His reply and question is put forward in a very pleasant and decidedly non-confrontational manner:

Thank you for your response [from the preceding email] Joel. I think both sides of this discussion often see so black and white that exaggeration and distortion are the norm. I responded to you point by point but just deleted it. I hope we can discuss the core issue. I want to understand.  As I see it, people who struggle with Christians, struggle with the fact that Christians believe that Jesus is the only way and that the Bible is the truth. They therefore see Christians as narrow minded and not open to other peoples beliefs. Do you agree that this is the major underlining issue?

Here's my response:

Sorry for taking so long to reply.  

No, not at all, I do not think this. I have no problem with the idea of Jesus, but I am a skeptic at heart. I do not trust the accounts of Jesus handed down as 100% accurate (or even 0% accurate, for that matter). None of the 4 gospels were written by the actual disciples named (the earliest volume has been dated from between 80-120 years after the birth of Christ). After over a century of oral history, then 1400 years of hand-written copies (with proven deviations all over the map, some deliberate, some accidental), how can anyone know what Jesus said or did? We argue over what the President says and does daily, and his actual words are recorded...

You are welcomed and entitled to faith and spiritual beliefs - the Founding Fathers guaranteed it by making it illegal for this government to stipulate that ANY specific religious idea was correct and supported - financially or otherwise - by taxes. When I tour the US speaking about the painting, my talks are entitled "American Fundamentalists and the THREAT to Democracy and FREEDOM OF FAITH." Certain Christians interpret their religion as a license or even requirement to proselytize 24/7, and create a Christian Theocratic government here in the United States.

I am not accusing you of that - I don't know you or your thoughts on the matter. MOST Americans, and MOST American Christians, would agree that this is not what America is about. America should be about a civil, secular form of government and civic life that encourages WITHIN THIS CIVIC SECULAR SOCIETY free religious and faith (and non-faith) practice. The separation of church and state protects religion as much or more than it protects government.

We each must find our purpose and bliss on our own, in our own way. The beauty of the Constitution is that it enshrines this concept within the form of government it created. I am not attacking Christians, but perhaps some people who claim to be Christians are. According to the Constitution, the ONLY WAY that America makes decisions is through laws, and the agreement that we all obey them for the sake of our society, freedoms and way of life. As Americans, we all need to understand that choosing JESUS as the "only way"has nothing to do with who builds the roads, who pays for schools, who hires police and judges, etc.

And if they do think that Jesus is the "only way" for these things, too, then they need to admit publicly that they are against the Constitution of the United States (note that there is no mention of GOD or JESUS or THE BIBLE in our Constitution, for the very reasons mentioned above). Then we can have THAT discussion.

As for Stuart Epperson, he could be a saint, but the broadcast network he created (Salem Broadcasting) is host to MANY voices who support the anti-Constitutionalist attitudes I describe. He is, therefore, responsible in some way for the dissemination of these ideas, ideas that I believe threaten the continuation of our country.

Joel Pelletier

Los Angeles-based artist Joel Pelletier is the creator of "American Fundamentalists (Christ's Entry into Washington in 2008)", an 8x14 foot painting depicting American religious, political and economic fundamentalists. He has been touring the US with the painting talking about "American Fundamentalism and the Threat to Democracy and Freedom of Faith." In March 2006 the painting itself goes to Washington DC; other confirmed 2006 locations include Buffalo, Detroit and Minneapolis (more at americanfundamentalists.com)