Clifford Goldstein makes some very good points in the matter of Christians loving their neighbor when he writes, "Thus, loving even those whose views oppose yours is about as fundamental as fundamental Christianity can get . . . Jesus never said to love your neighbor's beliefs, only your neighbor–a big difference" (THE LOGIC OF HATE, March/April).

Unfortunately in this age of "political correctness," religious ecumenism and dialogue anyone who dares to take a stand on controversial topics will be attacked by those who resort to name calling as a substitute for solid arguments.

Colin Powell put it well in his book My American Journey when he writes, "Frankly, the present atmosphere does not make entering public service especially attractive. I find that civility is being driven from our political discourse. . . . Any public figure espousing a controversial idea can expect to have not just the idea attacked, but his or her integrity. . . . The slightest suggestion of offense toward any group, however innocently made, and even when made merely to illustrate a historical point, will be met with cries that the offender be fired or forced to undergo sensitivity training, or threats of legal action."

In the area of religion, religious organizations such as the Roman Catholic Church will resort to character assasination in which its apologists "bigot" their way out of a troublesome predicament, as they seek to create the impression that certain groups or individuals who disagree with its teachings are irresponsible and that sane men, sound men, men of goodwill would not associate with them.

Paul Blanshard wrote his controversial book American Freedom and Catholic Power because he became greatly alarmed at how the American Catholic hierarchy was becoming so aggressive in the political arena pushing its authority into the fields of medicine, education and foreign policy

Blanshard wrote in regards to these areas, "These things should be talked about freely because they are too important to be ignored. Yet it must be admitted that millions of American are afraid to talk about them frankly and openly. Par of the reluctance to speak comes from fear, fear of Catholic reprisals. . . . Some of the reluctance of Americans to speak is due to a misunderstanding of the nature of tolerance. Tolerance should mean complete charity toward men of all races and creeds, complete open-mindedness toward all ideas, and complete willingness to allow peaceful expression of conflicting views. This is what most Americans think they mean when they say that they believe in tolerance.

"When they come to apply tolerance to the world of religion, however, they often forget its affirmative implications and fall back on the negative cliche, 'You should never criticize another man's religion.' Now, that innocent-sounding doctrine, born of the noblest sentiments, is full of danger to the democratic way of life. It ignores the duty of every good citizen to stand for the truth in every field of thought. It fails to take account of the fact that a large part of what men call religion is also politics, social hygiene, and economics. Silence about 'another man's religion' may mean acquiescence in second-rate medicine, inferior education and anti-democratic government." Pages 2-3.

Blanshard was strongly attacked by the Catholic Church and its defenders with names like "bigot," "know-nothing," Ku Klux Klan," etc, because they could not refute his arguments. But Blanshard who was rightly defined as "the dean of controversy" predicted such a reaction when he wrote "Any critic of the policies of the Catholic hierarchy must steel himself to being called 'anti Catholic' because it is part of the hierarchys strategy of defense to place that brand upon all its opponents; and any critic must also reconcile himself to being called an enemy of the Catholic people, because the hierarchy constantly identifies its clerical ambitions with the supposed wishes of its people." (Page 3.)

JOHN CLUBINE

Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada

WHY SO COY ABOUT AGE?

I like your magazine A LOT. Since it has been around for such a long time, how about letting others readily know this by adding something like:

"Established 19xx"

to the masthead, or even front cover somewhere?

I think it would do nothing but add further credibility to an already highly respected publication, and give new readers a more lasting perspective.

There are so many new counterfeits coming out these days that it helps for us to further differentiate lasting truth from mere faddish propaganda. As you know, this will even be more true as we go into the next century.

COURTNEY CROWLEY

via E-mail

SAINTS AND SINNERS

I find Peter M. Dyga's defense of his religion vigorous, but his reasoning not very convincing. In his effort to justify the Catholic Nine Commandments, he states that coveting a neighbor's wife is adultery, and the other part of the 10th Commandment is greed and envy; so that justifies dividing the 10th in two. However, that makes God rather redundant, seeing He covered adultery in the 7th Commandment. (6th for Catholics).

I also wonder who decided that Augustine was a saint. And that the apostle Peter was a pope. My Bible stresses the equality of all of God's children, and that one should not be honored above another (Matt. 23:10).

MARY JANE EAKLOR

Penrose, Colorado