Dear Editor:
In your Nov. 16, issue you published a letter on the subject of Christianity and homosexuality. The writer quotes a lot of facts about AIDS, and it is good to be aware of the facts, but he does not seem to have thought very deeply about the subject.
For example, some Christians talk so much about sexuality that a person who has not read the Bible might conclude that Jesus spent His ministry warning people against the sins of the flesh. But when one actually reads the Bible, one discovers that the sin Jesus consistently and repeatedly warned against was greed. He never mentions homosexuality, and He defends a woman taken in adultery. In fact, there are only a handful of passages in the Bible on the subject of homosexuality, and none of them suggest that homosexuality is worse than adultery or, for that matter, worse than eating shellfish. If a Christian sincerely studies the Bible, and tries to do what Jesus did, He would show compassion for the poor, rather than try to tell other people how to live their lives, a practice Jesus condemns.
As for homosexuality, the letter writer says it is not ‘natural’, and yet it occurs frequently in nature. I once owned a gay cat. Farmers buy gay bulls and use artificial insemination, because gay bulls don’t break fences to get at the cows.
The writer then goes on at length about sexually transmitted diseases, and yet any sexual contact can lead to disease. Our government is currently spending millions of dollars to try to convince unmarried straight people to give up sex. Presumably, the author would counsel gay people to lead celibate lives. That’s easy advice to give. Would he find celibacy an easy choice?
Finally, on the subject of democracy, the author says, “the majority still rules.” But we do not live in a democracy; we live in a republic. And the rights of minorities are, thankfully, protected from the tyranny of the majority.
Rick Norwood

Author