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This is in response to the letters written by Matthew Gilbert and Lowell Haag. Both were voicing their opinions on a previous column by Dr. Brady Phelps. Dr. Phelps has written numerous columns for the paper and I enjoyed them all. I felt they were a breath of fresh air from a paper that usually includes at least one predominately Christian column. First let’s look at Mr. Gilbert’s letter. He made the claim that Dr. Phelps should no longer write them on the basis that he, “personally, found them offensive.” The fact that they could possibly be viewed as offensive is no reason for him to stop. If one is going to make that argument, one might as well support censorship. Secondly, Mr. Gilbert, how “your Lord” feels about this is of no concern. My non-existent lord thinks it’s peachy-keen. It’s true, Dr. Phelps can profess anything he wishes, however he is of no requirement to keep that inside the classroom. Again, you push for censorship of a perfectly valid opinion. Mr. Gilbert sees no reason to constantly question his beliefs. He doesn’t realize just how important questioning them is. One absolutely must do this. It’s vital. Questioning what you believe is how we grow, expand, and change. Moving on to Mr. Haag’s letter we see him make numerous religious comments and references. He says that “only by the Lord’s grace” is he able to move past anger to love. It seems wrong to me, that the only way someone could get over their anger is through religion. Many people are able to do that without the help of the “Lord.” He also made the claim that our founding fathers were all Christians. This is not true. Most considered themselves Deists. In fact, a close friend of George Washington’s once stated, “Washington was a Deist.” It doesn’t get much more straightforward than that. Ben Franklin and James Madison were also Deists. As we can see here, they did what Mr. Gilbert spoke so much against earlier: questioned their beliefs. Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “Question with boldness even the existence of a god.” He didn’t consider himself to be of any religion. Finally, Mr. Haag, I’d like to thank you for condemning all non-Christians to damnation. I’m sure “your Lord” loves it when you pass judgment over others like that.

Jordyn NolzCommunication Studies & TheaterMitchell, SD