Acting from love
In response to the July 20 article covering the controversy between the LGBTQ event and Pastor Logan Fowler of Truth Baptist Church: I will assume Fowler is a Christian from the information provided in the article. If so, of course, he is steadfast in opposing homosexuality as he would be against all sin. He is commanded by the teaching of the Bible to condemn the practice of homosexuality as he would condemn lying, theft, adultery and any other sin.
That is part of his job as a pastor. He does not condemn the sinner but the act itself.
The article spoke of love and implied that the opinions expressed by Fowler were “hate speech” when it is just the opposite.
People are commanded by Christ to “love one another.” This command is at the center of Christian doctrine. It permeates all aspects of the Christian faith. This love, translated from the Greek language, is “agape,” which loosely translated means a sacrificial seeking of what is best for the one who is loved.
This command requires every Christian to adhere to it. Therefore, whenever a preacher or teacher is expressing his Christian love (agape) to those who are in grave danger of God’s judgment, he is doing so out of (agape) love.
Peggy Hayden-Gary expresses her view freely and without restrictions. Lewis-Clark State College has allowed Fowler to do the same, in adherence to a policy of inclusion of opposing points of view.
This should be celebrated, not criticized.
Jerry Strahan
Lewiston
Dam removal helps fish
I have heard or read a number of accounts claiming there is no proof that removing the lower Snake River dams would help to recover salmon in Idaho. As it is impossible to tell the future, all we can do is look to the past and present to determine what is most likely to happen if the dams are removed.
This data needs to come from a run of salmon not impacted by other factors, such as habitat loss, hatchery inputs, harvest or additional hydropower projects upstream of Lower Granite Dam.
Luckily, the run of chinook salmon originating from the wilderness streams in the main fork of the Salmon River fit that bill. The evidence of their decline due to the lower Snake River dams is irrefutable.
According to data by the U.S. Forest Service (2020), today’s estimates of adults returning to spawn in the Salmon River are 3 percent of historical estimates in the 1950s (48,000 annually in the 1950s versus less than 1,500 annually since 1995).
Furthermore, when we compare salmon numbers in the Salmon River to similar stocks in the lower Columbia River, fish in the Salmon River declined rapidly since the early ’70s while lower river stocks remained relatively stable (Schaller et al. 1999).
I would suggest to those making claims about how numbers of salmon in Idaho may or may not change after dam removal to do a quick search through peer-reviewed literature. There is much more data out there that suggests salmon would benefit.
Thomas Biladeau
Moscow
