Date: Sun, 12 Nov 1995 16:17:38 -0500 (EST) From: Chris Purdom Subject: IWG Inquirer letter on NJ Judge The following went out on IWG letterhead (2 congregations, 4 religious organizations and 15 clergy - if you represent a congregation or religious organization or are clergy, let us know if you want to be added): November 11, 1995 The Philadelphia Inquirer PO Box 8263 Phila., PA 19101 Dear Editors: We were extremely disturbed by your coverage of Judge Patrick J. McGann, Jr.'s rejection of James Dale's discrimination suit against the Boy Scouts of America. The fact that a judge is attempting to make theological determinations in a discrimination suit is bad enough, but we were mystified by the explanatory phrase "active homosexuality" which was apparently inserted into the judge's commentary on Sodom and Gommorah either by the Inquirer or the Associated Press. It is not the job of the press to explain theology any more than it is the job of the judge to interpret it. While the Judge's understanding of the Sodom and Gommorah story is perhaps the most commonly recognized and is in fact the origin of the word "sodomy," recent historical scholarship into the practices of the time has led theologians to offer new explanations of this passage, which have been accepted in a steadily growing number of seminaries and churches. Whether the world's religions ever did universally condemn homosexual acts is debateable, but we can state with certainty that that is no longer the case; and theology has never and should never have a place in an American court of law. Sincerely, Barbara Purdom Christopher Purdom Interfaith Working Group Coordinators