Lehigh County officials received a surprise recently when the anti-Christian Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) demanded that the county remove a cross from its official seal under threat of lawsuit.

In a Nov. 5 letter to county officials, FFRF stated, “We urge the county to immediately discontinue using this seal and to develop a new seal that is both constitutional and representative of all citizens.” The letter requested “a written response outlining what steps the county is taking to comply with constitutional dictates.”

Pennsylvania Pastors Network (PPN, www.papastors.net), a statewide network of thousands of pastors committed to providing Bible-based and constitutionally consistent analysis and recommendations on matters of public policy, says FFRF’s demands show not only open hostility towards Christianity but also gross ignorance of our nation’s founding documents.

“While flying the flag of separation of church and state, FFRF seems to forget that the author of this oft-quoted phrase, Thomas Jefferson, himself approved of religious services being held in the United States Capitol building. In fact, he even attended them,” said PPN President Sam Rohrer, who is also President of the American Pastors Network (APN,www.AmericanPastorsNetwork.net). “The truth—and a very inconvenient truth for FFRF—is that from its inception, our nation has recognized the hand of Divine Providence, and our Constitution clearly protects, not prohibits, the freedom to acknowledge and worship God in our public activities and symbols. We urge Lehigh County officials not to cave to these threats but to stand boldly for truth and religious freedom.”

According to recent news reports, the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners considered the issue during a closed meeting in January but has not yet made a decision on how to proceed.

PPN is encouraging all Pennsylvania residents, and particularly those in Lehigh County, to contact the County Board of Commissioners to encourage them to stand for religious freedom and not cave to FFRF’s demands. The Board may be reached at commissionersoffice@lehighcounty.org or at 610-782-3050.

FFRF’s threats are not new. The group routinely targets expressions of America’s Judeo-Christian heritage within the public arena, seeking to separate entirely religion from American life.