Wednesday, November 27, 2002

Father David Epps takes exception to the critical views I and another person expressed towards the Rev. John Hatcher's column on second and third marriages. He insists we "miss[ed] the point" and that "all good pastors" try to preserve first marriages.

Well, the problem is that I didn't see any such affirmation in the Rev. Hatcher's column. Also, I did affirm the importance of forgiveness and "moving on."

It is my opinion that Christian religious leaders, especially, owe it to society to call us to a higher standard, and to ask us to do the work and make the sacrifice to repair damaged marriages and build happy ones.

That should be their focus, not providing justification and gentle consolation for violating the spirit of marriage as clearly defined in the New Testament.

Trey Hoffman

Sharpsburg