F-You, CU!

I was reading our student paper the other day and I went directly to the "Letters to the Editor" page as I have come into the habit of doing since my amigo Seán began the "Tee-totallers tiff"(see http://ssully.blogspot.com for more info). On opening this page I was presented wiht one overly large article that was eye-catching.I indulged.What I was greeted with was a ridiculous anti-religion rant.This guy...Dónal O'Driscoll was making a big deal out of nothing.H e wrote:

"A chara,

I was strolling towards the Jonathan Swift on Tuesday Evening the 30th October,as us godless [please note the lower case G] Drama geeks tend to,when I discovered a Christian union poster. The poster warned that cowards and "non-believers" along with people such as murderers and the corrupt, would be destined for the fiery lakes of burning sulphur.

Now,try and get inside my head for a minute (as scary and all as that experience might be) [He actually wrote that], I'm a little Johnny no god,plodding around happily after handing in a project earlier in the day[this is relevant how?],when I come across a poster confirming my eternal damnation.

What made it a bit disturbing was that I as a "non-believer" was apparently higher up the pecking order of "condemned" than murderers."Johnny may be a dirty murdering bastard but at least he says his prayers". I mean, Don't get me wrong, I appreciate being warned about my pending doom while I am still young enough to do something about it. I have been flagellating[I think he misspelt fellating...] myself ever since.(the blisters are getting a bit sore) However, as an experienced PRO, I am a bit worried on the impact it may have on the CU's image.At the risk of being controversial, I would imagine a large percentage of the population are non-believers are "Non believers" or at least "laissez faire" Christians. Therefore, do the CU really think that condemning a large percentage of the student population to a fiery doom will endear them to that population.It's a little too Fred Phelps-ish for me. I mean whats next?God hates fags pickets outside thes SU?

[It's at this point I'm going to skip three or four lines of bullshit, of no importance, that doesnt deserve print a second time ]

Finally, If they [the CU] really want to save souls,perjaps they should be less like Fred Phelps and more like Ned Flanders.Because remember,"Everyone that counts loves Ned Flanders".

Is Mise,

Dónal O'Driscoll."

WOW.I can't believe that this sort of propoganda gets printed nowadays,much less written.In my opinion this guy was making a big deal out of nothing.Sensationalism for the sake of it.So,Guess what I decided to do?Thats right,I made nothing out of his big deal while still getting a point across.I wrote:

" Sir,

I am writing in response to the letter published in “An Focal” dated Tuesday 13th of November. You know the one. The one written by Dónal O’Driscoll. The same letter in which he committed libel against every Christian on this campus and, indeed, beyond. He claimed that all Christians are members of the Christian faction known as “Westboro Baptists” when he said “…what’s next? God hates fags pickets…?”. That’s like saying that every atheist worships at the altar of Richard Dawkins.

Obviously this man is a member of the drama soc for a reason. So I urge that same society to give him a lead role in something so that he’ll have less time to write nonsensical letters that haven’t been researched. I mean, what harm could it do? This guy is obviously a Drama King and lives for sensationalisation.

In saying this, I feel he did have a point. One should not have to suffer “in-your-face” lectures on morality because one is a “heathen” or “pagan”. The Christian Union should know better. I mean, they are the purveyors of the “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” lifestyle, right? If the Christian Union were truly Christian then they’d follow Christ’s lead. They would allow people to join them of their own free will. They would not, and that’s a big not, try and use scare tactics to bring people “back to the flock”. As a friend of mine once said “You can believe in rocks as long as you don’t throw them at me”. Practical advice.

So I guess what this letter wanted to say is “Can’t we all just get along?”. At the end of the day we’re all people, faith or no faith and it’s a long life before we figure out who’s right. And when we find out it’ll be too late anyway. So why dwell on it? Why try and convert non-believers? Why try and convert believers to atheism? Bottom line: Don’t. Live and let live.

Yours,

Eoghan Hughes."

Note that my punctuation is without flaw.I've met Dónal O'Driscoll before and for a self-proclaimed punctuation/grammar Nazi,he sure make alot of mistakes for me to fix.Anyway,Am I right?Am I wrong?Comments in the comments section please...

Also,Credit where its due...Thank you Seán for giving me a decent format and inspiring me to be more active in our community.