The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Decadence and Decay

3.13.08 @ 12:01AM

URBAN RUINS
Re: Conor Fiedersdorf's The Wealth of Baltimore:

Anyone who watches The Wire and thinks it is even remotely about the failures of capitalism is either utterly naive or willfully ignorant, and this would includes the show's creator, David Simon.

Like Simon (and, as much as I hate to admit it, Nancy Pelosi), I am a native of Baltimore, as are my parents, and their parents before them. As such, I feel uniquely qualified to comment on the city's current status. Put simply, it's a mess. Despite its much heralded "revival" (often ballyhooed by the renewal of Inner Harbor), the city has been utterly mismanaged since the late 1960s. The city government is bloated, inefficient, and dominated by cronyism and an unhealthy dose of racial politics. The poor keep getting poorer, crime keeps getting worse (exemplified by the city's newest nickname "Body-more"), the schools are a disaster, and the affluent keep fleeing to the surrounding counties.

In short, Baltimore's decay is a classic example of "urban renewal," leftist, socialist policies promoted by Liberals for the last 45 years. This is not surprising, however, since Baltimore is a one-party city in a one-party state. Maryland is nothing more than another impoverished, northeastern fiefdom of the Democrat party, and until this death-grip is loosened, the city will continue its downward spiral.

Capitalism, indeed.
-- Gavin Valle
Peapack, New Jersey

Conor Friedersdorf does your readers a service in providing a concise, well-written introduction to one of the greatest shows on American television. The Wire accurately depicts the problems of the modern American city, but it is up to today's citizens (and maybe a few dedicated viewers) to debate their policy implications -- or whether we should just change the channel.
-- Andrew Guess

HOT UNDER THE COLLAR
Re: Paul Chesser's The Southern Baptist Capitulation:

Mr. Chesser's political views not withstanding, he should passionately avoid scriptural exegesis in public, lest he totally humiliate himself even further. We can earnestly debate whether man has caused this or that particular environmental ill, but theologically speaking, Genesis 1:26 does say that man is to have dominion (aka "rule") over all the earth, and all its creatures. The Hebrew word (and the context in which the text was written) implies both rights and responsibilities. Stewardship is a fundamental concept throughout Scripture, which begins with the understanding that nothing belongs to us, all creation belongs to the creator, and the more one is given by God to care for, the more one is held accountable. From a purely practical matter, even if Mr. Chesser limits himself to Genesis 2:15, if God puts you somewhere for a purpose, it doesn't take a great biblical scholar to understand it wise to consider that a command; after all, it did come from God.
-- Tom Bledsoe, Jr., MD
Calhoun, Georgia

In spite of the fact that many prominent Southern Baptists signed it, this is not an official statement of the Southern Baptist Convention and does not represent the views of millions of Southern Baptists. The official position embraces climate skepticism.

But Paul Chesser's article does get one thing very right -- not matter what the immediate issue, the underlying concern is adhering faithfully to the text of scripture so as to let it be our guide, not merely another excuse for us to do what we want.
-- Gary Martin
Platte City, Missouri

Mr. Chesser missed it entirely in his article, "The Southern Baptist Capitulation." Southern Baptists have not adopted a statement on global warming. The statement he alludes to was written up by a student in a Southern Baptist School, but has no official sanction from the denomination itself. In fact, since the publication of the statement various denominational leaders have been explicit in distancing themselves and the Southern Baptist Convention from the statement. The title of the statement, "A Southern Baptist Declaration on the Environment and Climate Change," is unfortunate since it appears to be an official statement of the denomination. The student, no doubt will point to the phrasing "A Southern Baptist..." not "The Southern Baptist..." but the confusion is understandable.

Several stories explaining and correcting the misperception have been posted on our denomination's news service, the Baptist Press (www.bpnews.net). These stories are "on top" today and available without doing an "archive search."
-- Dr. Fred Smith

If Paul had done his homework, he would have discovered that the website mentioned and statement issued, is NOT endorsed by the SBC in any way. It was begun as students Seminary Project. Some signed on others not, as individual Pastor's. That is all it was. This article did no research before being written. That is bad!
-- Tim Guthrie

As I read the article in which Paul Chesser chastised the Southern Baptist Convention for mis-interpreting scripture, I couldn't help but wonder about his credentials as a Biblical scholar. Is Mr. Chesser fluent in the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin, languages? One must know these languages to be able to read the oldest existing manuscripts of scripture we have. Is he aware of something as simple as the fact that when he reads the word "love" in his English translation of the Bible, he really should know whether the original word in the Greek manuscripts was eros, philia or agape? Is he aware of the fact that oldest manuscripts we have are not even the original copies of scripture? Is he aware of the fact that the existing copies we have are riddled with the clerical errors of medieval scribes who were either careless or who had intentionally changed the text? Mr. Chesser suggests he has a better grasp than the Southern Baptist Convention on of the meaning of the scripture he reads in one of several English language translations of manuscripts written in ancient languages that aren't even the original copies of the text. Quite a claim!
-- Mike Roush
North Carolina

I am a devout Christian. However, I have not participated in organized religion for years. And the recent public position taken by the Southern Baptists on climate change is just one more example of why I left.

Letter to the Editor

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