Subject: IWG LA Times Letter
From: Interfaith Working Group <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 23:45:28 -0500 (EST)

The following went out on IWG letterhead listing 3 congregations, 5 religious
organizations and 36 clergy from 12 faiths and denominations. If you are in 
the general Philadelphia area and represent a congregation or religious 
organization or are clergy, let us know if you want to be added - all faiths 
are welcome. We will also be happy to help start similar organizations in 
other areas.

December 20, 1996

Los Angeles Times
Times Mirror Square
Los Angeles, CA 90053

Dear Editors:

In his letter about same-gender marriage, Kevin Craig
insists that the God has the right to legislate moral
absolutes.  Mr. Craig is clearly from the school of
thought that all rights come from God, but that humans
are somehow capable of controlling God's behavior. 
This is the same line of reasoning which concludes that
we have somehow kept God out of the public schools by
eliminating organized school prayer.  Due to our
dependence on human interpretation of God's will, God
does not have any official role in the government
legislative process, and in the case of same-gender
marriage, as with many other social issues, we do not
all agree on what God's will is.  Because of this
disagreement we have separation of church and state.  
Any single marriage is potentially two institutions in
one: a legal union blessed by the state and a religious
union blessed by a religious body.  The framers of the
Constitution knew that it is better to leave God's law
to the churches and the state's law to legislators.  

Sincerely,
Barbara Purdom     Christopher Purdom
Interfaith Working Group Coordinators

-- 

Interfaith Working Group                Religious organizations, congregations 
[email-masked]                      and clergy supporting gay rights,
http://www.libertynet.org/~iwg/         reproductive freedom, and the 
215-235-3050                            separation of church and state.