Speak Out

I was born in Hobson City and attended Calhoun County Training School, receiving an excellent education. My places of employment were both in Anniston and Oxford. Prior to retirement as a clinical social worker, I was a drug and alcoholism counselor for district court programs, hospitals and residential mental health programs.

I served four years in the U.S. Navy and was also employed as a federal civil service employee with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.

This letter is to encourage the youth of Anniston, Oxford and Hobson City and nearby areas to devote the full measure to their education and service to the country, and they, too, will enjoy keeping "The American Dream" alive.

Now at age 72 1/2, I am so very, very proud of the early education that I received that gave me the greatest foundation to become a productive citizen.

Levi M. Wright
Worcester, Mass.

Marriage in America

Certain Americans are raising children and paying taxes, but unfortunately they are denied to marry the ones they love. They are gay, though. The refrain that they have the same right to marry someone of the opposite sex as any other American rings hollow because gay men and women do not wish to do so.

This argument is analogous to saying that you can vote for anyone you wish, as long as they were a member of the Democrat Party. Now, is there a distinction between men and women? Yes, but this distinction is not a basis for denying marriage to those who love each other. Marriage is made for mankind — mankind, not marriage. Marriage is, in part, an instrument to increase stability and happiness among society and the individual.

Marriage is good for children, such as the many tens of thousands of gay couples raising children today whose parents are denied the same basic rights in society.

Many rights can be achieved by signing separate contracts in lieu of a marriage license, but why do we require this segment of Americans to do that? Because we don't like them or their marriages would threaten society? Strange, but Canada and Massachusetts have had same-sex marriages awhile and they are still there.

Is same-sex marriage anti-religion? Well, the government is secular and has to represent all Americans, not just those of the dominant religion in America. Churches/religions can, and they should, decide whom they wish to marry.

The fact is that some churches support same-sex marriages and perform them. Are they anti-religious when they perform those ceremonies?

Shaun Slack
Anniston

Need honest judges

Ray Bryan should be decertified. Since when is it acceptable to the straight and honest residents for any judge or politician to split hairs on a technicality as the one being addressed in the race for circuit judgeship?

If he drags his feet and drops the ball for himself, what would he do for me?

He has absolutely no credibility.

Bob Richards
Anniston

Example of ethics

Re "Bible Belt Christians" (Speak Out, June 7):

Letter writer David Miles recites every horrible thing he could come up with in the past 2,000 years since the beginning of Christianity. His crediting it to Christians is totally invalid and he is knowledgeable enough to understand that. A Christian is a follower of Christ, "Christ-like." The fact that some claim the title in no way assures that they are truly one. In fact, historically, the true children of God have always been in the minority. His reference to Constantine's treatment of those who refused to follow the then-being-taught doctrines is exactly what I am referring to. The Lord's church had already sunken into apostasy and was nothing more than an evil empire, as were the Romans. Look what happened when the Church of Rome lost some of its power. The reformation movement started and thrived.

Christians who were striving to remain true to the doctrines of Christ and the Apostles of the first century were tortured, killed, burned at the stake, and so on. But the true Christians were the victims, not the perpetrators of those deeds. Also, the deeds he refers to after the settling of America are accurately recited, but he gives true Christianity the blame for it when it was the ignorant and those who cared not what was taught in the Holy Bible.

Attempts to discredit the Holy Bible and Christianity with such garbage is simply an example of the ethics one acquires without biblical influence.

Joel Hendon
Piedmont

Missing the message

I've been reading Star columnist James Evans' work for a while now. Oddly (to me anyway), there is one thing that I have never seen in any of this Christian pastor's weekly columns: Christ.

I know that Evans quotes Jesus from time to time, but a lot of folks do that, even some atheists. Evans writes often about taking care of the poor, but that is not uniquely Christian; many cultures believe in helping the poor. Evans' take on the issue is not even Christian. He wants the government to take care of the poor, not the church. Evans has taken some criticism from others for being too political, but that's only because it's true.

Evans writes from a far-left political point of view while calling for separation of church and state. In my church, we would call that person a hypocrite. Evans spends most of his column bashing real Christians. The love and compassion of Christ are replaced by sarcasm and innuendo.

It's kind of sad that a guy who professes to be a man of God has this platform and totally misses the message of Christ.

Philip Rowe
Anniston

Audacity of Romans

Re "Bumblebees and faith" (Speak Out, June 4):

If a bee's flight is Divine Design, then disease-carrying germs and microbes which maim and kill is God's will and to use science-created pesticides to slay roaches, termites, mosquitoes and vaccinations to combat the flu is hypocrisy.

As to the division of time into two parts, B.C. (Before the Conspiracy) and A.D. (After the Delusion): The supreme audacity of the Roman emperors and clergy to create a fraudulent New Testament from an earlier fraud, spread it by fire, sword, torture chamber and legislation and then call it a "good book"!

Jesse L. Warmack
Piedmont