Since 1998, fallen state troopers in Utah have been honored by having monuments placed on Utah roadsides.  This effort was organized by two members of the Utah Highway Patrol Association.  As of August 18, 2010, 13 of the monuments have been placed.  The monument includes a photo of the fallen trooper, biographical information, and the year of death.  The insignia of the highway patrol is also on the monument.  Before the monument is erected, the family of the fallen trooper was consulted, and no family objected to the placement of the monument. 

However, on 8/18/10, the Denver-based 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the monuments violated the First Amendments prohibition of government endorsement of religion.  The decision was praised by the American Humanist Association and American Atheists, Inc., who sued the Utah Highway Patrol Association (a private entity supporting state troopers and their families) in 2005 to have the monuments taken off of state property.

The problem is that the monument is in the form of a cross, a very large white cross, measuring 6 feet wide by 12 feet high.  The court ruled that the large crosses "would convey to a reasonable observer that the state of Utah is endorsing Christianity.  The memorials use the preeminent symbol of Christianity.”  They went on to say, "The massive size of the crosses displayed on … public property unmistakably conveys a message of endorsement, proselytization, and aggrandizement of religion that is far different from the more humble spirit of small roadside crosses," the court said.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff disagreed with the court, saying that most reasonable people simply see the crosses as death markers.  He said, "When someone driving sees that white cross, what goes through their mind?  Someone died here, and not Jesus Christ."

                   

What Does Go Through Your Mind?

The court noted that most people in Utah have been raised as or are followers of the Mormon religion, which does not regard the cross as a religious symbol.  I began to wonder about the differences in how a Christian and a non-Christian might regard a road-side cross.  It is true that our society has relegated the cross as simply a marker of death, a marker that "someone" died here, with little or no reference to Jesus Christ?  Furthermore, why would a non-Christian choose a cross as a marker of death?  Other markers have been used, including:

• A large rock with a plaque

• A statue

• A pile of rocks

• A tombstone

• An obelisk
                

Why use a cross?

The two men behind the project said that he image of the cross was chosen because only it can simultaneously convey a message of death, remembrance, honor, gratitude, and sacrifice.  However, majestic statues and such may convey similar messages.

What is different about a cross, even to a non-believer?

• The cross conveys a message of hope - hope that there is more to life than just this world.  Hope that loved ones will be reunited in the hereafter.  Hope for a future in Heaven filled with peace and joy, away from sorrow and pain.  These are feelings of hope that are felt even by non-Christians.  However, they have no assurance of these hopes.

• The cross also conveys a message of spirituality, even to a non-believer.  Maybe God was looking out for this person.  Maybe this person was a Christian after all.  Maybe God eased this person's pain and took the person to Heaven.  Maybe this person was a good and honorable person, or an innocent victim, surely worthy to be looked after by God.  How can a non-believer change this vague sense of the presence of God into a strong and unshakeable faith and assurance of God's presence here and forever?

• The cross causes even non-believers to contemplate their own beliefs.  The cross is personal.  It makes them wonder if there is more to life than the here and now, and makes them think about the priorities in their lives, and makes them wonder if their beliefs are correct.  It makes them face their own mortality.

In contrast, how does a believer in Christ regard the cross?

• To a believer in Christ, the cross symbolizes the promise that Jesus made to all those who believe in Him:

  "For God so loved the world that he gave his own and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16
  
  With Christ, we do have an assurance of life after death, with Him in Heaven.  There is no doubt.  However, only through belief in Christ can this be attained, not through good works, not by being a good person, or not by being an innocent victim.

  Only through Christ are we saved:

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." - Acts 4:12
 

• To a Christian, a cross symbolizes life as much as it does death.  The cross represents Christ's victory over sin and death on our behalf.  Christ defeated death, and rose again to join God in Heaven.  He promises the same for us.
   

• The cross represents the fact that as believers, our sins are paid for by Christ's suffering and death on the cross.  Our debt is paid in full, and thus we are redeemed by Christ.  This requires no work on our part except to believe in Christ and to accept Him as our personal Lord and Savior.
  
  "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!" - Romans 5:8-9.
   

• When a Christian sees a cross, it reminds him that Christ is indeed alive and with him.  Unlike what some people would say or believe, a road-side cross does indicate the presence of Christ.  This is not say that Christ died at the site of a road-side cross, but that Christ is alive there and everywhere today!