Regarding Brian Baldowski's Jan. 10 letter ("Christian letter is not so Christian"): I agree that the "us-against-them" mentality is not a Christian attitude. We should love our brothers and sisters, and help guide them in the life God wants us to lead. However, I disagree on several points.
Christianity is the majority religion in our country. Some of the traffic he sees on Sundays is people going to church. Unfortunately, there aren't enough national chains like Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby that make it a priority for their personnel to have time to worship.
The public schools are not religiously neutral. Most public schools
are encouraged to teach about Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Ramadan in the spirit of multiculturalism, but are forbidden to teach about Christmas or Easter.
Our government was founded on Christian principles. Our Founding Fathers frequently called upon God to lead the Constitutional Convention on the correct path to establishing the new government. In Washington's inaugural addresses, God is asked to protect our nation. Our Declaration of Independence uses the term "Creator" to define from where our "unalienable rights" are granted.
The separation of church and state does not appear in the Constitution. The First Amendment states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...." This means government will not set up and run a church, as England did with the Anglican Church, or interfere with the expression of religious ideas, such as children saying grace prior to their meals or reading a Bible during a break at school (both of which have been restricted).
Nowhere in our governing documents is it mandated that God be removed from our public life. I encourage Mr. Baldowski, as an educator, to pass on the message and principles in which he has stated belief.
Barry Baggott, North Augusta, S.C.
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