Good Samaritan Baptist Church Pastor Ed Rice
Dear Dr. Bellinzoni June 13, 2002
Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I find it 'queer' that I should need to engage in apologetics with a Harvard - Princeton graduate and professor of religion. I use the word 'queer' carefully, it is an archaic English word, perhaps you will appreciate the pun on both counts. The hateful tone of your bigoted letter requires that I clarify my stand as a Bible Believer on at least three counts.
First, it is your prerogative to reject the Bible as true and to reject the Lord Jesus Christ as your God and Saviour. A man of your knowledge of scripture can read for himself, in Greek if you would, the cost of rejecting Jesus Christ as being Virgin Born God in the flesh. It is found clearly stated in John 3 particularly in verses 15-18. I know that you reject the gospel of John as written by the apostle John, and the word of Christ as coming from Him, but please read the cost of your rejection in that passage. Your current rejection of Jesus Christ as God in the flesh, unfortunately, disqualifies you as a diserner of Bible truth. You see when dealing with the Word of God, (written by God with the hand of man), seeing is not believing, but believing is seeing. I appreciate your blindness to the truth, such blindness is expounded on throughout the scriptures, particularly examine the letter to the Ephesions, again use your Greek, and dwell on the first two chapters that expound on their salvation and the 'quickening' that they found in their belief in the Lord Jesus Christ as the God-Man who rose form the dead. (quickening is an archaic English word you should look up.)
Secondly, your intolerance, indeed even bigotry, towards Bible believers is appalling. God is intolerant of sin. He has already so judged. I am not judging sin, God has already done so. I am but passing on God's judgments to those who are ignorant of them, or in your case those who knowingly choose to reject them. In so choosing to reject God's Word and God's righteous judgments you are at enmity with God and with those who Believe in His only begotten Son. Your hatred clouds even sound reasoning about the sin of sodomy that you call a normal well adjusted highly-evolved lifestyle. God calls it an abomination, use Greek or Hebrew, the Septuagint or the Masoratic Text. It still comes out SIN. You purport to accept this sin of homosexuals and call those who quote the Bible "hateful bigots who should be discriminated against" and kept off the streets. Again, use your Hebrew and read Isaiah 5:20, in archaic English it says "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" Woe to you, Dr. Bellinsoni, and your hateful bigotry toward Bible Believing Christians.
Lastly, I must address your twisted view of America and our Founding Fathers purposes. If anyone would know the purpose of 'separation of Church and state', I expect that a retired professor of religion would. Your letter proved me sorely mistaken on this count. I would request that you use some of your own resources on this. Find a copy of our Declaration of Independence and see what it says about creation and particularly our Creator. Despite your twisted belief that we evolved into this century, all the founding documents of America account for our creation in the image of God, even in the six day creation that you so vehemently reject and despise. Nowhere, except in the liberal God rejecting mind, is there a wall of separation between our Government and the Bible, and thus the 'secular' democracy that you rally is actually a republic founded on the Bible and it's principles. Our laws are. Our form of Government is. Our founding fathers repeat this over and over, for those who are not yet evolved into God rejecting blindness to read such statements. I will leave this as an exercise for the retired. Get out some real history books and find out who Elder John Leland 1754-1841 was and what he had to do with the passing of the Bill of Rights. He was a Baptist. That bill, as you perhaps recall, gives me the legal right to stand on the street corner and quote Leviticus 18:22 to whoever I please. In Canada, they put people in jail for such an act, calling it hate speech. In America, you and yours have been largely unsuccessful at putting us Baptist in jail so far, because of what Baptists did from jail in the late 17 hundred's. Secular democracy! How ignorant. Ever heard the word 'Republic'? Watch for it in your history books or pledge of allegiance.
You might hate what I believe about the Lord Jesus Christ; You might call me names, and have; You might despise when I come out of my closet, a prayer closet, and call your normal acceptable alternate lifestyle a gross sin and an abomination to God and country that normal adjusted God fearing men should not tolerate acceptance of; You may spread your hate campaign to Albany and legislators, but in so doing you are not only opposing my God and Saviour Jesus Christ, you are opposing the founding fathers of this God fearing Christian (that's 'Christ'ian as in Lord Jesus "Christ" who George Washington knew and accepted as Virgin born God in the flesh kind of Christian, baptized by a Baptist Preacher in the Potomac River, kind of Christian) country. Read your history. Consider who you are opposing with your hate speech toward Bible Believing Christians.
On the rest of the counts, in your letter I will plead guilty. I staunchly hold to God's creation of the whole universe in 6 days, just like the Bible states. I reject all your scientifically proven theories of evolution, and would quote, "let God be true and every man a liar" when it comes to your scientists. I hold to only the King James 1611 translation of the Bible for English speaking people, rejecting the modernist bibles as perversions written by liberals like yourself who reject the deity of Christ and think best 'original' manuscripts show up in a monks trash can. I thank you for asking about my other pamphlets, yes I do have them on each subject you mentioned. I do not have a perverse fascination with what people do in the privacy of their bedroom as you imagined, only a perverse reaction to those who would bring it out of their closet and smear it in the face of my children, my grandchildren, and my God fearing congregation and then march off to Albany and Washington DC to pass laws requiring that we call their sin normal and acceptable, or face jail.
Thank you for your hateful mocking letter. I find few that can word the ludicracy of your liberal position and will use your albeit feeble arguments in yet another pamphlet defending Christians Rights for the cause of Christ. He Loves you. He being God in flesh, died on the cross to set you free from your condemnation in sin. Don't reject Him. I am sure it is hard to kick against the pricks in your soul. The way of a transgressor is hard, the way to the Cross of Calvary is easy. Jesus said, 'him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out." You may have spent your life opposing and mocking Him and His Word, but He will save you from your condemnation if you will believe on Him and call on Him.
In the love of Christ and for His Kingdom