Texas Baptist Forum

Join civilized nations

Now that the media frenzy over the Casey Anthony trial is over, we are seeing outrage from folks who were enamored with this tragedy and already had tried the case and found the defendant guilty. The trial reportedly cost Florida taxpayers an estimated $4.5 million. How many police and other crime-prevention personnel could have been hired for this amount?

If you want someone to blame for this trial and its outcome, blame the politicians who use the death penalty as a tool to further their ambitions. Better yet, blame the voters who put these politicians in office. The death penalty affected this trial from start to finish and affected the outcome and the cost. The measure of “beyond a reasonable doubt” is likely higher when someone’s life is at stake than otherwise.

Is the death penalty the ultimate punishment? If so, why do so many mass murderers choose to end their own lives rather than face life in prison without parole? How many murderers have gone free because the jury had to consider the death penalty? How much money have we wasted in these trials?

It is time for America to join the family of civilized nations and eliminate the death penalty.

Carl L. Hess

Ozark, Ala.

Christian principles

Are we a Christian nation (July 4)? No! We are a nation built on certain principles. “All men are created equal” is one of the basic principles. “Free enterprise” is a derivative that allows all men the freedom to strive. “Family values,” although unspecific here, is a basic principle of our society.

Question: From where did equality, freedom, family come? Answer: Jesus Christ. We are not a Christian nation, but a nation built on Christian principles.

Also, the separation of church and state is not in the Constitution. I’ve read the Constitution. If you believe it is, then you believe that a fetus is not a living being until it is 90 days old. Splain that to me.

Fred Rosenbaum

Gainesville

‘Accident’ of birth

We in America don’t seem to realize how fortunate we are by the “accident” of our birth in America. We enjoy the blessings of freedom, security and prosperity to a great extent because, in our past, moral people, guided by Christian — biblical — principles and love for others, have enacted laws to help make life in America freer, securer and more prosperous than in most other countries.

Most of the world’s people live in poverty and lack freedom, security and prosperity because their laws and their lives have been guided by evil, greedy leaders with no loving heart for the good of their people.

It would be wonderful to live in a world without borders where the biblical ideals—Jesus’ ideals—could be shared by all (June 20). Our missionaries are doing something to share those ideals with the peoples of the world, but we still are a long way from being able to guarantee freedom, security and prosperity in a world without borders.

Unfortunately, we cannot yet open our doors as a nation to all of the world’s poor and dispossessed people without lowering our own quality of life and taking it down to the level of those who were born on the other side of the border! We still must keep our standards and ideals as high as we can and try to help the rest of the world become as free and secure and prosperous as we are.

David King

Marshall