Letters to the Editor

Another soul searches

My wife suggested that I read "Soul Search" (Aug. 28) because she was impressed by the nonjudgmental tone of Paula Bock's writing on such a controversial subject. I write because I was moved by the stories about Reginald Diggs and Mary Diggs-Hobson.

I am a moderately conservative, mildly rebellious, evangelical Christian. I used to be one of those who hated homosexuals. To be honest, I still wrestle with my initial gut reactions to homosexuals. But while I believe that homosexuality is a sin, I also believe that in the eyes of God, I am no different than any other man, be he straight or gay. I am imperfect, a sinner, but loved by God.

I recently heard a Canadian talk-radio show where they discussed the attitude of the church regarding homosexuality. An irate caller screamed at the host, "As a Christian, I can never walk hand-in-hand down the street with a homosexual!" The host calmly replied, "What kind of sinner can you walk down the street with, then?" The caller responded by hanging up the phone.

I believe that articles such as yours, which do not vilify the homosexual or the church, are a valuable part of the process of reconciliation between the church and the gay community. I am not naive enough to believe that the larger evangelical church, let alone the fundamentalist subculture, will open its arms to the gay community. But I do believe there is a possibility of individual Christians across this country coming to the realization that God calls his church to actively love those they view as sinners. Christ certainly did.

Thanks again for your beautiful, sensitive article. I suspect that you will probably get hate mail, too, from my brothers and sisters in the church. So, I hope that this e-mail brightens your day just a bit.

Gary Means, Pacific

Getting an education

It is troublesome that we feel that education is the only option for our young people ("College: Trapped in the Game of Getting In," Sept. 25). Whatever happened to work, the military, and other legal pursuits?

I did well in school in Seattle, being above average per GPA. I got A's and B's and an occasional C, but I really liked the aspect of going to school. I passed the Washington pre-college test and was admitted to the University of Washington. I had never heard of financial aid, and at that time the tuition was only about $150 per quarter for 15 credits. The university classes were just an extension of high school to me, and I completed a four-year degree program in the Engineering College.

What killed my educational pursuits was graduate school, where the classes were too specialized. I did not feel that I would ever use the information they offered and dropped out after doing work on "The Catalysis of the Carbothermic Reduction of Iron."

It seemed that very few of us in high school went to local schools, which is sad. Everyone wanted to go to schools in other parts of the country, for some odd reason.

I hope that some of my ex-classmates were able to find work, get married, raise families and find other worthwhile efforts.

It just seems that there should be more effort to give our young people choices of what to do after high school, including, but not exclusively, going to college.

Wayne C.R. Taylor, Olympia

The lonely tree

There was a bit of confusion on Sunday morning Oct. 23, 2005. When I opened the Seattle Times and the Pacific Northwest magazine fell out with the cover photo of the single tree ("Falling For Trees"). I thought it was the Snohomish County visitor's guide: Come see the last tree in the county. Hurry!?

Michael Smith, Everett

Send letters to the editor to Pacific Northwest magazine, The Seattle Times, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111, or e-mail pacificnw@seattletimes.com. Include a telephone number for verification.