BLACK: Not what I wrote

Regarding the Readers Write letter by Esequiel Vasquez on my article published in the Press November 27-28. Perhaps Mr. Vasquez and I can agree on this idea: It is not so much the practice of religion that leads to misery in the human race, it is the malpractice of religion.

A few more thoughts about his letter.

(a) I did not speak about the “evils” of Islam. I spoke to the evils of how some people practice it.

(b) I did not say the acceptance of “Americanism”…”will somehow convert Muslims and make them peaceful.” I said that it would lead to a more “blended” society, one that history has shown is less subject to violence than those cultures that are religiously balkanized.

(c) Mr. Vasquez’s last paragraph says I have an “unbridled belief that separation is absolute, is dangerous and has the potential to lead souls away from Christ.” I made no such claim, and I do not believe the idea in the first place. As one example, the “soul” of this writer believes in God. As another, my wife is Catholic, and she believes in the separation of church and state.

Mr. Vasquez takes issue with my saying Catholicism has evolved throughout time. He says, “This is a false assertion.” Really? We no longer see the Catholic Church mounting Crusades to rid the Holy Land of Muslims (Turks in the days of the Crusade). Modern day Galileos are not imprisoned. The banning of books (the Index) was abolished in 1966. These actions speak to the church evolving.

My article referred to the Catholic Church only once. Mr. Vasquez treats the sentence as if it were the central theme of my article, when it was tangential to the subject of the separation of church and state.

My assertion in the article is that the integration of church and state has the danger of the state dictating which church is to be integrated. It is usually employed as a tool for the political and/or religious leaders to gain more control. This danger is not an abstract notion. See the Spanish Inquisition for a past example and ISIS for a current one.

If religion and state are integrated, what happens if the resident religion falls out of favor? Imprisonments, beheadings and other atrocities. See Stalin’s USSR for a past example. See the Sunni/Shia musical chair tragedy in Iraq for a current one.

In the article, I asked the readers to remember the famous quote, “You are entitled to your own opinions, but you are not entitled to your own facts.” Mr. Vasquez has convoluted this idea. He has made up my facts!

UYLESS BLACK

Coeur d’Alene