# Ask the Seminary Student **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 10, 2006, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-seminary-student/343825 "2006-02-10T05:46:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![the\_PC\_apeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac8455/32.png) [@the\_PC\_apeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_PC_apeman)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-seminary-student/343825/201 "2006-02-21T00:02:55Z")
> [@ThePCapeman](#): > > I don’t follow your meaning. Care to fight my ignorace? +n :smack: ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-seminary-student/343825/202 "2006-02-21T00:12:15Z")
“Dear Abby” (or, perhaps, “Ann Landers”) used to get outlandish letters, from time to time, that were attributed to pranksters writing from Yale. I agree with **Lib** that the letter, as written, seems less than plausible. (How much interaction aside from shoveling snow actually occurs in a frozen suburb in December or January?) ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-seminary-student/343825/203 "2006-02-21T01:30:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Dear Amy: My husband and I have lived in our quiet suburban Denver neighborhood for six years. About two years ago two young gay men moved in across the street. They’ve taken the ugliest, most run-down property in the neighborhood and remodeled and transformed it into the pride of the street. When it snows, they shovel out my car and are friendly, yet they mostly keep to themselves. Last month I went out to retrieve my newspaper and watched them kiss each other goodbye and embrace as they each left for work. I was appalled that they would do something like that in plain view of everyone. I was so disturbed that I spoke to my pastor. He encouraged me to draft a letter telling them how much we appreciate their help but asking them to refrain from that behavior in our neighborhood. I did so and asked a few of our neighbors to sign it. Since I delivered it, I’ve not been able to get them to even engage me in conversation. I offer greetings but they’ve chosen to ignore me. They have made it so uncomfortable for the other neighbors and me by not even acknowledging our presence. How would you suggest we open communications with them and explain to them that we value their contributions to the neighborhood but will not tolerate watching unnatural and disturbing behavior. - Wondering Dear Wondering; Do you realize this letter shows you as a bigot? Being otherwise polite does not excuse your bigotry. You’ve said the couple across the street were wonderful neighbors. Treat them that way. They have every right to express their affection in public the same way any other couple might that is considered reasonable and proper. If it truly disturbs you then don’t look. Better yet, perhaps you and your neighbors should attend some group counseling to help you deal with your feelings and overcome your bigotry. You owe your good neighbors a sincere apology for that hateful inappropriate letter. Good luck and grow up. sincerely, your lesbian columnist, Amy ---
**Author:** ![the\_PC\_apeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac8455/32.png) [@the\_PC\_apeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_PC_apeman)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-seminary-student/343825/204 "2006-02-21T02:29:22Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > “Dear Abby” (or, perhaps, “Ann Landers”) used to get outlandish letters, from time to time, that were attributed to pranksters writing from Yale. > > I agree with **Lib** that the letter, as written, seems less than plausible. (How much interaction aside from shoveling snow actually occurs in a frozen suburb in December or January?) Thanks, **tomndebb**. I didn’t know that. I only read the column because the headline caught my eye. The story struck a chord with me. My boyfriend and I are fixing up what was once the most run down house on the block. I have shovelled out my neighbor’s car the few times we’ve had any real snow here. We do greet our neighbors and make small talk but keep mostly to ourselves. And we do kiss each other good bye outside on rare occasions. There hasn’t been any obvious hostility from any of the neighbors… yet. One neighbor has passed on comments from another, unnamed neighbor complaining about “the way we are”. So the letter may be a put on but it doesn’t take too many drops of paranoia to visualize it happening here. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-seminary-student/343825/205 "2006-02-21T02:37:30Z")
> [@](#): > > So the letter may be a put on but it doesn’t take too many drops of paranoia to visualize it happening here. The hostility is more than plausible. The utter cluelessness of someone who deliberately gets a neighborhood petition to stop gay PDAs, then is hurt when the objects of the petition respond with silence and actually wants the victims of their petition resume polite interaction is less so. (And I have a little trouble with the idea that her pastor suggested the _letter_ rather than either telling her to shun the couple completely or to mind her own business.) ---
**Author:** ![the\_PC\_apeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac8455/32.png) [@the\_PC\_apeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_PC_apeman)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-seminary-student/343825/206 "2006-02-21T02:48:31Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > The hostility is more than plausible. The utter cluelessness of someone who deliberately gets a neighborhood petition to stop gay PDAs, then is hurt when the objects of the petition respond with silence and actually wants the victims of their petition resume polite interaction is less so. (And I have a little trouble with the idea that her pastor suggested the _letter_ rather than either telling her to shun the couple completely or to mind her own business.) Fair enough. There’s not much point to it anyway. **Mines Mystique** seems to have abandoned this thread. ---
**Author:** ![bobk2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@bobk2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobk2)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-seminary-student/343825/207 "2006-02-21T03:15:05Z")
> [@galen](#): > > I can’t understand how one could have a clear understanding of the laws of physics and and at the same time take the Bible seriously. > > For example, what would you tell the youth about the story that the Sun “stood still” in the story, I believe, of Joshua and the battle of Jecicho? I aplogize for coming to this discussion way late, but let me mention that there is an interesting/entertaining (to me, anyhow) book “Ancient Mysteries” by Peter James and Nick Thorpe. They discuss a number of plausible physical explanations (some involving comets) that, while not literally stopping the sun’s apparent path in the sky, could have resulted in a full day of light, and that could have resulted in the story. The “Sun Stood Still” story is one of several Biblical stories they discuss, including the destruction of Soddam and Gomorrah (sp?) and the star over Bethlehem. Please note the book does not consist of just verifications - they also do quite a bit of debunking. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-seminary-student/343825/208 "2006-02-21T12:29:08Z")
> [@Tevildo](#): > > For that matter, who is God talking to? It’s very difficult to extract a consistent, absolute monotheism from much of the Old Testament. > Yes, I agree. I’m not trying to argue that the (universal) penalty for sin is the _same_ as Adam and Eve’s penalty for the Fall. We can bring out analogies and similarities between them, of course, but I don’t think that anyone claims that the two are _identical_. > > “In the day that thou eatest thereof” - which is a literal translation of the Hebrew, the NIV’s “when” is a paraphrase. I suppose that if we give “day” an allegorical interpretation in Genesis 1, we can do the same in Genesis 2. However, the standard YEC objection to this is that the “days” of Genesis 1 are delimited by morning and evening, and are therefore 24-hour days. If one is committed to a literal interpretation, then one has to accept that God told Adam he would die on _the same day_ that he ate the fruit; which didn’t happen. So, either God lied, or we have to abandon a literal interpretation of either “day” or “die” or both. And if we have to abandon a literal interpretation here, right at the beginning of the text, why bother hanging on to it elsewhere? I agree, one cannot translate the Bible literally,hence there are so many ways to translate it. One can translate it to agree with any of one’s beliefs. One of the reasons I do not consider it the word of God, or inspired, any more than any other written or told story. Monavis [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-seminary-student/343825.md?page=10)