I will be posting a few of my responses to the Bible Thumpers that write in to my local paper every now and then.  (I am neither Stanley J. Schulte Jr. nor Ronald W. Martin)

Ray Sigler,

"Two letters appeared in the Dec. 16 paper from Stanley J. Schulte Jr. and Ronald W. Martin denigrating an individual and the Holy Scripture."

"They do have a god. They worship what is known as secular humanism."

Secular humanism is a philosophy, not a religion, and certainly not a "god" that is worshiped. 

"I feel sad for them because they don't really understand the Holy Scriptures and the truths it holds for them and all mankind."

"The Holy Scriptures predate any historical writings of mankind's existence on this earth."

Absolutely not, Cuneiform dates back as early as 8000 BC, Egyptian hieroglyphics about 3000 BC, and there were various other written languages in between.  Furthermore, I would hardly refer to the Old Testament as "historical." 

"The oldest document is the book of Job (which may very well have been recorded on cuneiform clay tablets) which is a philosophical discussion about God and who he is."

While you are correct the that Book of Job is regarded by many scholars as the oldest book in the Bible, it is still predated by many other writings.  Scholars estimate that the earliest form of the Book of Job was written no earlier than about 1500 BC. 

"The next oldest is the early part of Genesis, which is an oral history of early mankind. The invention of the Hebrew language probably began with Moses."

Really? I was under the impression that the different languages originated when the Christian god decided to scatter humans throughout the earth and "confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech" as described in Genesis 11 1:9.

Ancient myths aside, the Northwest Semitic Languages (The three branches being: Ugaritic, Canaanite (Hebrew is part of this subgroup), and Aramaic) formed around 3000 BC.

"Much of the Holy Scripture has been verified over and over again by scientific archaeological exploration."

So, because the Bible describes ancient cities that actually existed, therefore it is true.  By this logic (or lack thereof) we can conclude that because the "Trojan War" took place in history that Iliad is not only an accurate historical representation of the events of the Trojan war, but also proof that the Greek gods exist.

"Many reputable scientists believe in God and Jesus. They know God can crate a world any way he wishes."

"It really boggles one's mind to try and fathom God, an ultimate supreme being of such power and an intellect; so magisterial beyond our human frailty to understand."

"It appears that these two individuals don't understand or have not really read the Holy Scriptures."

What makes you think that your interpretation of the Bible is so much more valid?

"It is full of allegory, parable and truths that really take some time to work out. Accepting Jesus can give them freedom to love, peace in their heart, joy that is bountiful instead of all the negative things their letters implied."

So, if I don't accept Jesus, I will never have the freedom to love, peace in my heart, or joy? 

This really didn't deserve to be touched on considering its nothing more than an appeal to emotion.