I Hate Ray Ceo

Below is the letter-to-the-editors which I just submitted to the state press in reference to this piece by Ray Ceo published today. I hesitate to link to it for fear of artificially inflating his readership.

Editors:

Up until today (2/22/2008), the editors of the State Press could have proudly boasted that they had never published any content which made me physically ill. Unfortunately, since running Ray Ceo’s piece, the situation has changed.

Despite his (grammatically ambiguous) proclamation that he “loves God, and prayer, and condemn this to hell, and ‘amen’ that,” in his column he exhibits not only a failure to understand the church (forgivable), but a vile disrespect for what many consider an important part of their lives. He compares Pastor Paul Wirth, who, as far as I can tell, has never been convicted of any crime, to men who commit the most morally perverse actions seen in our society.

I’m not often heard demanding more respect for religion, but to accuse a man trying to promote healthy relationships (in a way widely documented as effective) of pedophilia and perversion is obscene in a way I’ve never before been exposed to. For too long too many churches have taken a negative, unhealthy view towards sex – either in or out of a monogamous relationship. It’s about time someone in the church, in an attempt to promote healthy lifestyles, advocates a more realistic view of sexuality.

I hope that Ceo wrote this as an attempt to inflate readership by riling up innocent subscribers such as myself, but I heartily condemn the editors for publishing this smut which borders on libel.

Ray Ceo should go back to writing about Britney Spears. He doesn’t do it well, but it ’s what he does best.

UPDATE: They printed my letter in today’s paper. You can read it online here.