Letters to the editor

Mennonite Brethren Herald welcomes your letters on issues relevant to the Mennonite Brethren Church, especially in response to material published in the Herald. Please keep your letters courteous, brief and about one subject only. We will edit letters for length and clarity. We will not publish letters sent anonymously, although we may withhold names from publication at the request of the letter writer and at our discretion. Publication is also subject to space limitations. Because the Letters column is a free forum for discussion, it should be understood that letters represent the position of the letter writer, not necessarily the position of the Herald or the Mennonite Brethren Church. Send letters to: Letters, MB Herald 1310 Taylor Ave. Winnipeg, Man.  R3M 3Z6 or send via e-mail. (Please ensure that your postal address is included in your e-mail correspondence.)

Further to The Passion of the Christ

Re. The Passion of the Christ (Mar. 19). I was part of an advance showing, and about a week ago viewed the movie alone on a weekday afternoon when the crowd was absent. The positive messages of Christ were for me very clearly and consistently portrayed. What has not been captured in the review, nor in others I have seen so far, is the issue of understanding or misunderstanding the reason for Christ’s coming and dying. That remains the issue for viewers who are supportive, including believers, and for those who are cynics or critics.

Certain characters are portrayed as ones who understand: Mary in particular. By the time Jesus is approaching dying on the cross, more are beginning to grasp the reality and reason for His death and resurrection.

Perhaps the first matter of concern is to be sure we understand and are renewed in our faith.

Bill Thiessen,
Abbotsford, B.C.

It is wise to pay attention to the testimony of those who have already had the experience and, just maybe, reason that we do not need to, nor should we, participate.

It is most important in the case of The Passion of the Christ that anyone considering seeing or allowing young persons to see this film remember that the subject matter in this film touches the very core of a person’s immortal soul.

Do you want Mel Gibson and Hollywood shaping how your mind and spirit perceive, understand and ultimately commune with the Lord God Almighty? Do you want your children shaped by this source?

Have we forgotten that the Bible is God’s truth? If our passion for Christ needs to be renewed, be assured of the Spirit’s ability, as we humbly seek, to inspire us anew. I suggest that He can do it with images of glory that all of Hollywood could not conceive.

I have no intentions, now or ever, of seeing this movie. My children will have to decide for themselves.

Philip Patton,
Kitchener, Ont.

Both critics of The Passion of the Christ seem to ignore or forget several matters of importance. Was the intent of this film to be another “Jesus Film”? Was it not crafted to gain the much-needed attention of modern society? Watching the repeated and prolonged flogging scenes, I also felt that maybe it was overdone. But did Jesus suffer for only 30 minutes, as I did watching? Did He not suffer for hours? Have we become so accustomed to a painless lifestyle and an easy gospel that we fail to appreciate the enormous cost of our redemption?

The movie reminds me of the inestimable value of the human soul. The very graphically depicted physical suffering of Jesus is only half the story. The other half is that He bore my guilt, my utter ruin, my heading to eternal damnation.

As Mennonite Brethren we are missing the message of the cross and the blood in our pulpits and in our witness. Paul wrote, “The preaching of the cross is foolishness to them that perish, but to us who believe it is the power of God.” Thank you Jesus that “by your stripes we are (I am) healed.”

Nicholas Dyck,
Abbotsford, B.C.

I’m all for free opinions, but let me explain my deep frustration with your decision to print the articles by David Eagle and Tim Thiessen. You’ve created a challenge for me. I have stood with every major evangelical ministry in North America in encouraging our church community to make use of this film. One of our member couples hatched a bold plan to invite our entire neighbourhood to see the movie. I applauded their initiative, and we printed 1000 2-for-1 coupons for use at the local movie theatre, asked church members to sponsor the coupons, and distributed them door-to-door. Last Sunday we celebrated the salvation of a young woman who saw the movie, asked questions, and was led to Christ. The week after Easter we’re beginning a follow-up study class called, “Experiencing the Passion of the Christ.” But thanks to the Herald, I now have the additional challenge of defending all that we’ve done to make use of this movie for kingdom benefit.

Brian Wiebe, pastor
Promontory Community Church Chilliwack, B.C.

I was moved at the suffering portrayed in Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ. I agree with much of what David Eagle says about it. However, one point that seems to be missed is the suffering that Christ endured as a result of His separation from God as He took on Himself our sins. I believe that was much greater than any physical suffering He endured.

With reference to human suffering I would suggest we all read The Heavenly Man by Paul Hattaway. It is truly a miracle how God took care of him through his severe suffering because he proclaimed the salvation of Jesus Christ to the people of China.

Arthur Loewen,
Chilliwack, B.C.

I appreciated David Eagle’s review of The Passion of the Christ and I agree wholeheartedly. The flogging scene was over the top and the scene on Golgotha after they nailed Jesus to the cross and then dropped Him face down onto the rocky surface with the cross on top of Him was totally uncalled for and completely unscriptural. I had not been to a movie for years and left very disappointed and also feeling I had been duped by all the hype concerning the film.

