The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 5 of 16)

The 7/11 article "Dirty Dozen of Religious Persecution" by Doug Bandow contains an important error of fact in the section on Eritrea. Eritrea has indeed suppressed religious freedom, but it is NOT at the hand of a Muslim government or, as he states, "...a majority Muslim nation."

Eritrea is, in fact, NOT a majority Muslim country.

It is usually listed as 50/50 between Christian and Muslim. But more relevant to Bandow's article is that the government -- highly centralized, with power in the hands of very, very few -- is overwhelmingly Christian.

Further, the dictator leader of Eritrea, Issayas Afewoki, who alone has the power to make such policy -- is Christian.

Fanatic religious beliefs from any corner usually overlook facts if they don't support the hypothesis they support. To imply Eritrea's suppression of religion has something to do with its Muslim population is simply inaccurate. Perhaps this is simply a journalistic accident and not a purposeful deceit to support your hypothesis.

p>This is supposed to be journalism...and...have you ever even been to Eritrea? br> -- Don Lieber br> Researcher, Eritrea br> International Campaign to Ban Landmines /p>

When reading this article of Christian persecution, so disturbing as it should be to all people of faith, I began musing on why the far left in America seems to show such hatred and fear of the faithful (especially evangelicals) in this country. They act as if and actually verbalize on occasion concerns that active Christians are going to establish a theocracy in the USA despite the total lack of evidence.

Then it occurred to me that perhaps they do see a parallel to what happened in Germany after WWI. These leftists realize when they are being honest with themselves that the valueless, non judgmental, discipline free, Christian free culture they advocate is really not much different from what happened in Germany during the twenties and early thirties as illustrated by the play I Am a Camera and the movie version Cabaret that one can argue set the stage for Hitler and his ilk to rise. When a society reacts against such an out of control culture, moderation often loses out to the radicals as it did in Germany.

p>But the far left in American should not fear evangelicals. It should first look in the mirror. I fear Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Carl Levin and poor clueless Joe Biden a lot more than I fear Jerry Falwell, Franklin Graham, and other conservative religious leaders. My Baptists relatives in the South have no interest in imposing their beliefs on anyone who does not willing open their hearts to Christ, in fact they essentially disowned Pat Robertson when he ran for the "second class" position of President of the U.S. In their opinion he violated the biblical "render into Caesar..." br> --

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