Ruth Pyren’s letter May 27 piqued my interest. After reading it, I pulled out my “Dictionary of Classical Antiquities” and plugged in my Encarta encyclopedia to check out her claims.

Most of her entries simply died. There were two exceptions. Adonis, who was doomed to spend half his life in the underworld and half in the world, and Quexalcote, who came back as a hummingbird.

According to the encyclopedia, the only person who was born of a virgin, crucified, and resurrected on the third day was Jesus Christ. So far from being plagiarized, Jesus stands as a unique person in human history. The circumstances of his life are not shrouded in myths, but have been recorded by eyewitnesses.

It would be interesting to know the sources Ms. Pyren’s uses. If she would read the Gospels with the same open-mindedness she reads these sources, she might see that Christianity still has much to offer and isn’t in any danger of dying out.

Marilyn Bryant

Coupeville