Put Your Pen Down Before It Bites Someone

On October 27, I wrote concerning a column in the Toronto Star where the ethics columnist took a swipe at the Bible and Christianity (even though he claims to be a practicing Christian and clergyman). I wrote to him politely asking if it was ethical to publicly call one of the world's great, historical religions a repeated unleasher (i.e. promoter) of nonsense and accuse its sacred text (2/3 of which is also held sacred by those of the Jewish faith) of teaching anti-Semitism, misogyny, environmental destruction, and hatred towards homosexuals.

Apparently, there were others who wrote less kind letters to him because in his response on November 10, he pretty much dismisses his critics as mean-spirited and oblivious to what the Bible actually teaches. He did not even begin to address my concern.

This is the problem when people express their concerns in an ungracious and hostile fashion; they become easy to dismiss. Years ago, I had a Member of Parliament tell me that the nastiest, rudest letters he had received often came from those claiming to be Christians.

How tragic! Righteous anger does not justify abusive letters. If you can't write letters to the editor, to parliamentarians and other government leaders (at any level) without resorting to mean-spirited rhetoric, then please do us all a favour and put down your pen or shut off your computer. I would rather you said nothing at all because folks like you make it much harder for the rest of us to be taken seriously.