BY THE BOOK

What began as a discussion of “Ellen,” morals and an out-of-context quotation of Matthew 7:1 (“The 44-Minute Coming-Out Party,” by Rita Mae Brown, April 27) and some Christian responses (Letters, May 4) has now become one of biblical interpretation (Letters, May 11).

What Dennis Trunk fails to mention when he accuses other letter writers of “selective reading” of Scripture is that all biblical interpretation (proper name: hermeneutics), including his own, is by definition selective. One must only look at the vast numbers of “Christian” denominations to see that in theology there is wide divergence.

Trunk has overgeneralized when saying that “most biblical scholars” agree that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is about violating hospitality, for in conservative circles vast numbers would disagree. They tend to approach the Bible from a historical-grammatical angle, which in part says, “If the plain sense makes sense, seek no other sense.” If one approaches literally passages such as Leviticus 20 / Deuteronomy 22 (where a great deal of extramarital sex is made punishable by--hello!--death), I Corinthians 6 or Revelation 21:8, one might gather the idea that God is not pleased by what traditionally has been called immorality, whether the perpetrator is Ellen or a Christian having an affair. Is this so sectarian?

One can find many arguments for a less literal approach to Scripture, but the end result is to de-supernaturalize what many still consider to be divine revelation. BILL BRANDENSTEIN

Minister of Worship

Community Bible Church

of the Foothills

La Canada