Madam –
On November 13, The Brown Daily Herald published an opinions article written by Sarah Rosenthal ’11, titled “No on Yes on Prop 8.” The piece presented a weak, and very misleading, argument that attempted to characterize the Christian church as following teachings full of contradictions, vice, and hate. In response, I wrote to the Herald to present a truthful account of the Bible’s message, yet the editors denied publication of my letter. Obviously, the Herald cares little for veracity but would rather help spread lies regarding a book that the majority of Americans value above all others. The Herald instead chose to print letters to the editor concerning Students for a Democratic Society and the Brown Democrats, among other topics. Let us hope this is not a display of the newspaper’s bias toward a certain ideology while it proudly claims fairness and neutrality.
Commonly at higher learning institutions, Christianity is cited and explained under false pretenses and with misguided views. I believe this is a serious problem in need of remedy; and since the Herald did not support said honorable endeavor, I hope The Brown Spectator receives my letter more favorably. I would like to politely correct Rosenthal’s errors and ask further that, the next time she references the Bible, she read and properly understand the text before doing so.
Rosenthal’s naiveté was most obvious with her mention of chapters in Leviticus. She mockingly states that in those chapters “where one can find the prohibition on homosexuality,” there is “also [a] prohibit[ion on] eating pork and shellfish, wearing polyester-cotton blends…and shaving.” These regulations were indeed mandated by God to the Hebrews of the Old Testament; however, with Jesus’s death and resurrection, mankind entered into a new covenant with God.
Hebrews 8:13 declares that the old covenant, and with it, the above regulations, are obsolete. The New Testament includes the teachings of the new covenant, and there exist many references to the sinfulness of homosexuality: in Romans 1, I Corinthians 6, and I Timothy 1, among other chapters. Our choice of clothing or food matters not to God as dictated by Christ, for example, in Matthew 15.
Rosenthal additionally quotes that the Bible promotes an “underage, incestuous, polygamous sort of marriage.” I am not quite sure to which part of the Bible she alludes, as nowhere in the Bible can there be found age specifications for marriage; Titus 1:6 states men should “be the husband of but one wife” and Romans 1, I Corinthians 6, and Galatians 5, all label sexual immorality, such as incest, as sin.
Accurate citations of the Bible show it exemplifies marriage as in Matthew 19:5 (“a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh”) and in Ephesians 5:25 (“husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”). Jesus Christ is described as a bridegroom to humanity, and through His great love Jesus gave His life for His bride. If only all marriages were grounded in love like this.
