To the editor:

As a thinking person, a student of history and an ethical Christian, I find it more than a little embarrassing that Chuck Smith would submit for publication his letter of Nov. 9 (“In defense of Dr. Carson’s comments”).

It was little more than a creedalist, Islamaphobic screed in which he stated his belief that no Muslim should ever be elected president of our country. Apparently, it doesn’t matter to Smith that a person’s qualifications for public service must not — by the tenets of our own Constitution — be subject to religious qualification.

His “Christian” prejudices clearly are his guide, and his version of faith seems to function like a trump card in his scattered, non-sequitur reasoning that asserts his religious beliefs are superior to those of other religions.

Mr. Smith is entitled to display his bigotry in print if he feels compelled to do so, but he should realize that all he is really accomplishing is to make himself sound ridiculous to people with informed minds. Claiming oneself to be a Christian doesn’t make one’s self-righteous, fear-driven ideology either correct or in keeping with Jesus’ message of the unconditional love he bid us to have for our neighbors — regardless of their faith traditions.

Tony Marconi

Delaware