Salon | Letters to the editor

_______________ SICK VICTORY BY DAVID HOROWITZ (04/04/98)

Although I don't always agree with David Horowitz, sometimes he makes a valid point.
I've always believed that Richard Nixon was forced to resign because he broke the law -- period. I still think that's true, but I think some of the things the current administration has done are as immoral, and in some cases as illegal, as the things Nixon and his cronies did. Filegate, for example, seems to me to be as objectionable as the White House enemies list. Liberal Democrats would never have remained quiet about these actions if they had been committed by a Republican.
It's become clear to me that liberals are as willing to use dishonest smear tactics to discredit their opponents as the House Unamerican Activities Committee and Joe McCarthy. There is no clearer example of this than the way the concept of sexual harasment has been interpreted along ideological lines -- casual comments by conservatives are actionable, indecent exposure by liberals is OK as long as it's not repeated.
Perhaps the only good that has come from this recent Clinton scandal is that feminists who have aligned themselves with him looked foolish when they gave him a free pass on conduct they would never have condoned if it had been committed by a conservative, demonstrating once and for all that sexual harassment as a term and concept is far too flexible.
-- Joseph L. Taylor
_______________ OLD WINE IN NEW BOTTLES BY MICHAEL JOSEPH GROSS (04/10/98)

Thank you for Michael Joseph Gross' well done article. It was refreshing. I get tired of the same predictable religious journalism this time of year. I have to admit I am a defensive and paranoid Christian. I am open-minded about many subjects, but more closed-minded than I'd like to admit about faith discussions.
Having said that, I get tired of journalists naively reading the latest theological literature -- which is usually the most controversial -- then presenting this material as the new and unavoidable fact. It's bad journalism regardless of your beliefs.
I liked Gross' thoughtful and tough approach to Spong. Historically, Christianity has been predicted to be near extinction for more than 300 years. Voltaire was one of the more prominent prognosticators. (The smart-ass evangelical response is that now Voltaire's home is used by a Bible society, but I don't know whether this is actually true.) I do think that Gross is rightly skeptical that Spong's reinvention of Christianity is its only hope. Schleiermacher and countless others have fought for similar visions with similar urgency, yet the allegedly outdated forms of Christianity persist and even thrive.
I would hate for Mr. Spong to spend much time in South America. Pentecostal Christianity is bursting at the seams. Progressive mainline denominations like the Episcopal Church continue to be largely irrelevant. I don't have an explanation for this. And I have mixed feelings about the thriving of some variations of my own faith. But I can live with some dissonance. Ultimately, I continue to be a Christian, because of a combination of conscious and unconscious factors. It is not simply that I hold this faith, but in some strange way and at times, it holds me.
-- Brett Nelson
_______________ WAS JESUS GAY? BY HANK HYENA (04/10/98)

I can only speculate on your motivation for publishing an article insulting Christianity on one of the holiest days of the year, Good Friday. Among them -- greed for clicks, controversy for controversy's sake and unresolved guilt. Until now I thought the writers at Salon wrote about subjects they knew.
Anyone who is a Christian knows that Jesus' ministry on earth had nothing to do with His personal sexuality. What matters most about Jesus is His eternal commandment for us, "Love one another as I have loved you." His life was a testament for that commandment, and His death on the cross the ultimate sacrifice and example of His love for us. Christianity is about something much deeper and more meaningful than mere sexuality. In part, it is a mystical belief in the condition of the soul, and how we improve that condition through living by Jesus' example and word.
Does a person's sexual preference define that person? Every human being knows that sexual love is only one kind of love, and often the least satisfying. True Christians prefer to judge a person by their moral standards rather than their sexual habits.
-- Paul Schrynemakers
SALON | April 13, 1998

R E C E N T L Y+| TAMMY WYNETTE, 1942-1998 BY GAVIN McNETT (04/08/98)

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_______________ SICK VICTORY BY DAVID HOROWITZ (04/04/98)
	Although I don't always agree with David Horowitz, sometimes he makes a valid point. I've always believed that Richard Nixon was forced to resign because he broke the law -- period. I still think that's true, but I think some of the things the current administration has done are as immoral, and in some cases as illegal, as the things Nixon and his cronies did. Filegate, for example, seems to me to be as objectionable as the White House enemies list. Liberal Democrats would never have remained quiet about these actions if they had been committed by a Republican. It's become clear to me that liberals are as willing to use dishonest smear tactics to discredit their opponents as the House Unamerican Activities Committee and Joe McCarthy. There is no clearer example of this than the way the concept of sexual harasment has been interpreted along ideological lines -- casual comments by conservatives are actionable, indecent exposure by liberals is OK as long as it's not repeated. Perhaps the only good that has come from this recent Clinton scandal is that feminists who have aligned themselves with him looked foolish when they gave him a free pass on conduct they would never have condoned if it had been committed by a conservative, demonstrating once and for all that sexual harassment as a term and concept is far too flexible. -- Joseph L. Taylor
_______________ OLD WINE IN NEW BOTTLES BY MICHAEL JOSEPH GROSS (04/10/98)
	Thank you for Michael Joseph Gross' well done article. It was refreshing. I get tired of the same predictable religious journalism this time of year. I have to admit I am a defensive and paranoid Christian. I am open-minded about many subjects, but more closed-minded than I'd like to admit about faith discussions. Having said that, I get tired of journalists naively reading the latest theological literature -- which is usually the most controversial -- then presenting this material as the new and unavoidable fact. It's bad journalism regardless of your beliefs. I liked Gross' thoughtful and tough approach to Spong. Historically, Christianity has been predicted to be near extinction for more than 300 years. Voltaire was one of the more prominent prognosticators. (The smart-ass evangelical response is that now Voltaire's home is used by a Bible society, but I don't know whether this is actually true.) I do think that Gross is rightly skeptical that Spong's reinvention of Christianity is its only hope. Schleiermacher and countless others have fought for similar visions with similar urgency, yet the allegedly outdated forms of Christianity persist and even thrive. I would hate for Mr. Spong to spend much time in South America. Pentecostal Christianity is bursting at the seams. Progressive mainline denominations like the Episcopal Church continue to be largely irrelevant. I don't have an explanation for this. And I have mixed feelings about the thriving of some variations of my own faith. But I can live with some dissonance. Ultimately, I continue to be a Christian, because of a combination of conscious and unconscious factors. It is not simply that I hold this faith, but in some strange way and at times, it holds me. -- Brett Nelson
_______________ WAS JESUS GAY? BY HANK HYENA (04/10/98)
	I can only speculate on your motivation for publishing an article insulting Christianity on one of the holiest days of the year, Good Friday. Among them -- greed for clicks, controversy for controversy's sake and unresolved guilt. Until now I thought the writers at Salon wrote about subjects they knew. Anyone who is a Christian knows that Jesus' ministry on earth had nothing to do with His personal sexuality. What matters most about Jesus is His eternal commandment for us, "Love one another as I have loved you." His life was a testament for that commandment, and His death on the cross the ultimate sacrifice and example of His love for us. Christianity is about something much deeper and more meaningful than mere sexuality. In part, it is a mystical belief in the condition of the soul, and how we improve that condition through living by Jesus' example and word. Does a person's sexual preference define that person? Every human being knows that sexual love is only one kind of love, and often the least satisfying. True Christians prefer to judge a person by their moral standards rather than their sexual habits. -- Paul Schrynemakers SALON \| April 13, 1998