To the Editor,

John Balzar got it right, but for the wrong reason, in arguing that Falwell and Pat Robertson, on the one hand, and Bin Laden and the ayatollahs, on the other hand, are spiritual brothers (Commentary, Sept. 17). America's religious right and the Mideast's Islamic radicals are offspring of the same animal--not because they are both fundamentalists but rather because they both take religion seriously.

Wanting to base your life on fundamental principles is not misguided or . . . evil. In fact, it is only by using rational, reality-based principles that any man or woman can pursue a life of happiness here on Earth.

Falwell and his ilk are the siblings of Islamic terrorists (with the same ultimate goal) because they reject this world in favor of an imaginary afterlife. They reject their minds in favor of faith. Because there is no God, the priests are left with only their feelings to guide them; because emotions are not arguments, they are left with only force in dealing with other men.

The overriding emotion that consumes them is hate. Hate for freedom, reason, material wealth. Hate for this world. Fundamentally, hate for life itself.

Ray Shelton
Glendale, CA