To say the least, I was confused by Joshua Cook’s response to the controversial Brian Johnson article. It wasn’t apparent whether the response was just an opinion or an attempt at an argument. Either way, when I finished reading it, I remembered thinking that at no point during the letter had I witnessed any sane demonstration of logic. And I could have left the response alone at that; I really could have. But then he had to bring the Bible into this.

Now, I have been a Lutheran my whole life, a faithful follower of Christ, but I still believe that every man or woman has the right to their own opinions on religion and morals even though my religion is based, in part, on the idea that we should go out and save those who are lost. Needless to say, I was not about to write in initially in response to Mr. Johnson’s twisted article, especially since Michael Tyra had done such an eloquent job himself.

But I must say that I am tired of Mr. Cook and those of his kind who whimper at the very mention of the Bible. They persecute it and its believers for trying to squelch their fun. They would rather believe that man is just some party machine and the earth is his fiesta. They don’t want to think about the morning after the long party night we call life. It would be too much for them. Instead, they think that God is a joke, that His Word means squat when it comes to the “reality” of life. Are they just too proud to believe that there might be a higher being who knows better about these matters than they do, or are they too overwhelmed with peer pressure and inner desires to admit that they might be wrong?

Mr. Cook seems to hold a black and white view on premarital sex: have it or masturbate. Maybe if he read the Bible more instead of criticizing those who quote from it, he wouldn’t have the time to worry about cold showers and masturbation. I admit that I think about women as much as the next guy, but I find other things to do to occupy my mind such as working out or going out and getting something to eat with the guys. I do not follow his fantastical extremes.

Most of all, I found his response to be a sad commentary on society. Our generation has taken sex to be nothing more than animalistic behavior and not as the wonderful gift that God has given us. Human beings deal with sex differently than animals do, hence all the emotions that come with it. But Mr. Cook has forgotten this. He has forgotten that sex is meant as the last expression of love between a man and a woman who want to be with each other forever. And until he realizes that if you don’t have the maturity to handle marriage, you certainly do not have the maturity for sex, he’ll forever remain a child.

Chad Lamb

Junior

Computer Science