Dear Editor,

He’s at it again-- Pastor Randy Leskovar and his obsession with homosexuality (March 18 Letters to the Editor). His letter is full of personal opinions he calls “facts”, and with facts he labels “lies.” Not surprisingly he cherry-picks the Bible, attempting to add credibility to his ill-informed points.

Respected theologian and Roman Catholic priest Daniel Helminiak, respected theologian and Episcopal Bishop (ret.) John Shelby Spong, and scores of other learned men and women from across theological traditions have often pointed out “the Bible has been used to justify slavery, inquisitions, apartheid and the subjugation of women” and I might add many more sins against humanity and the natural environment.

One may use the Bible to validate just about any argument one wishes to make. Now a minority of misguided pastors and others of like mind seek to continue to marginalize gay and lesbian men and women in the name of Jesus. Their weapons include selective interpretations of the Bible, their clerical titles, and of course FEAR.

Leskovar attempts to paint Sen. Joe McDermott and other public servants with a broad brush of “self-serving” questionable character. Would Leskovar also call into question the motives of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s social activism because of his race?

It saddens me that Pastor Leskovar is unable to see the fullness of honorable people like Sen. McDermott, people who are committed to doing good in the world, but are perhaps unlike the Pastor on some biological dimension. I know Sen. Joe McDermott to be very much the real deal. He does not wear his faith on his sleeve. He lives it. We need more honorable men and women like Sen. McDermott at all levels of government and in the clergy as well.

Jesus never uttered one word about homosexuality. He sought and taught social justice for all. Let’s not engage in revisionist history and continue the sin of selective use of the Bible for personal influence or political advantage. And let us not put aside what science continues to teach us about the human condition. The United Church of Christ aptly suggests “God is still speaking.” God did not go silent after the last period was placed at the end of the last sentence in the Bible. Many agree with that.

Years ago Unitarian minister Theodore Parker offered the following words in one of his sermons: “The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice”. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a student of Parker’s sermons, revived that quote in speeches of his own. Unitarian Universalism and other denominations continue to foster the hope and belief those words express. The arc of the moral universe will continue to bend toward justice no matter how hard Pastor Leskovar and others like him push back with misinformation and fear.

Rev. Dr. Mark Newton
West Seattle