LETTERS: BEWARE OF FALSE RELIGIONS

To the editor:

Religion, my foot! All the excitement over at the Southern Illinois University campus dealing with the white supremacist group should not go without comment. As a person who believes in religion and as a leader in matters spiritual, I am deeply insulted that that group even calls itself a religion. They make society look like a bunch of fools. They do not have a religion, they are simply a hate group. They should be in the news -- for the purpose of exposing them for the frauds they are.

Upon deeper reflection, I think they are in the same camp with the Survivalists and the Militias. In my opinion the government should abolish these groups. Otherwise there will be other incidents like Oklahoma City and, closer to home, young ignorant individuals will fall into the trap of joining such groups, thinking they have equal legitimacy, being drawn by a false feeling of something exciting and "revolutionary."

I challenge my brothers and sisters of the cloth to preach this Sunday on racism, hate groups and false religions. It is my prayer that one day our country will have the guts to pro-actively disenfranchise all of these groups, and society will reject the "right" of any of these groups to exist.

It would be a false tolerance and an ultimate self-deception to defend such groups or their right to exist.

THE REV. J. PATRICK WISSMAN

Scott City