Wednesday, October 8, 1980
daily nebraskan
pageS
0Gte to Mug edl to
I must resDond to some recent mm.
mcnts made by Rcncc Wesscls that hit me
like nails scraping on a blackboard.
I find her complacent attitude on ASUN
elections deplorable, especially since she
promised upon election that reform would
be "top on her priority Usf (March 21).
Court suits do seem to have become a
routine part of our annual elections, but
rather than accept it as inevitability, why
not try to reform our election system?
Many seem content to experiment
every year with different sysy terns in
order to comply with a regental mandate
of two years ago. Why use a detrimental
hit-miss-try again method when we could
try instead to change the mandate itself?
1 have found some of the regents willing
to listen; we may get them to act.
Concerning Fund A refunds, Wessels
made the brilliant deduction that the low
number of students requesting a refund
on ASUN fees shows that "most students
support having a portion of their go to
ASUN." This is somewhat like saying that
the low number of people attending LES
meetings shows that most people don't
care about their rising electrical rates, or
that the low number of people who use,
pizza coupons out of the Daily Nebraskan
shows that most students don't like pizza.
I know of many students who don't
want their fees going to ASUN, but simply
spaced off getting their refund. Most
people space off anything concerning
ASUN, even refunds. The fact that they
had better things to do than chase down
88 cents should not necessarily mean they
support the fees or system.
Diane Walowiak
Senior
Teachers College
Issues are religious
Although I am not a student at UNL, I
trust that you will allow me the opportun
ity to respond to you editorial in the Oct.
2 issue, titled "Political Churches Cross
Boundary," since I am one of those that
you are so quick to want to "strip. . .of
their clerical robes."
Your editiorial is tilled with misinfor
mation in relation to the Moral Majority,
or of the reasons for the positions you
attribute to it. You very obviously did not
do your homework before you set out to
educate your readers. Let me suggest the
following areas as examples.
First, the Moral Majority is not an or
ganization of churches, nor are any church
bodies asked to become involved. Our
church here, as an example, has no direct
ties to the organization. You call for the
removal of tax exempt status thus has no
foundation in fact.
Second, you lamented admission that
abortion can be considered a religious
issue but the ERA and gay rights are not
religious issue is to speak of your ignorance
of the issues involved. Anytime a person's
religious holy books speak of an item
that is current in society, it is a religious
issue for that person. For those who follow
the teachings of the Bible, the afore men
tioned items are of great signifigance as re
ligious issues.
Much of our western culture and legal
system is based upon the moral teachings
of the Old Testament of the Bible; as an
example, our laws about murder are based
upon the 10 commandments. As to abort
ion, Many Christians believe, upon biblical
teachings, that life starts at conception,
and therefore the deliberate taking of the
life of the unborn is murder.
The ERA is a religious issue, for it
attacks the home and undermines the
structure of the family, both of which are
taught in the Bible. You lament the church
invading domain of the state, but the state
has already scaled the wall of separation,
as there is much documentation that the
various branches of government are al
ready invading the privacy of the local
church.
It is conceivable, and most likely, that if
the ERA passes, the state will aU but de
stroy the wall of separation by forcing
churches to accept women in roles or
positions that a given local church may not
wish to do. As an example, Baptist church
es historically have not been in the practice
of ordaining women to the Gospel minis
try. But, under the ERA, the courts could
easily force a church to do so, if one of its
members were to take the matter to court.
Gay rights, again, are a moral issue, for
the Bible says much about sodomy or
homosexuality, always from a negative
viewpoint, and always condemning it. If
you want some evidence of this, read the
first chapter of Romans in the New Test
ament, any translation will do, for it all
comes out the same.
Sure, the Bible teaches that God is a
God of love, and He loves the sinner, but
it nowhere teaches that God loves His sin.
This is the reason that Christ came into
this world, to save and deliver mankind
from its slavery to sin.
Now, just because I happen to be a
preacher, does not mean that as an indi
vidual of this country, I can not speak out
on the issues of the day?
Did becoming a Christian, or becoming a
preacher strip me of my legal rights? Or,
can I not speak out in my pulpit on the
moral issues that the Bible speaks about?
Threat ....
Continued from Page 4
was no chance for a woman to attain a
position of authority in the church.
Not much has changed in this regard,
women were and still are considered
second-class citizens in religious institu
tions. Women are still victims of the
church's mandates.
The idea that a few zealots now can or
should control the lives of many is
pompous arrogance. Like prohibition in
the 1920s, abortion will not be stopped by
laws. Abortions will only go into "speak
easy form," but with more damaging
effects.
The rich will find a way to get what
they want and the poor will die unjustly.
Christianity has been criticized by many
for usurping power in various institutions.
The Christian religion has co-mingled with
dictators, despots and corporations for an
eternity. As many an "underdeveloped"
Black vote . . .
Continued from Page 4
Incidentally, not voting is the least
attractive alternative. In the first place,
there is no way of telling which uncast
ballot is an act of protest and which a
reflection of apathy. And in the second
place, the presidential race isn't the only
event in the derby.
Black voters who stay home out of dis
gust with Carter and fear of Reagan may
miss the chance to send a few more blacks
and politically-compatible whites to Con
gress, to the state legislatures and to local
courts, councils and city halls.
country knows: where missionaries go,
Exxon oil usually follows.
Christians particularly must not let the
fundamentalist movement speak for them.
The best of what Christianity offers is
understanding and tolerance. Fundamental
ists do not speak for those causes.
In 1971, the first year of New York
State's liberalized abortion law, Mayor
John Lindsay said that more than one-half
of the abortions performed there
(264,339) involved out-of-state women.
Other statistics show that in New York in
1972, there were about 750 fewer hospital
admissions of women who had tried self
induced abortions.
In ignoring this kind of evidence, funda
mentalists exhibit a concern for the life of
unborn that unjustifiably outweighs the
concern for the lives of those already
living. The pro-capital punishment stance
that their platform supports is another
curious example of this.
For these reasons, I'd have to agree with
the political and civil rights organizations
that are backing Operation Big Vote. It is
important that the black vote not be
wasted.
What I find hard to swallow is the
notion that the surest way to waste a black
vote is to cast it for a presidential candi
date other than Jimmy Carter.
At some point, we have to begin ques
tioning the wisdom of remaining a one
party people in a two-party country. Why
not now?
(c) Washington Post Co.
One of the areas of your failure to do
your homework is that the Moral Majority
does not support any political candidates,
but it is organized to do three main things:
encourage people to register so they can
vote; disseminate information about the
moral issues of the day; and encourage
people to go to the polls on election day.
I have not publically supported any can
didate, nor has this church done so, that
for is not our responsibility.
Lastly, I do not understand the double
standard you obviously adhere to. Specific
ally, the actions you attributed to the new
left of the 60s and 70s, were widely pro
moted by men in religious positions, some
of them even being put in jail on some
occassions. They did so because they spoke
out on what they considered to be the
moral issues of the day. They had every
right to do so.
But, now that someone else comes
along with views that do not fit your own,
you say we are crossing over the boundary
line. Tli at is a double standard.
Instead of condemning those who speak
out on the moral issue of the day, you, in
your position representing a free, unbiased
press, should be encouraging debate, so
that the voting public will know just what
the issues are, and can make up their minds
as to how to vote based upon their own
convictions.
Richard W. Johnson
Pastor, The Temple Baptist Church
Daily
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