why is the C-J doing this?

On April 17th, the C-J published a hateful letter directed at homosexuals from a "Bible-thumping Christian".

Since then, the C-J has published numerous responses-- mostly from those critical of the letter-writer but some with more nuanced responses (ironically, condemning the letter-writer without condoning homosexual conduct). My favorite line was that the hateful guy needs to read the Bible rather than merely thumping it.

In any case, it makes one wonder why the C-J published the original letter.

Were they trying to make points for "their side" by publishing an absurd letter from the other side? Would they publish an over-the-top pro-abortion letter (e.g., "it's awesome to see a baby get cut out of the womb") or a letter whose writer was explicitly worshiping Obama?

Or are they being lazy in drumming up letter activity and editorial page fodder, throwing red meat to the proverbial lions?