Bible verse labeled 'ominous' by atheists, stripped off by Harper Police from patrol truck

The Harper Police Department took down a decal from one of its patrol trucks that contained a Biblical verse considered by an atheist group as "ominous."

Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) announced on its website June 29 that the Harper Police Department in Kansas finally took off a religious decal from one of its police vehicles.

"This was a particularly obvious violation of the First Amendment for us to draw public attention to," said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor in a press release. "Once that happened, the Harper Police Department quickly realized the folly of its ways."

The religious decal in question contained the biblical quote of Romans 13:4 which reads, "For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil" (King James Version).

On June 22, FFRF sent a demand letter signed by staff attorney Andrew L. Seidel addressed to the Harper police chief, Doug Murphy.

According to the letter, a concerned citizen notified FFRF of the religious decal on patrol cars that bore what the atheist group considered as an "ominous quote" that violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The group then demanded for its immediate removal.

KSN.com further quoted Seidel as explaining that the First Amendment means the government should observe the separation of church and state, and therefore must be neutral on matters of religion. However, the religious decal on one of the police cars is taken as "an endorsement of that particular Bible, and that particular verse and that particular religion."

FFRF also did not fail to mention in its demand letter that it just settled a similar lawsuit involving crosses on vehicles that led the Brewster County Sheriff in Texas to pay them about $20,000 in fees and costs.

The Wisconsin-based atheist group boasts of nearly 24,000 members nationwide with almost 150 members in Kansas.