While reading the March 27 edition of The Observer, I saw the Letter to the Editor by Xavier Lebec regarding First Down Moses. What Lebec fails to realize in his argument is that a greater picture exists.
First, let us for a moment discuss gods (not just the Jewish/Christian God) at the time the Old Testament was written. Gods were viewed at that time as wrathful deities, capable of two emotions: neutrality and anger. People from every nation would smite others in the name of their god. The more violence displayed, the more powerful the god was viewed to be. In order to contend with the other gods, the Jewish/Christian God had to follow a similar model. It would be far too idealistic to assume that the Israelites would have followed a pacifistic, "weak-looking" God, when they were surrounded by hundreds of other powerful gods. However, one major difference exists between the Jewish/Christian God and the other gods: the element of love. The Jewish/Christian God is the only God from that time period to exhibit love and compassion for his people. This is not to say that God did not punish his people; the verses Lebec cites from Exodus describe an instance in which God had to correct his people. The difference is in God's reaction after the punishment, which is one of love.
In addition, It would be incredibly foolish to assume that any god would condone the worship of other gods. I challenge Lebec to find any god that condones the worship of gods from other religions. I very seriously doubt that Buddha would condone the worship of Jesus, or that Allah would allow his people to worship Buddha. We shouldn't hold the Jewish/Christian God to any other standard.
Lastly, to hold the University responsible for building "a statue commemorating atrocities similar to those of Sept. 11" is not only irrelevant, but completely inappropriate. This is a Christian institution, and it simply built a statue to a man vital to the history of the Christian faith. Moses was simply following God''s command, as he was told to do. To blame Moses and label him a "terrorist" is offensive to the Christian faith. Moses is of incredible importance to the development of the Jewish and ultimately Christian faith, and he should be rewarded and honored as such.
Nick Bloom
Zahm Hall
freshman
March 27
