One Letter By James Armstrong Of Casselberry ...

One letter by James Armstrong of Casselberry said:

“Thomas is a fundamentalist Christian who believes in a

literal interpretation of the Bible. He used to work for the

moral Majority. From his narrow, myopic vantage point, he

self-righteously presumes to judge the human family.

What about 11/2 billion Muslims? What about nearly 1

billion Hindus and a half-billion Buddhists? What about 15

million Jews? Are they all bound for hell? And what about

the billions of people who dwell in poverty, ignorance and

oppression and who have never been exposed to God

concepts and religious teachings? Are they all doomed to

Thomas’ hell?

More specifically, what about the Dali Lama or Mahatma

Gandhi or Aung San Suu Kyi, the courageous Buddhist

Nobel laureate who has been under house arrest in Myanmar

for 12 of the past 15 years? Their lives of meditation and

prayer make the spiritual exercises of most Christians pale

into insignificance.

If it’s a question of heaven or hell, as a former seminary

professor and a Christian minister for more than half a

century, I would much rather go to hell with Gandhi, the Dali

Lama and Aung San Suu Kyi than soar off into heavenly

‘bliss’ with Thomas and his ilk.” (Orlando Sentinel, Spiritual

exercise, June 18, 2008, A10)