To the editor:

Criticize homosexuality less harshly than a letter (May 20) negatively portrayed the Bible and its Christian believers, and self-righteous radicals will call you a “homophobic gay-basher.”

Terms like “bibliophobic Bible-bashing” or “christophobic Christian-bashing” are never used by leftists who engage in such biased attacks.

Don’t condemn the Bible for doctrines it does not teach. Not every belief labeled “Christian” conforms to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Apostles. Jesus warned that many would come in his name and deceive many.

The letter said it is “amazing that in the 21st century people quote writings by semiliterate, superstitious, bronze iron age, desert dwelling people…” (Deserts make people dumb?)

What proof is there that those who wrote the Bible could barely read and write? How were they able to produce such a great literary work?

Its writers lived in great civilizations of the ancient world (Babylonian, Persian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, etc.). Some were prominent kings, such as David and Solomon. Paul, who wrote half of the New Testament, was fluent in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek).

The radical “People’s Almanac” claimed that Jesus was illiterate even though “he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day, and he stood up to read; and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah.” (Luke 4:16-17). He read to the Jews who were there (verses 17-19).

The “proof” of his illiteracy is a distorted view of the incident when the Pharisees asked Jesus if they should pay taxed to Caesar. When Jesus asked “whose likeness and inscription” was on the Roman coin (Matt 22: 18-21) he didn’t want to know what it said on it. Radical skeptics twisted that fact to fit their biased theory.

Robert Kohtala

Chassell