Readers React: The God of Abraham, Isaac, conservatives and liberals

To the editor: As Lily Burana so poignantly relates, the notion of “God” varies greatly from person to person, even among those who identify as Christians. Yet everyone from presidential candidates to the Ku Klux Klan would have us believe that some universally defined “God” is on their side. (“Don’t judge me for my Jesus memes,” Opinion, May 1)

Thus pious politicians like Ted Cruz rail against “leaving God out of public life” and heartily endorse inscribing “In God We Trust” on government buildings, as if the Constitution doesn’t dictate separation of church and state.

Myself, I don’t abide Burana’s faith. But I’m fine with her tweets of religious memes under #JesusWept, a Bible verse that underscores the compassion and empathy of the God she embraces.

Burana seems to accept that those with differing belief systems likewise can do good, even if they may be inclined to tweet under #InReasonWeTrust.

Dennis Alston, Atwater, Calif.

..

To the editor: Amen, Lily Burana! For far too long the media have allowed the Christian right to define what it means to be Christian in America rather than more moderate mainline denominations.

I am a moderate, but lately I have not been recognizing Christianity in the often narrow minded, intolerant, sometimes exclusionary and even hateful christian (small “c” intended) right.

The Jesus of the Gospels was open to all, including and even especially the unloved and excluded. The prostitute, the tax collector, the centurion, the leper, the adulterer, the Samaritan, the poor and the beggars are some examples. He scolded those who held their “righteousness” up to the public eye.

In John Chapter 13, Jesus told his disciples: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

K. Shand Garrett, Claremont

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook