DEAR ABBY: You printed a letter from Hugo Borreson who said that the civil rights movement in the 1960s "reminds us of how violent white Christians really are." He also includes some 5,000 lynchings that have taken place in history as a supportive example of white Christians' brutality.
It is true that there have been atrocities committed over the centuries by those who call themselves Christians. It is also true that Christianity teaches nonviolence and love toward your neighbor (and your enemy, for that matter). But it is absolutely not true that simply calling yourself a Christian means that you are one.
The Bible says that we will know a Christian by his actions. The traits listed in Galatians 5:22-23 (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) are demonstrated in the Christian. Do you think that the so-called "Christians" responsible for the 5,000 lynchings in history fit this description?
Those who call themselves Christians but do not live like it are often called hypocrites, and rightly so. However, the presence of hypocrites does not discredit the Christian faith. Rather, it brings shame to those who stoop so low as to say one thing and do another. -- VANESSA HARIKUL, 16, MOORPARK, CALIF.