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)