Alarmed, sad to read ranting from Usher

Editor,
To my friends in Porterville, I grew up in your wonderful town, and so it was with great alarm and sadness that I read a letter to The Recorder from Sam Usher ranting that homosexuals are part of a communist plot to ruin America.

His letter was anything but Christian, though it shrouded itself in fearful rhetoric that comes more out of the gospel according to Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, not Jesus Christ. There is no mention of Christ’s love in his letter. He seems to think that just stating that scripture supports his hateful opinions will make it so.

Christians who want to attack gays have to point to a couple of obscure Old Testament references while ignoring other more strongly stated items such as:

— Those who work on the sabbath must be put to death — (Exodus 35:2)

— Eating shellfish is an abomination — (Lev 11:10)

— You may not approach the altar of God if you have a defect in your sight — (Lev 21:20)

— Men who trim their hair, including around the temples, should be put to death — (Lev 19:27)

— Farmers who plant two different crops in the same field and women who wear two different fabrics (such as cotton/polyester blends) must be stoned by the whole village — (Lev 24 10-16)

— Selling one’s own daughter into slavery is sanctioned in Exodus 21:7.

I strive every day to love the Lord my God with all my heart, all my soul and all my mind and my neighbor as myself as Jesus asks. Part of that is accepting the gift He has given me of being gay. The people in my life and I have learned so many amazing things about love through this special gift.  I have sung at the same church for 29 years and I defy Mr. Usher to approach anyone there and say the things about me that he says in his letter. People would scoff at him for the ridiculous folly that his comments are.

The real threat to America is extremists who cannot acknowledge that there are good people who love and worship in ways that differ from theirs. Many Lutheran, Episcopalian, Unitarian, Congregationalist, Jewish and dozens of other churches WANT to marry gay couples but powerful mega churches want to impose their doctrine on everyone else. Let each church decide for itself in the United States of America. That is freedom!

John Schaefer
Los Angeles