George,

I got a kick out of Mr. McDermott's biblical quasi-quotations. I looked them up to make sure they were from the Bible and not from the Q'ran (actually, it turns out that most of what Mr. McDermott cites appears in both). I know stoning adulterers and unchaste women (as dictated in Genesis chapter 24) is still practiced in certian Muslim nations. But does this mean that we in the United States of America - if we are to take Mr. McDermott seriously - should adopt laws similar to those in Muslim nations regarding sex and marriage?

Perhaps Mr. McDermott should soujourn in Nigeria and report back to the U.S. House of Representatives on his findings. They still stone adulterers and unchaste women over there, so he'd probably feel right at home. He might even be able to get some ideas for legislation that the House would probably pass.

I wonder, however, if Mr. Mc Dermott has ever eaten rabbit, pork, shrimp or snake? Liviticus chapter 11 explicitly forbids consumption of the meat of such animals. At least that's good news for all the vegetarians out there. They're not unclean people.

If you're going to take the Old Testament literally, it's inconsistent to take only certain passages literally while not taking others literally. You can't pick and choose, unless, of course, you're nothing more than a hypocrite with close ties to the radical wing of a certian politcal party currently controlling all three branches of the U.S. government.

And may God bless Nigeria - I mean America. May God bless America.

Joseph Cheek (electronic mail, March 9, 2004)

For related piece, see The Trouble With Islam.