Dear Mr. Chee

Submitted by Seamus MacNemi (United States), Jun 4, 2007 at 16:49

My folk have witnessed countless generations of religious warefare, Christians killing Christians in the name of G-d. We suffered six hundred years of oppression under the English simply because we didn't believe as did the Christian Protestants did and finally we were betrayed by the Roman church when many of our number were excommunicated for defending their homes and familys against the English Thugs who stole our lands and drove us from our homes to starve at the side of the road.

In an earlier age we were driven, like the Jews, from our homes in Spain by that same Roman church only to be given refuge by the Sultan of Turkey under whos rule we prospered. Those of us who became Christian according to the lights of that day did so only under duress. We never really accepted the Roman religion as our own but we only put on a show for the public consumption so that we might be saved from further persecution. In other words we became chameleons for the sake of our own survival.

I do not believe that Jesus was G-d nor do any of my folk. In this I am like the Muslim. Nor do we pray in the name of Jesus or believe that his death saved us from hell. We have and always have had our own way to G-d and our way does not require the intercession of any church or priest. We are a free people and we intend to remain that way. You may believe as you wish, but do not expect us to do the same as you for we will not even under the threat of death. For that same reason we will not convert to Islam.

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