In September of 2011 Gaston Lacroix was hiking a summit near the town of Publier, France, located in the eastern Haute-Savoie region near Lake Geneva. A religious man, and the Mayor of Publier, Lacroix decided to mark the summit with a landmark. He commissioned a statue be made of the Virgin Mary, paying for it with funds raised by donations that came from around the world. 30,000 euros paid for the statue and the inscription beneath: “Our lady of Lake Geneva is watching over your children.”

Fast forward to January of 2015 when local group “The Free Thought Federation of Haute-Savoie” requested a review of the Grenoble Tribunal Administration to validate the legality of the statue. On November 24^th, 2016 the tribunal ruled that the statue had to come down as it violated French law, quoting:

“It is forbidden to erect or put any religious sign or emblem on the public buildings or in any public place of any sort, excepting buildings dedicated to worship and cemeteries and funeral monuments or museums and exhibits…” – Article 28, 1905

Lacroix, of course, disagrees with the ruling saying, "It was made to be a landmark. I wanted to unify, but unfortunately there is a minority that creates division." Ratified in the 1958 constitution under the concept of Laicite, France's secularization laws were initially written to protect religious freedoms and prevent state interference. It should come as no surprise it would be used to reduce religious freedoms, however, as secularization never adds to a society and always diminishes its values.

Why am I bringing this to your attention, since it impacts another nation and there is nothing we can do about it? It’s not like it could happen here, in America. Or could it?

This Christmas season the American Civil Liberties Union has filed a suit against the town of Knightstown, Indiana for displaying a cross as the topper of the town Christmas tree. A statement from the city government conceded rather than risk a costly court battle:

“It is with regret and sadness that the Knightstown Town Council has had the cross removed from the Christmas tree on the town square and is expected to approve a resolution at the next council meeting stating they will not return the cross to the tree.”

In protest, many of the towns people have made crosses of their own, carrying them to the town square and placing them at the base of the Christmas tree. They are literally carrying their cross, just as Jesus commanded, only this time in protest rather than submission. Way to go, people of Knightstown, Think-Biblically.com stands with you.

My recommendation to our readers, place a cross at the top of your Christmas tree this year and every year. Let’s make it a new national tradition. Place the manger beneath, the cross at the top and use ornaments on the tree to tell the story of the Life of Jesus. And if you need help remembering the events of his life, we’ve just finished a pretty great series on the book of Luke that you could use for reference….