1989_11 The Daily Collegian November 1989

              Page 2    Monday, November 6,1989
The Daily Collegian
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pinion
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Biblical laws 'misrepresented1
Dear Editor.
I am writing in response -o the
u nfortunate misrepresen tation of
biblical laws presented In, a recent
letter from "Just curious. Bill Stout."
I'm just curious Bill - are you
serious?
The Bible is commonly misquoted
In many ways but this is the first time
I have heard anyone suggest that the
Bi ble endorses rape.
You quote Deuteronomy 22:28-29
as. "Suppose a man is caught raping a
girl who Is not engaged. He is to pay
the girl's father the bride price of fifty
pieces of silver, and she is to become
his wife."
Thia-is not how these verses read in
any translation of the Bible that I am
aware of. 1 have the King James
Version; the New American Standard,
the New International Version, the
New English Bible, the Jerusalem
Bible and the Amplified Bible. I
cannot find a version that quotes
these verses the way you do. I am
curious to know: which translation
are you quoting from?
Of the six translations referred to
above   there   Is   one   —    the   New
International Version — that does use
the word "rapes" in connection with
this event but this is an error in
translation (this kind of error does
exist) and not an error in God's laws
(this kind of error does not exist).
The King James Version reads. "If a
man find a damsel that is a virgin,
which is not betrothed, and lay hold
on her. and lie with her. and they be
found: Then the man that lay with her
shall give unto the damsel's father
fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be
his wife...."
The circumstance discussed here is
not rape, but rather, one in which a
virgin who Is not yet engaged to be
married voluntarily consents to have
sexwithaman. If they are caught then
he is to many her. This law was
designed to protect the woman from
humiliation and not. as you
mistakenly Imply, to encourage men��to commit rape.
I do not expect you to necessarily
accept the Bible as written but I do
expect a more Informed rebuttal at the
university level
Sincerely.
GilLatta
Suggestions for Fresno, CSUF
DearEdltor,
A recent letter in the Daily
Collegian compared the campus to a
garbage dump. I think the same thing
can be said about the City of Fresno if
you only see negative^ things.
Problems that affect the campus also
affect the city. A lot of people
complain about the problems, but
very few offer reasonable solutions to
the problems.
It is true that there is a litter
problem on some parts ofthe campus.
I think most students do their part to
keep the campus clean. Maybe the
administration could designate one
day each semester as a "Campus
Cleanup Day." The purpose would be
to educate students and the public
about litter and encourage them to
keep  the  campus  and   community
clean.
There has been a big problem with
racism lately which is sad because we
live In a city with a veiy rich cultural
history. There are over 140 cultures
present in Fresno. Before people can
understand other cultures they must
understand their own culture. Most
people when asked will say that their
culture is Volga German, French,
Indian, etc. Yet they do not know what
the name meansuo their culture or
family history. There should be one
week every* year when different
cultures can display their art and
history on campus. I also think the
"ity should build an International
Cultural Center to help educate the
See LETTERS, page 3
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
Ediior in Chief.....Michacl S. Green Sports Ediior- Eric Bumey
Managing Ediior. Kelly O'Neill Graphics Editor Oscar Ramirez
New* Editor. - .....Alila Lot Photo Editor  .Thor Swift
Copy Editor. Donnell Aleundcr Siaff Artist JimMartfUez
Staff Writers: Cynthia B:ulcr. Deborah Lorcnzoi. Beth Corbo, Amsiasi*. Hendrix,
Todd Hah. Johanna Munoz, Kin Kasabian, Damn Bamea.
Sporu Writers; Chris Branam, Darrin Jones. Jennifer Konze, Dan Waterhouie.
Photograph^s; Mark Mirko, Terry Pierson, David Telle?..
Business Manager Geotge HutchcKa
Advertising Manager ..-Missy Karabian
Ad Production Manager. Darcy Knight
Advertising Representative*: Rick Botes, George Hutcheaon, Ron Mann, Tony M-rtin,
Shirley Mcintosh, Lisa McKinney. Shelby Stark.
(■cab MM to aMMHCMrM flwWna, F»
MM*arfn»M*"**at ThatS-r MatgM k a-**-*■» oft*,
a*a tha ma^crty enrtton of It* rajfjt/a ftorftf board.
