To the Editor:

[Editor’s note: This letter was written in response to columnist Joseph Cotto’s article, “A taboo Christmas topic: The historicity of Jesus,” which was published on this page of the newspaper on Dec. 23.]

Mr. Cotto, I am a subscriber to The Tidewater News located in Franklin, Virginia. Just recently, your article was published in our local newspaper. While I appreciate the time and effort it took you to research and write the article questioning the Christian beliefs, I suggest that perhaps you should use better judgment in writing an article of this nature especially in our country.

We may have many unwelcome guests in our country at this time who unfortunately have no beliefs or believe killing others is some sort of religious heroic calling, but this does not mean that our entire country is unstable and will flock to false prophets or historians who question Christian beliefs.

This country, OUR country, we call America, is known for its founding freedoms, two of them being freedom of the press and freedom of speech. Even though these freedoms give you the right as a journalist to print such an article, I personally do not believe your forwardness in presenting such an article in our country was acceptable.

It is likely you are an atheist and this is your freedom as mine is being a Christian; however, it is rare, if at all, you see articles degrading the atheists or their beliefs in public newspapers, and I, personally, did not appreciate your theological, philosophical or historian views portraying the story of Jesus’ birth and/or the Gospels as printed in the Bible as some sort of fantasy or Roman-based mockery against Israel.

There are many people in our country who ARE Christians and do celebrate Christmas because we believe in Jesus Christ and the Gospels as printed in the Bible. As far as how the atheist chooses to interpret what is in the Bible is another story.

Sharon K. Daniels
A retired history teacher
Adams Grove