Ashcroft’s Statements on Christianity

Re “What’s God Got to Do With It?” Commentary, Feb. 26: Sorry, but as a secular citizen who receives many of the benefits of a nation built on Judeo-Christian principles, I’m not alarmed by Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft’s outward acknowledgment of his faith. But I am alarmed by the relentless assault on Christianity from the politically intolerant left.

At the National Religious Broadcasters convention Ashcroft also said (on TV) that his religion does not allow him to impose his beliefs on others. How much more plainly can he speak? This new attorney general is honest. That is why I trust him.

Marc Atkinson

Tujunga

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Thank you, Robert Scheer, for pointing out that virtue and responsibility are not dependent upon faith in a major religion. An argument can even be made for an inverse relationship between them. Without the assumptions of a purposeful master designer of the universe or the accessible forgiveness of a benevolent God to absolve us of our wrongdoings, there can be only one course to a better life on Earth. That course lies in each individual developing his or her own human potential to act with honor and caring toward others. Should the tenets of any religion eventually earn a worldwide consensus, those who had lived so without the motivation of religious faith would still have taken the right tack.

Rene Dernburg

Los Angeles

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Poor Robert Scheer. His bile, always issued from the left, has now apparently choked off what remaining reasoning powers he had left. In a desperate attempt to tar Ashcroft with anything, he chooses to assail Ashcroft’s statement that the source of freedom and human dignity is the creator. Scheer then concludes that this is some scary statement of religious intolerance.

Actually, it is merely a recognition of the sentiments of the founding fathers--and the Declaration of Independence, in particular. This view of natural rights is, in fact, the only one that truly protects all the freedoms we enjoy, even the freedom of ideological columnists to demonstrate their ignorance in print.

James S. Bell

Woodland Hills

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Yes! Yes! Yes! Thank “God” for Scheer . . . and for a Constitution that provides that no U.S. citizen can legally be penalized for what he or she believes or does not believe. In America we have both freedom of religion and freedom from religion, if that fits one’s view of the universe.

Jerry Small

Venice