Date: Mon, 30 Oct 1995 23:24:23 -0500 (EST) From: Chris Purdom Subject: IWG 10/29 letters The following 2 letters went out on IWG letterhead (2 congregations, 4 religious organizations, and 14 clergy): October 29, 1995 Mr. Sandy Grady The Philadelphia Daily News PO Box 7788 Phila., PA 19101 Dear Mr. Grady: Thank you for your comparison of Minister Farrakhan and Promise Keepers. Very few people in the media seem to be willing to ask the obvious question of why intolerance in radical religious leaders is only unacceptable in non-whites or non-Christians (or people who are both). However, we were puzzled by your repeated assertion that Farrakhan's ideas were much worse than those espoused by Promise Keepers. Why are racism and anti-Semitism worse than sexism and heterosexism? As far as we can tell they are all equally bad, and assertions that they are not only justifies the continued perpetration of so- called "lesser" evils. Sincerely, Barbara Purdom Christopher Purdom Interfaith Working Group Coordinators October 29, 1995 The Philadelphia Inquirer PO Box 8263 Phila., PA 19101 Dear Editors: Ralph Reed's October 20 commentary criticizing "Big Government" and praising the "less is more" approach that the Christian Coalition is trying to push through Congress would be hilarious if it weren't so tragic. Reed is, after all, the figurehead of the Christian Coalition, which has pushed for government censorship of private communications on the internet, government funding for religious schools, church control of welfare benefits, the teaching of Genesis as science, and official prayers in the public schools. Many of these things would require more, not less, government. Especially strange was his comment that the pre-Christian Coalition government has been trying to create a secular version of God's kingdom on Earth. What part of the government which they have been complaining about so vociferously qualifies for this description? Given the Christian Coalition's attempts to take over the Republican Party and their stated goal of making the United States a Christian nation, how are they any different? The truth is that the Radical Right is not against Big Government; they are simply against THIS government, and the smaller they shrink it, the easier it will be to take it over eventually, after conservative churches have assumed government responsibilities to fill the void created by no public schools and no public welfare or medical care for the poor or elderly, among other government services the Right is seeking to abolish so that they can step in. Of course, many things would never be replaced in the Radical Right "utopia:" the National Endowment for the Arts/Humanities, the Centers for Disease Control, the Environmental Protection Agency, and Public Television and Radio, not to mention any regulations on big business or banking. Given your previous editorial opposition to the Christian Coalition's agenda, what can you possibly gain by giving them what amounts to free advertising? Sincerely, Barbara Purdom Christopher Purdom Interfaith Working Group Coordinators