Christian principles apply all week

To the editor:

I agree with Cal Thomas that Christians cannot rely on government to transform the culture. However, if he is advocating a total retreat from the public square of people of faith, I must respectfully disagree.

One's faith must shape one's actions in both our private and public (political) lives. Christ calls us to witness to the truth, especially in 21st-century America when important social issues such as abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem-cell research and social justice are debated. To profess Christian moral principles on Sunday, then hide behind the mantra of "separation of church and state" during the rest of the week is, at best, hypocrisy and, at worst, cowardice.

The abolitionists of the early to mid-19th century used every gun in their political arsenal to try to slow the spread of -- if not eliminate -- the evil of slavery. Our own state was allowed into the Union as a slave state by the Missouri Compromise of 1820. As a counterbalance, Maine was admitted as a free state.

Likewise, the pro-life movement of the 21st century, although not yet successful in outlawing the great evil of abortion, has been able to win some victories, such as parental notification requirements and the outlawing of brutal partial-birth abortions.

Who knows when slavery would have finally died out in the United States had the abolitionists followed the passive strategy of Mr. Thomas? Certainly, we would not be preparing for the historic inauguration of our first African-American president Jan. 20.

MICHAEL C. WULFERS, Cape Girardeau