I have at least one fan

My dad showed me a letter I got in the mail sometime recently from a character named Everett Cherrington, also known as "the God-socks man," regarding a letter to the editor I sent to the Ames Tribune quite a long time ago (unfortunately, I can't find it on the Tribune's website, although I'm sure it's there somewhere). Basically, my very brief article addressed concerns I had about another editorial, written by Eric Chamberlin, that basically lambasted the Tribune for its supposed "homosexual agenda." I'm not kidding, there are like two people in Ames that actually believe this is true and write to the paper regularly about it.

Anyhow, I wrote a letter back, basically pointing out that those who choose to invoke the Bible to justify bigotry or anything else are wasting their time, that I don't view the Bible as inerrant truth and neither do most of the people I know, that hate speech is hate speech whether or not it is religious in intent, etc. Anyhow I got some nasty responses, far greater than what I'd expect for such an innocuous thesis, with nearly all of them stating how "angry" of a young man I must be (a comment that made me furious, of course).

Ev's took a long time to come, though. Here's his letter:

"Nathan,
I'm sorry you're so angry at the world for how you perceive gays are treated. In Deut. 21 God is just in his judgment because people were under the law. The standards were high and God desired for people to obey; children to obey their parents.
But Jesus came to die for our sins in abolishing the law. Many other commands in the O.T. are not followed in modern times as they are no longer applicable.
When Jesus died it was to fulfill the law; to pay for man's sins. We're all sinners in need of repentance. When we repent (change our thinking about God); admit we're sinners and ask him for forgiveness then we're "born again." Then when we die we can go to Heaven and not to Hell where one pays for his or her sins.
Please carefully consider what the enclosed pamphlet has to say.
Sincerely, Ev Cherrington"

Also in this letter was a pamphlet from an organization called Exodus International, a supposed "worldwide network of 'ex-gay' ministries." It basically details one man's quest to reject his own homosexuality in favor of God. It's full of revolting, misleading so-called facts:

"Today, many denominations have fully embraced homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle. How did this come about? The main reason is a shift in this century from reliance on God's Word to reliance on the latest scientific findings and personal experiences."

Aaargh! I don't feel I need to comment on this right now, but I will write a swift response to him, and I will probably post it up here when I have the chance.