Here are a few thoughts on the religious debates that have been appearing in The Citizen.

If you don't want to read this, it's really quite simple - just skip ahead to the next letter. For those who have a teachable spirit, you acknowledge, as I do, that while no human being “knows everything,” most people do have some wisdom to offer in some area. That, in itself, gives them all the “right” they need to write in this newspaper.

When I read a little piece about an abandoned dog by Judy Vorreuter, guess what? I did not have to have a degree in religious studies, consult a concordance, or even open up a Bible to know that this woman has the love of God in her heart. People must outrank animals, yes, but in the same sense that parents must outrank children - there is a huge responsibility connected with being responsible for other creatures in your charge, and you do not have a right to abuse that power. There can be no disconnect between the way we treat the animals in our charge and the way we treat people.

This thought leads me to the biggest selling point I have ever come across for Christianity. For many years I studied the major world religions in depth, on my own and in college. Ultimately, none of man's well-crafted theological arguments ever sold me on Christianity, nor did any professor dissuade me from it. When I saw - I mean, really observed - the way people treat their fellow creatures each day, it struck me very profoundly that mankind really does need a savior. Mankind cannot save itself. And if you think that mankind can save itself, then tell me, how many more years do you think it will take before we finally “get it right” and arrive at that secular humanist utopia?

Lisa M. Backus

Auburn