Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 9, 1995 TAG: 9507110018
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: F2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
No, the present generation cannot repent for the misdeeds of a previous one. What is done is done, so the world should let it be history. I feel that God has forgiven our forefathers of their sins, if there were any.
The Southern Baptists and Northern Baptists need to do everything in their power, with the help of Christians of all denominations, to help those of all races and religions now by using their money and power to eliminate evil, domestic violence, rape, drug abuse, Satanism and acts of evil that go on in this country today.
Wealthy plantation owners didn't consider their acts an injustice. The African people in authority are the only ones to blame anyhow. So at the Southern Baptist Convention in Atlanta, Ga., and Washington, D.C., why not vote to let this apology thing (June 21 article, ``150 years later, Southern Baptists say they're sorry'') be history, and let all Americans, regardless of race, pray for a united America without racism, hate and selfish pride? God created all people equal.
Let all people look only for the good in their fellow man and learn to love and trust people again, regardless of their skin color or religious faith.
LETHA S. WEST
LEXINGTON
Morality is not solely Christians'
TOM TAYLOR'S June 28 letter to the editor, "Freedoms spring from Christianity,'' and Thomas Alvin Lester Jr.'s June 28 commentary, "The sacred and secular should mix in political life,'' require a response from the non-Christian segment of our community. It's a large and diverse segment, and I do not presume to speak for more than a tiny part of it - the Buddhist community. Yes, we do exist here in the Roanoke Valley.
My real problem with both gentlemen is their claim that without Christianity there would be no morality in our society. This argument simply ignores the existence of numerous other moral codes, some of which predate Christianity by centuries. Contrary to what Lester says, the appeal to natural law as a basis for a moral code doesn't lead directly to ``discussions of the Divine.'' Buddhism's moral code is based on a natural law called karma, which operates in a completely nonjudgmental, impartial and impersonal way. It says simply that actions have consequences, and the effect of a particular action depends on the complex of causes and conditions that exist at the moment.
Buddhists make no appeal to a creator god as the ultimate authority on right and wrong. The authority for our moral code lies in the very nature of the universe as a complex of interdependencies that responds to whatever we do. If we act out of greed or hatred, then we cause suffering and anguish. If we act out of loving kindness and compassion, we create happiness and a better world in which to live.
This is simply an objection to some Christians' claim to the exclusive right to determine the limits of moral and ethical behavior. We desperately need a mutually acceptable morality that can be taught in our schools and demanded of our political leaders. There's enough common ground among the various religiously based moral codes for us to work together on this problem. Let's come down out of our pulpits and get to it.
E. JACUES MILLER
ROANOKE
The dancing is the raves' appeal
CHARLES W. Hall's ideas on evil and the un-Christian ways of raves (June 12 letter to the editor, ``Trashing away teen-agers' lives'') are a poor stand-in for the real issue. It's true that many Roanoke Valley youth are plagued by the question of how to spend their time, and some, being completely unimaginative, turn to a quick buzz.
But Hall shouldn't be no naive as to believe that raves are the only places where some percentage of the crowd is high on something more than the Holy Spirit. There is plenty of drug trading going on everyday in schools and in nice suburban homes. You will not take away drugs with the downfall of raves.
Raves weren't meant to entice young, unformed minds into the ways of the devil. Some people like to dance, and a rave is a place where some choose to do that.
I'm glad Hall's life is so simple that he can make hasty assumptions that neatly fill in the gaps in his perfect, all-Christian society with a community center.
Just for the record, not everyone in the Roanoke Valley or in the big world outside is Christian, so don't assume that everyone wants help from your personal savior.
ALEXANDRA LEVIN
ROANOKE
Clergy sits out abortion protests
MY WIFE and I, along with my brother and friends who number about 15, assemble on the sidewalk in front of the Roanoke Abortion Clinic, which is open on Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Our purpose is to pray for an end to abortion, and to make the women realize that they are carrying live babies within their wombs. We are also there to assist anyone who needs help in the event they change their mind.
From what we have learned about abortion mills, the babies die a horrible death. Most women who find they are pregnant at 24 days or later aren't aware of this. And after the abortion, they have emotional and psychological problems, and many have regrets for years to come.
Our prayer demonstration is done peacefully, but where is the clergy, the shepherds of Jesus' flock? With the exception of Father James Parks, who is very active in the right-to-life movement, we see no participation. Is it possible church leaders are afraid to participate out of fear of offending and losing some of their parishioners? We know they're very busy, but shouldn't this be a top priority?
Before Jesus was crucified, he asked the apostles to spend one hour with him in prayer, but they were tired and fell asleep. Should we also fall asleep and let children be crucified? I don't think Jesus will honor the excuse that some were too busy. Please help us save these precious angels.
MR. and MRS. DON REED
MONETA
Majority culture is being eroded
AFTER READING your June 21 editorial ``In the name of Jesus Christ,'' I need to point out how many Virginians like myself react to your arguments against the inclusion of prayers at public events. In the name of religious or cultural sensitivity, we must examine everything we do or say for fear of offending someone of a different culture.
It's our belief that it isn't better to live in a nation where the majority culture isn't free to express itself wherever and whenever it wants. That's not to say other religions or cultures cannot be respected or tolerated. Rather, we feel those who choose to live in a predominantly different culture ought to display a measure of respect for it by not criticizing the free expression or celebration that naturally occurs within it.
We have witnessed the erosion of traditional culture and values under unrelenting attacks upon it by powerful elitists who have long sought to undermine it by dwelling on its flaws to the exclusion of its many virtues. If we or our children believe that there are no worthy distinctions between how people live their lives individually or communally, then we'll inevitably see the erosion and loss of that culture's distinctiveness.
It's for precisely this reason many Americans today are crying out against government intrusiveness and cultural leveling promoted by so-called liberals and the media they largely control. This is why the Christian Coalition is involved in politics. This is why many want to completely revamp the centralized control of our educational systems and its grip over the context of what is and is not taught to our children.
Many would prefer to go our own way and live our lives under the cultural freedom our forefathers meant to bequeath to us. I believe this is why you see the 10th Amendment re-emerging, and states-rights proponents supporting separation and independence rather than the eventual destruction of our culture and heritage.
We prefer to place our faith and trust in God and Christian principles, rather than man or science alone, to help us solve our problems. The present sad state of society, morally and spiritually, is the result of the misguided belief that a social utopia could be created through a never-ending series of laws and judicial pronouncements.
If we're still a government of the people, and the majority of minds remain uncorrupted by decades of liberal dogma designed to shame us into compliance with its grand designs, we need to take back our governments, state by state, before it's too late.
WAYNE D. CARLSON
DUBLIN
by CNB