Letters

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READERS ON RELIGION

Dear Sirs:

It is true that we are quite a religiousminded nation and that the churches are sometimes overflowing. Too many of those attending unfortunately are trying to hide their sins from their neighbors. But this fools very few people, and it is for certain it doesn't fool God.

The way some talk you would be led to believe we don't gamble, we don't drink, nobody has sex, and venereal disease is unheard of. Well it doesn't take much research. or observation to find out that more money. is won and lost in some form of gambling in this country than in any country on earth. We consume more alcoholic beverages than any nation on earth. Sexual intercourse takes place almost before the public's eyes in parked cars and venereal disease among teen-agers is the cause of growing concern to Health Departments.

Dear Mr. Slater:

Mr. H.

New York, N. Y.

Enclosed is an article from the National Christian Journal, "Merchants of Filth." It is so patent that it seems almost a waste of time to say it that it is not "Antichrist strategy" which has debauched our society, but the Christian efforts to suppress fundamental biological urges.

To protect children is a righteous-sounding endeavor, but we know people's motives are seldom what they say they are. It stands to reason that the person who satisfies his sexual desires through direct expression will have less interest in vicarious literary titillations than the person who isn't getting it.

The anti-sexual ideal of most Christian cults, when coupled with guilt, fear and frustration, then mixed with glandular necessity, make it easy to understand why extremists are so dedicated to their crusades.

I am getting more than just a little tired of those who project their own maddening desires onto others less inhibited. It is to our national discredit that the government has wilfully prostituted itself to do the bidding of fanatic moralist pressure groups. All thoughtful citizens should pause a moment at this policy.

When a church group gets its bowels all in an uproar and clamors for a big purge, it would make good sense if they themselves took the purge. These agitators are sick and infect the whole population with their obsessions. As though the government hasn't enough to worry about from external reasons, it persists in preying on its own people at the behest of religious agitators.

Mr. B.

Seattle, Washington

Dear ONE Magazine:

Last winter (December, 1959) you had an interesting review of a book about the finding of the Gospel of St. Thomas among the buried works of Third and Fourth Century Christianity. It was a very interesting review, but it seemed rather one-sided to me and made my heart ache because I had to admit that sometimes homosexuals are quite narrow-

minded.

I am a Jew but gave up my religion long ago, for many reasons. I approached priests, rabbis and ministers on the question of homosexuality. A good deal was said intelligently, sometimes warmly, sometimes logically, but all of it was exactly what I do not believe.

The rabbis questioned pointed out that in the Old Testament we were condemned to death. The Catholic priests said that homosexuality is a sin because it is a sexual emotion outside the holy state of marriage, stated by God to be between male and female for the purpose of bearing children.

The Protestant ministers varied in their attitudes, but only quantitatively, not qualitatively. They all said homosexuality is a sin and a sickness, but they disagreed as to how much of which, all the way from God's condemning us to hell, to "the homosexual is a sick person whose sickness is not his own fault, but the fault of the generation before him." Protestant churches in New York are making a very strong effort to have us pitied rather than condemned and to supply us with doctors who will "cure" us.

All to whom I talked were serious, honest and willing to take part in any activity that would help homosexuals not to be "sinners''

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