Givin' him "what fer"!

Mark Finn of Florissant takes Gary Siegel and his editorial to task...

...we certainly don't need high-profile, uninformed, unanswered editorials like Siegel's exacerbating the problem.

Finn offer a three point rebuttal to Siegel's flawed opinion piece:

Gary Siegel's Oct. 11 commentary on religion and politics presented three points that are misleading at best, dead wrong at worst.

1. His example pitting politicians against each other is misleading. He portrays one as being against banning first-trimester abortions "to save the life of the mother" and the other authorizing a military campaign that would "inevitably include ... the killing of innocent children." Politicians are rarely against life-saving abortions, and there really are few of these anyway. Authorizing a military campaign often results in innocent casualties for the overall better good. The latter might result in the taking of innocent life; the former certainly does.

2. His point about pro-choice politicians not personally approving abortion is the same old ridiculous excuse. If something is wrong, it's wrong. Individuals don't get to decide. You don't hear politicians saying, "Well, I personally think it's wrong to steal a car, but I don't think government should tell people if they can steal cars or not".

3. His final blather about religious leaders overstepping their bounds when they "rant like a tent revivalist about the evils of sin" is just plain wrong. He makes Jesus out to be some kind of flower child who let everyone get away with whatever. Has Siegel even read the Gospels? Yes, Jesus spoke of loving one another, but people often conveniently forget how much he called sinners to account. Religious leaders should follow his example and do likewise.

This is the sort of thing that people don't hear. In my opinion, moral issues like these are the most important in this election. The positions of the candidates on other issues are so full of baloney that it's easy to mistrust them to follow through on anything they say.

One thing is sure: We're fed so much misinformation from the candidates themselves, we certainly don't need high-profile, uninformed, unanswered editorials like Siegel's exacerbating the problem.

Mark S. Finn
Florissant

Anyone who has read the Gospels would know that our Lord was not a pacifist who confirmed everyone in their sins. He continually challenged those who would hear Him, to conversion, to turning from sin, to change one's life. Those who intentionally mislead or confuse others, are certainly not following in Jesus' footsteps, but are following the path of the evil one.

Post Dispatch letter here.