November 15, 2024
Letter

Anti-Christian bigotry

The May 12 editorial set a new low in its continued expressions of anti-Christian bigotry. The attack on the Christian missionaries headed to Iraq demonstrates either a misunderstanding of, or a hostility to, the message of love that they carry.

The assertion that their intent is to tell the Muslims that they are wrong is a distortion of what missionaries have done for hundreds of years in tremendous service to the world. Christian missionaries’ efforts in no small way have raised standards in the dark continent of Africa, in the jungles of South America and in islands and lands around the globe.

Contrary to the Wake Forest University professor’s quote, which was supported in the editorial, the U.S. Constitution does not carry a parallel “freedom from religion” clause along with its guarantee of freedom of religion. The constitutional prohibition of state-established religion has been misappropriated to that falsehood far too many times, sadly now by this paper. This freedom of religious expression is what allows missionaries to share the light of the gospel to those who have been downtrodden. As opposed to “forcing one’s religion on someone else,” which can’t really be done outside of a state-established religion, these missionaries carry on the time-honored tradition of sharing and giving them a choice.

In an oppressive regime that has existed for so long without freedom of choice, a free choice, an alternative, a message of hope should be encouraged, not attacked. I am sure it is a message for which many Iraqis have been craving for a long time. Let’s not deny them.

Alan Gray

Charleston


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