In God We Trust Congratulates Slidell, Louisiana, on Keeping Jesus -- But Calls Need for Expanded Courthouse Display “Silly”

            The Rt. Rev. Council Nedd, chairman of the national advocacy group In God We Trust today congratulated the people of Slidell, Louisiana, for defeating the American Civil Liberties Union by managing to keep a picture of Jesus hanging on their courthouse wall.

            The picture in question is a Russian Orthodox icon that features a picture of Jesus holding a Russian version of the New Testament.  Under the picture the courthouse had placed the words “To Know Peace, Obey These Laws.”

            In June the ACLU filed suit on behalf of an unnamed individual who claimed to feel threatened by the picture.  In response City Circuit Court Judge Jim Lamz stood firm and refused to remove the picture. To resolve the crisis Judge Lamz expanded the display and included other famous lawgivers including Confucius, Hammurabi, Charlemagne, Octavian and John Marshall along with the U.S. Constitution.  The ACLU then agreed to drop its suit.

            “On behalf of the nearly 100,000 supporters of In God We Trust I want to congratulate the people of Slidell, Louisiana, for weathering yet another natural disaster – this one in the form of the ACLU,” says Nedd, a traditional Episcopal priest and Bishop of the Chesapeake and Northeast for the Episcopal Missionary Church.  “However, it seems incredible to me that a picture of Jesus alone offends the sensibilities of the mighty ACLU but that same picture next to a picture of Hammurabi is ok.  This whole thing is silly,” adds Nedd. 

            “This debate has been a huge waste of time and resources for a community that is still struggling to rebuild after hurricane Katrina.  Lawyers have been arguing about how to translate the Russian writing on this little picture and debating whether or not they see a halo over Jesus’ head.  Don’t our judges and lawyers have better things to do?”  Nedd asks.

            In God We Trust is a special project of AHEAD and is committed to providing an active voice in opposition to the special interest groups dedicated to banning God, religion and America’s religious history from public display.  In God We Trust can be found on the Internet at www.InGodWeTrustUSA.org