Jesus Statue to Stay on Big Mountain – Lawyer Explains Court Victory [AUDIO]

Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Dana Christiansen ruled that a six-foot tall statue of Jesus that has been on Big Mountain near Whitefish for 60 years can stay after an anti-religion group sued to have the statue removed.

The Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty's legal counsel Daniel Blomberg said the judge's decision was made with common sense.

"The judge's decision first of all honors our veterans, second, preserves our nation's history, and third and most importantly, rejects the idea that all religious symbols are somehow poisonous and must be removed from public property," Blomberg said. "

Blomberg explained how his group got involved in the lawsuit.

"The Beckett Fund got involved in this case on behalf of the Knights of Columbus, and various folks who have been involved in the upkeep of this statue, precisely to vindicate those interests," Blomberg said. "The statue has stood in the same place for over 60 years, and has never upset anyone until the Freedom From Religion Foundation decided it was time to file a federal lawsuit."

Blomberg said the Freedom From Religion Foundation often goes looking for such opportunities.

"The Freedom From Religion Foundation is often walking around looking for things to be angry about, and folks to try to bully about their private religious expression," Blomberg said. "The statue has been sitting there for over 60 years, and it's on a ski hill, so it's only visible for a few months out of the year."

Blomberg revealed what he thought was the true purpose of the lawsuit.

"Whet we're really talking about is a lawsuit by people who want to scratch off 'In God We Trust' on the currency that we use," Blomberg said. "They also want to get the word 'God' out of the Pledge of Allegiance. They are rabidly anti-religious"