There was a letter to the editor in yesterday's OC Register from a Jim Corbett of San Clemente, accusing columnist Gary Galles of "pervert[ing] history" by "selectively quot[ing]  as harboring anti in the service of a modern political view."

In an October 30 column, Galles celebrated the birthday of John Adams by furnishing a selection of the great man's quotes on our fundamental natural rights and their relation to government.

Judging by the content of Corbett's letter, it can only be the same James Corbett who teaches history at Capistrano high School and found himself in court due to his predilection for mocking Christianity in his classroom.

Corbett imagines that if John Adams were a candidate today, he would be "savaged" by the "religious right" and accuses Galles of intellectual dishonesty for omitting this Adam's quote from his column:

"This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it!"

The problem is it is Corbett who is guilty of intellectual dishonesty -- or plain old laziness -- because he has quoted Adams completely out of context and falsely making it seem as if Adams were expressing an anti-religion view. Here is the quote in context, from a letter Adams wrote to Thomas Jefferson in 1817:

At that Period [when Adams was 12 years old] Lemuel Bryant was my Parish Priest; and Joseph Cleverly my Latin School Master. Lemuel was a jolly jocular and liberal Schollar and Divine. Joseph a Scollar and Gentleman; but a biggoted episcopalian of the School of Bishop Saunders and Dr. Hicks, a down right conscientious passive Obedience Man in Church and State. The Parson and the Pedagogue lived much together, but were eternally disputing about Government and Religion. One day, when the Schoolmaster had been more than commonly fanatical, and declared "if he were a Monark, He would have but one Religion in his Dominions." The Parson coolly replied "Cleverly! You would be the best Man in the World, if You had no Religion."

Twenty times, in the course of my late Reading, have I been upon the point of breaking out, "This would be the best of all possible Worlds, if there were no Religion in it." ! ! ! But in this exclamati[on] I should have been as fanatical as Bryant or Cleverly. Without Religion this World would be Something not fit to be mentioned in polite Company, I mean Hell. So far from believing in the total and universal depravity of human Nature; I believe there is no Individual totally depraved. The most abandoned Scoundrel that ever existed, never Yet Wholly extinguished his Conscience, and while Conscience remains there is some Religion. . . . 

Contrary to Corbett's implication, Adams was not denouncing religion. Indeed, he characterized the line Corbet quotes as "fanatical" and goes on to say that without religion, this world would be Hell. Adams' commentary was directed at inter-denominational squabbling.

Corbett's classroom ridicule of Christianity aside, this letter raises the question of simply pedagogical competency. A couple of minutes on Google would have made clear to him he was quoting Adams out of context. Corbett's teaches Advanced Placement European History, and if this is the degree of academic vigor he brings to the classroom, pity his students.