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Brief letters that include the writer’s name and address are welcome. We will not publish letters sent anonymously, though we may withhold names at our discretion. Letters may be edited for purposes of length or clarity. Send by regular mail to:
Letters, MB Herald
3-169 Riverton Ave.
Winnipeg, Man. R2L 2E5
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or by e-mail to mbherald@mbconf.ca.
Please ensure that your mailing address is included in your e-mail correspondence. |
Universal good
Re Universal good “Phantom Hope” (Feb. 18 Encounter): The fact that George Lucas can conceive of a universal Force of goodness connecting all living things proves God exists – in Lucas’s mind. And the fact that Lucas can conceive of a man sacrificing himself for someone he loves proves “Jesus Christ” exists – in Lucas’s mind. And because George communicated these concepts to others through his movies, the idea of God exists in the minds of millions. Many young people who might never have read a Bible have been exposed to the concept of a universal Force of good and to the idea that self-sacrifice is the greatest good (John 15:13).
Of course, some details of Lucas’s depiction of God are not identical with some biblical details. These are irrelevant. Neither Star Wars nor the Bible is a precise depiction of God. But the basic concept of a universal Force of goodness and that self-sacrifice is the greatest good are true. Lucas may call his own story “naïve”, but I believe real spiritual truth comes through in such archetypal stories, despite the author’s conscious intentions to simply entertain. “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). Scripture may include a movie script.
John R. Johnson,
Burnaby, B.C.
Iron sharpens iron
This letter is in response to two previous letters: “Be careful what we teach” (Jan. 7) passed judgement on the Alpha Program. “Alpha brings health” (Feb. 18) defended the program.
I’m not as concerned about the content of either letter as I am about their spirit. For me, this letter exchange reflects some of the current difficulties we are having in our local churches and conference structures in coming to grips with the concepts of difference and disagreement. Both letters implied “I am right and you are wrong!” Both also begged for a response. I have been a social worker for 35 years. My profession, along with others, has become vulnerable to a program fixation, the search for an easier answer . . . another workshop . . . another book . . . another program. Programs do not change people; relationships do. In the church, the primary relationship of change is Jesus Christ. Jesus, not Alpha, heals and brings health. His reality cannot be restricted to any program.
The end of the Feb. 18 letter was the most unfortunate part of it. If the Herald, with the diversity of community that it represents, wants to maintain its integrity and purpose, it must publish voices and opinions of all sorts. More often than not, there is a letter in the Letters section that makes me either smile or grind my teeth in disbelief. That is my problem, not that of the writer sincerely expressing his/her thoughts which may be very different than my own. The day in which we refuse free and open expression of views related to Christian belief and church life is the day in which we stop becoming the church we ought to be – a place where all are welcome, a place that tolerates and encourages diversity of expression of Christian thought. Who am I to tell the editors of a church paper to stop printing a voice that is different than mine?
It is unfortunate that the author of the Jan. 7 letter did not sign his/her name. Perhaps this individual did so because of the increasing lack of tolerance within the church, for voices that are different.
Re Alpha: I draw attention to the article “New Adult Bible Study Curriculum to Emphasize MB Distinctives” (Jan. 7). The MB Church of today bears less and less resemblance to the early Anabaptist church from which it has evolved. In worship practice, teaching, leadership and church governance, we are rapidly becoming something else. It takes courage to change, but it often takes more courage not to change. An obsession with program, trend or fad is risky. We need to make sure that our programs have a balance and content that will not let our MB/Anabaptist distinctives evaporate.
On his wedding day my son conveyed that the love he shared with his new wife was not of a superficial nature driven by feelings and romance; rather it was a love that provided a context in which he and his beloved could differ and disagree, and in so doing sharpen each other’s individuality to become exceptional and true (Proverbs 27:17).
It’s a message that we as a church family so desperately need to attend to.
Vic Neufeld,
Winnipeg, Man.
Artists need prayer too
Thank you for addressing the issue of Christian artists who “fall” (Peter J. Woelk’s “Why I won’t judge Amy Grant”, March 17). As a musician myself, I have often wondered at the standards Christians hold their artists to. I’m not saying that we should ignore their sins or let them be set up for our children as something to imitate. I’m simply saying that we all sin and that love and forgiveness go much farther than condemnation.
I am also thankful for Christian artists who make it in the secular music scene. There is not much music out there that deals with our lives from a Christian standpoint. There is a time and a place for, say, a love song which is not to God or even about God, but still holds to Christian morals and standards. I say “Bravo” to Amy Grant and others who are finally providing this. That takes a lot of guts. We as the Christian community should be praying for her and others like her who are in the public spotlight. Pray for them in their troubled times, but also pray for them when they are holding to the straight and narrow, that God would give them the strength and discernment to continue to do so.
Gina Marie Root,
Regina, Sask.
One cell in many
Gerald Janzen (Letters, Feb. 18) wrote that commitment to the church is essential and should be made wholeheartedly. I agree. He also stated, “When we were baptized, we were baptized into the local body of Christ.” Perhaps I read that sentence too narrowly, but that was never the intent of my baptism. I chose to be baptized because I loved Jesus and wanted to publicly say so. I joined the church because it is the family Jesus provided for my nurture and support and because it is the Bride of Christ. At no time did I understand I was being baptized solely into that congregation. I was taking a stand for Christ, and the congregation I was baptized at was the cell of Christ’s body in which He’d placed me to function – one cell among many. Since my baptism, I have been a part of two other congregations of two other denominations. At no time did I feel the need to be baptized into their congregations, nor was it required of me. I found the same Christian love and acceptance that the congregation of my baptism had given me. My baptism had brought me into the whole body of Christ.
Let us be clear on this point. Yes, we must function locally. A cell must function where it has been placed. If you are in a finger, you won’t be doing footwork. But let’s never lose sight of the truth that we are part of a whole, and the cells in the foot are as much our family as those in the surrounding fingers. This realization is essential for us if the body of Christ is ever to dispel the illness of infighting and break down the walls denominations and even congregations have built. Jesus’ prayer was: “I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me [does this not cross denominational boundaries?], for they are Yours . . . Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are” (John 17:9,11b, NKJV).
Cheryl Janzen,
Winnipeg, Man.
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