Love conquers a
except for gays
Michael S.Green
Some scattered thoughts from a
normal weekend of confusion:
• rmgettingmarried.Wow!
Whataconcept.,..
See, IVe been engaged for awhile
(OK, a month) but not until now
has the reality of a lifetime of
bondage, er. cornmltment sunk
in. sunk deep like pumpkins
rotting on shag carpet.
This should not be construed as
an attack on the»sacred
Institution of marriage, nor on
pumpkins in general. It is, I
think, a good thing ttf get married
If you're ready, rip ready, she's
ready; enough said.
Others, however, do not share
this view, and never have they
beenmore obnoxiously vocal in
their opinions than since I sought
to tie the knot.    *
As If those little rays of
sunshine were not enough, try
taking a human sexuality course
the same semester you get
engaged. There's enough statistics
in there to freeze the cold feet
right offyour ankles. It's common
knowledge that half of all
marriages end in dtvorce, and by
the time you reach the age of
t hii ty something you can see
those statistics in the smoking
wreckage ofthe relationships
around you. -
The good news Is that running
the engagement gauntlet tends to
focus one's thoughts, sort of like
shooting the emotional rapids.
Comments from happy couples
who got married and lived to tell
the tale can be quite encouraging.
I will now get jnarrled come hell
andhigh water, and the cynics
will have to be satisfied with
taking bets at the reception- if
they get invited.
• Marriage has beengetting a
bum rap lately, but you have to
take a realistic look at it. Just
because the Dallas Cowboys look
like a bunch of powderpuffs
doesnt mean every other team
should stop playi-ig football.
By the way, doesn't all this bias
against marriage add up to, dare I
saylt, ''marriage-ism?'
Ididn'tthinkso.        *
• While we're on the topic of -
isms, why is sexual
discrimination "sexism." racial
dJtorirnination "racism," and
homosexual discrimination not
'homosexism?" Instead, we have
"homophobia," an unsatisfactory
word that suggests one is only
fearful of gays in tall places.
Unfortunately, we're stuck with
homophobia, both as a word and
as a problem. If the repeated
vandalism ofthe Gay, Lesbian
Walt Kelley's FOOD
and Bisexual Student Alliance
booth doesn't prove it. then
certainly the snide comments
from the "straight" side ofthe
sexual tracks do.
Some have gone so far as to
suggesfttiat GLBSA members
vandalized their own booth to
attract attention. Illogical
arguments like these do more
than wrongly blame the victin is;
they attempt to vindicate the
cowardly actions ofthe vandals.
The level of hostility toward
gays on this campus is not
surprising given the Intolerance
shown them In society as a whoii
Civjlrights legislation that
protects racial minorities offers
no such guarantees for gays:
Indeed, it is fair to say that gays
sufferharsher condemnation
within some minority groups
than in the population at large
It's also fair to say that a large
share of homophobic prejudice L-
grounded in Judeo-Chrlstian
religious belief. This can be   r~
summarized as 1) quoting self cti
verses from the Bible to show
God's condemnation of
homosexuality, 2) claiming to
"hate the sin but love the sinner,
and 3) offering redemption from
sin, ie. homosexuality, by
adopting a monogamous,
heterosexual relationship within
the moral confines of Christian
marriage.
The only probleni with that
approach is that it Ignores
reality, the very reality that God
supposedly created. Fact:
homosexuals have existed in all
times. In all societies, and
generally with* far more
acceptance than our bluenose
society permits today. Fact:     *
sexual orientation is developed
early In life, and can no more be
changed than the color of one's
eyes. Fact: to insure the
separation of church and state.
one must separate God's law iron
civil law. To allow this type of
discrimination to continue is an
affront to the flag-wrapped ideals
of equality that we hypocritically
Ciaim to cherish.
Even In the Christian
community, the belated winds of
change are blowing. If
homosexuals are capable of love.
and they are, then how can that
love be wrong In God's eyes? This
view was expressed more than 25
years ago by the Friends Home
Service Committee ofthe Quaker
church:
"One should no more deplore
homosexuality than left-
handedness "they wrote.
"Homosexual affection can be as
selfless as heterosexual affect ion.
and therefore we cannot see that
it is in some way morally worse."
Neither can I.
By Doyle & Stemecke