I am concerned about the rise of religious bigotry in this country. According to Webster's Dictionary, the term "bigot" is what the English used to label the Norman conquerors of England. "Why are you destroying my lively hood [sic], why are you seizing my daughters?" the English would ask. "I do this by Got!" was the translation of the Norman answer. We have a history of by Gotry in this country. Why were witches hung in Salem? By Got! Why did the south feel so convinced that slavery was justified? By Got! Why shouldn't women vote? By Got! Why shouldn't races mix. By Got! Why was Darwin wrong? By Got! Why are gays and lesbians children of Satan? By Got! We, like Jesus before us, have to name the demon for what it is and reclaim the good news of our faith.

We are by now familiar with the by gotters from the Westborough Baptist Church. But I am afraid they are only the most easy and colorful to target. Since the 1980's the by gotters of the Moral Majority and Focus on the Family have tried unceasingly to apply their version of Christianity to reproductive freedom, sexual mores, art, literature, science, and intercultural dialogue. While this is not wrong in itself, it would be a vast mistake to think that the Christian community is of one mind. Each day our legislators are swamped by e-mails and letters organized by religious/political organizations of a rather conservative bent, while the voice of mainline churches is comparatively silent. I am concerned that they have in fact persuaded the American people that they are the only legitimate voice of God where all other voices of faith, that have in fact had a long history of shaping American policy, are not. I think it is high time that we deliver a rebuttal, not just to Fred Phelps but to groups like Focus on the Family.

I speak as a teacher and pastor to a church which as a national body was the first to stage acts of civil disobedience with the Boston Tea Party, the first to ordain a black person, the first to press for civil rights legislation with the winning of the Amistad case, the first to ordain women, the first to ordain openly gays and lesbians. And we did this not to fulfill some national agenda, but because the love for one another on the local level of the parish was strong enough to witness the power of God in non-traditional circumstances. Many churches across this great land have joined us. This has happened not because we are weak of faith but strong of faith.

For a Christian, being faithful ought really to be less about a misunderstanding of the Pentateuch - i.e., the Torah as a purity code - and more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ - i.e., a code of love and openness. The greatest commandment, to love the lord our God with all our heart, with all our mind and all our strength, and to love our neighbor as our self, to me has more to do with shaping the Christian M.O. than maintaining personal or cultural purity. As a result of the greatest Commandment, we the people have created Social Security, welfare programs, humane prisons, quality education, civil rights legislation, systems of care for the mentally ill, and those beset by the demons of addictions. These initiatives are not the result of secular liberalism but religious liberalism - a movement that had a strong influence on the preamble to the U.S. Constitution and our founding fathers as different as John Adams to Thomas Jefferson.

Let us reclaim our faith centered in the teachings of Christ. Let us live out the openness, caring and love for one another. Together let us transcend the demon of by Gotry as a nation and reclaim the grand vision of a faith that made this country great.

Rev. F. Vernon Wright V serves at the Plymouth Congregational Church. As a teacher and pastor Rev. Wright does not necessarily represent all of the views of his congregants.