The Persecuted and Persecutors

In the Los Angeles Times article (Aug. 8) about the “Christian” letter sent by a Treasury worker, Christopher Sundseth, Mr. Sundseth wrote, in part, to Mr. Leib, “This country was founded by Christians who were escaping the same kind of small-minded tripe you espouse.”

Sundseth’s ignorance of the history of these Christians is apparent. In due time, the persecuted became the persecutors. They accepted help from the Indians, and when the “savages” were no longer useful they became victims of broken treaties, were deprived of their land and slaughtered by the thousands.

They enacted repressive laws. For example: Catholics were not allowed in Massachusetts. By law all babies in New York had to be baptized, but another law prevented Catholic priests from baptizing babies. This guaranteed a low Catholic population.

As immigration increased, Catholic children attending Protestant schools had to recite from the King James Bible and repeat prayers not of their faith. When parents and priests requested that the Douay Bible be included, they were refused. The children were encouraged not to participate and as a result were ridiculed and whipped into submission. Catholics were shot at in the streets, homes and churches were vandalized, convents were burned and a priest was tarred and feathered. This Catholic resistance was one of the reasons they established their own schools.

Some of the punishments dealt to lawbreakers included death for the third offense if one blasphemed against the word of God. (Even now James McClellan and his Center for Judicial Studies, funded by the Moral Majority, are seeking support to make blasphemy illegal.) The second offense for the blasphemer was not quite as terminal: A bodkin (knife) was inserted in the tongue.

Denial of the Trinity was punishable by three years imprisonment. Baptists were unwelcome in Virginia (Jerry Falwell, take note!) and were fined, beaten, or imprisoned.

Eventually, religious laws invaded the bedroom. Certain sex acts were outlawed. The sale of contraceptives was illegal. As each Christian sect fought for and gained its rights it, in turn, became intolerant of other beliefs. There are hundreds of court cases recorded to substantiate the fight for religious and personal freedoms.

What about small-minded tripe, Mr. Sundseth?

ANNE RICHERT

Long Beach