( CHARISMA) -- A large cross that has overlooked Ventura, Calif., for almost a century could be taken down if a small group of atheists and agnostics gets its way.

Threatening local officials with a lawsuit, the protesters say the 30-foot-high monument violates the constitutional separation of church and state because it stands on city land, "The Washington Times" reported.

"All you have to do is look at Israel or Northern Ireland to see how destructive religion can be when it is brought out in public," said Stan Kohls, one of those challenging the landmark. "A society that is democratic must be secular as well."

Among the options being considered by the city are selling the land to a private organization and moving the cross to a museum or other private site, the "Times" said. Erected around 1913, the illuminated cross in the city's Grant Park was preceded by three other crosses that stood on the site in the last 300 years.

Kohls said he had received a flood of threatening phone calls since making his complaint. The local newspaper has printed letters "full of angry reaction to the threatened lawsuit," the "Times" said.

© 2003 charismanews.com
© 2003 Maranatha Christian News Service