Thanks to David Eagle for his very thoughtful review.

Bob Gibson,
Kelowna, B.C.

Waiting

Recently the journal Sophia ceased publication. After 13 years there was a party to celebrate the life of Sophia, the people who nourished it and the fruit that it bore.

Sophia was born out of a desire to give voice to MB women in their walk with God. Following the 1993 General Conference of North American MB Churches in Winnipeg, where the resolution giving MB women full participation in leadership was defeated, many of my MB women friends needed a place where they had a voice.

There were editors (Sarah Klassen and Lori Matties), guest editors from various parts of Canada, and editorial committees who worked together and served us well. A New Writers Contest attracted women writers for five years. Each time the contest was run four winners were honoured with a cash prize and had their writing published.

Ester DeFehr, publisher, is to be credited for conceiving and bringing to birth this publication. Without her vision and support Sophia would not have happened.

I also remember a long-running column by Eleanore Martens, A Brothers Perspective, poetry, drawings, and stories about our MB foremothers who wrote in private diaries or expressed themselves in earlier periodicals.

How will MB women now tell their spiritual stories and voice their concerns? As the MB Conference revisits the issue of women in leadership will the constituency, and particularly the persons (many men) in leadership, be more open to inclusive leadership? Will MB women feel free and be encouraged to speak publicly of their experiences and bring their insights and questions to bear on the governance of the MB church? I’m waiting to see what will be done. My anxious waiting is not for myself as much as it is for the young women who are able to entertain a full range of options in the working world but are denied that opportunity in the church that is their spiritual home.

Evelyn Labun,
Grand Forks, ND

What about toasts?

A toast to the newlyweds was unknown in my youth (See “What about toasts”, Letters, Mar. 19). Are we taking it too seriously? Personally, I believe it is not Christian, nor non-Christian. It has become a cultural practice. It will not make the newlyweds any happier or less happy.

If anyone should wish happiness for the newlyweds, surely we Christians who have been married for years should wish them God’s blessing and happiness for the adjustments that lie ahead in all marriages.

Guests who don’t approve of the toast can utter a prayer in their hearts to God for the couple.

Mary Fast,
Derwent, Alta.

An Anabaptist distinction

In the March 19 Herald, there were four direct responses to Steve Martens’s letter (“Another view”, Feb. 6, 2004).

The responses are written as if brother Martens had recommended we as MBs begin practicing and blessing homosexual marriages in our MB churches. He did not. In fact, he did not express an opinion on whether same-sex marriages are sinful or not, or whether MB churches should bless and practice same-sex marriages. Read his opening line: “I believe homosexuals should have the right to marry.” The term “right” clearly indicates that he is talking about the Canadian constitution. Should the constitution allow same-sex couples to marry? Martens thinks that it should. That is not the same question as, “should MB churches marry homosexual couples,” or “should MB churches accept same-sex couples as members.” He then gives seven premises to support this thesis.

One responder, Jake Abrahams, declares premise 2 to be absurd. I couldn’t agree more. In fact, premises 1, 2, and 4 are all absurd or irrelevant. As for the last two, premises 6 and 7, I’d tend to recommend the same but fail to see how either can be definitive in considering the right of same-sex couples to marry.

However, Martens makes two very important points. Premise 3: we shouldn’t necessarily impose Christian ideals upon a clearly non-Christian government or country; Premise 5: our actions should not be motivated by fear.

Martens appears to be operating on the assumption that the ethics we hold the Christian church to (i.e. Christian ideals) and what we can or should force the government to practice are two different discussions (at least, in this case). This seems to be a very Anabaptist distinction, and yet none of the responses seemed to understand or recognize it. That is unfortunate. Why not speak to the issues he did raise? Should Christians impose New Testament marital ethics on a non-Christian society? We certainly haven’t in the case of divorce. Second, is fear our motivating factor? Let us pray that it is not. One of the responders, John Block, adds another very appropriate concern: how can we help our brothers and sisters who struggle with promiscuous inclinations, both heterosexual and homosexual?

Kevin Krumrei,
Fenwick, Ont.

Meant to defend

In my opinion you significantly changed what I wished to communicate with my letter (“Well done, MBs”, Mar. 19). What was published in Dorothy Siebert’s article (Jan. 16) constituted an attack on the MB Church and in a positive sort of way I meant to come to its defense. What was published is of considerable embarrassment to me because it omitted my introduction and my conclusion and thoughts in between. What my letter implied is the criticisms presented in the article are like superficial warts on a body and are of little substance. My hope was that the very privileged young people would draw some valuable conclusions years hence.

Gerhard Penner,
Cranberry Portage, Man.

Graham’s comments

Re. the comments that Franklin Graham made, speaking to the National Religious Broadcasters (People and Events, Mar. 19). Mr. Graham’s encouragement to consider President George W. Bush’s re-election to be a priority was not made because of the political party President Bush represents. It was based on the fact that President Bush has time and again demonstrated Christian principles in leading the U.S.

Don Neufeld,
Saskatoon, Sask.