LETTER: Message in letter hateful to those who are different

To the Editor:

First off: What is your point? You speak by means of quotations mainly from the Old Testament of the Bible. I point out that the Bible is not an encyclopedia. These particular quotes you use are taken from a time long ago and you use them as if they are fixed and immutable. You fail to include the other sins and evils of the Old Testament such as slavery, misogyny, child abuse, incest, rape and ritual killing. It appears that you, like many fundamentalist Christians, seem fixated on sexual behaviour.

It is time to come into the 21st century and it is time to accept that we can all grow and learn, even Christians like yourself. The quotes you use are full of evil, sin, death and punishment. Even though I am not a Christian, I have understood that the message of Christ was about love, empathy and compassion. This letter was tantamount to a hateful diatribe against the “other”.

This message is so hateful toward those, especially young people, who identify differently from the mainstream that I feel it is tantamount to child abuse. I say that in conjunction with my view on the usual propaganda delivered to the children of Christian families that children are born sinners and because of their sin a decent and good man was publicly tortured and killed on their behalf. That seems to me to be child abuse, as well.

As to the Creston Valley Advance printing this nastiness, I question your policy about how to deal with obvious hate literature. It often comes in the guise of some such “Christian” quotes and dogmas. I find this kind of poorly disguised hate to be offensive and dangerous. What kind of policy do you use to critically analyze what is being asked for publication? Please explain yourselves in this regard so that readers can know what to expect.

Rita Scott | Creston

(Publisher’s note: Our policy is not to publish hate speech, and we did not identify the July 4 letter to the editor as such. We regret the unintentional offense it caused, and will strive to be more diligent in the future.)

The views and opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the writer and do not reflect the views of Black Press or the Creston Valley Advance. If you have a different view, we encourage you to write to us or contribute to the discussion below.