it had been lit up in the evenings, that changed this winter after the Freedom From Religion Foundation sent the city a letter noting that this was a clear promotion of Christianity by the government.
Sunday marked the final day the cross would be lit. Now officials will decide their next steps. But there’s still a problem. Even unlit, the lights remain on the pole and a cross shape can clearly be discerned… which is to say the city is still promoting a Christian symbol.
So what should they do? Much to the disappointment of local Christians, city officials said they would “lower the horizontal arms of the cross” until a decision was made.
Eric Wells, a local resident and former Executive Director of the Springfield Skeptics, went to check out the cross yesterday and confirmed that the arms had indeed been lowered:
I guess that’s what winning the “War on Christmas” looks like…?
It’s not anti-Christian. It never was. It’s a matter of the government staying neutral. This is just a temporary fix, though. It’ll be up to city officials to make the right decision and remove this cross for good — unless, of course, they want to see a Satanic symbol made of lights next year.
