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.)

Copyright Act allows it

I was disappointed in the article “Is downloading theft?” (May 20).

Kelly O’Brien appears to have expressed a biased opinion (he is a musician, and presumably depends on this for income) and neglects several facts involved in the music downloading situation.

Though he starts by defining the term “theft” as “to take or appropriate without right or leave and with intent to keep or make use of wrongfully,” he misses applying that later. His last point re “sampling,” fails the point of “with intent to keep.”

Of course, this argument is moot, as the article fails to address that copying of music (whether downloading or copying a friend’s CD) is actually legal in Canada under the “Copyright Act” which reads:

“the act of reproducing all or any substantial part of a sound recording in which a musical work, or a performer’s performance of a musical work, is embodied onto an audio recording medium for the private use of the person who makes the copy does not constitute an infringement of the copyright in the musical work, the performer’s performance or the sound recording” [emphasis mine].

An argument could be made that the laws of Canada are a subset of the laws of God, and we need to adhere to the higher law. That is, of course, a very good argument and true to the Christian ideals – but also fails to meet the requirement for “theft.”

Whenever I buy a blank CD, whether used for data or audio, I pay a levy on each item. Incidentally, when I purchased my iPod, I also paid this levy, though it has since been struck down on current purchases. This levy is intended to compensate artists for the public’s privilege of private copying. Hence, I am paying/have paid for the right to download this music.

Just for the record (no pun intended): I do purchase music, but only after I have downloaded the disc and found it worth paying full price for. I have no ethical issue with downloading, but do like to encourage the record companies to pursue good artists, rather than just the one-hit-wonders (anyone remember Chumbawumba?).

I hope the Herald will continue to publish articles like this one, but perhaps not have it just be “an argument with [himself].”

Kris Benson,
Prince George, B.C.

Words are powerful

I found a portion of Kathryn Wiens’s article, “I’ll speak out for traditional marriage” (May 20), troubling and worthy of response. Her description of the purpose of marriage caught my attention. While I have no quarrel with her assertion that marriage is “a love relationship and much more,” I take issue with the claim that it exists to provide “an environment where children are conceived and nurtured in stable, protected homes, where they know and are raised by their biological fathers and mothers.” Stable and protected homes are wonderful things, but I was surprised to see the word “biological.” My wife and I have two adopted children. Does this mean that our marriage falls short of the ideal? Are our children experiencing some sort of deprivation due to the fact that it was not our marriage that produced them? Obviously the use of the word “biological” was meant to distinguish between children raised by heterosexual as opposed to homosexual couples, however, for some parents who are unable to produce their own biological children, the term is a loaded one, especially when it is used to assert a position of superiority over atypical situations. I am quite confident that Wiens meant no disrespect to adoptive parents, but words are powerful and they must be used carefully.

Ryan Dueck,
Coaldale, Alta.

What is “traditional”?

The view we seem to take when it comes to traditional marriage is a self-centred, small-minded approach. Does traditional mean husband and wife, where the wife stays at home and takes care of the kids? That used to be “traditional.” I have done children’s and youth ministries, and have seen a lot of messed up kids because mom and dad are out working and did not have time to raise the kids, but I have also seen a lot of incredible kids coming from two income homes. Who decides what is traditional? If you bring the kids in as an argument, you also slam single parents, some of whom are not single by choice.

It takes more than a mom and dad to raise kids today. It takes family and community. It takes friends who will stand hand in hand in times of need. If we look at relationships from a biblical point of view, there were some pretty messed up people, yet we look at them today as great and godly people. We have to remember that God is ultimately in control.

I do not support gay marriage but I do support parents who love and support their kids and would give up their life for them. That is what our kids need. In “I’ll speak out for traditional marriage” (Viewpoint, May 20) Kathryn Wiens references an article from Child Psychiatric Disorders, which talks about how children of single mothers have a higher incidence of problems. As a single father, I am painted by the same brush. But again, it does not take just a mother and father to raise kids but family and community. If we are to advance the gospel, then we must remember: we do not rule people into the Kingdom, we love them.

Rick Harasym,
Edmonton, Alta.

Disappointed

Re “Significance of the cross” (Letters, May 20). As I read the letter I couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. That the MB Herald would publish such New Age gobbledegook is truly disappointing.

I find it hard to believe that God had Christ put on a cross because in the year 2005 it would evoke positive feelings in His followers. I will be reconsidering whether or not the Herald will enter my home in the future.

Vic Klassen,
Altona, Man.

Fulfillment of a dream

At John Friesen’s recent retirement dinner at Canadian Mennonite University, Mennonites from different groups were present, as well as Hutterites.

My mind went back over 50 years to a meeting around our kitchen table. A.H. Unruh, president of Mennonite Brethren Bible College came to see my dad, D.D. Klassen, minister in the Bergthaler Church. My father allowed me to stay in the room for the same reason that he took me along to ministers’ conferences since I was 12 years old. Here I developed an interest in politics.

The topic under discussion that Saturday was how Mennonite Brethren and General Conference Mennonites could cooperate in the area of education. How could they unite their efforts despite their differences? It was less than one hundred years since the split in Russia in 1860.

At the retirement dinner I was reminded of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s sermon, “I have a dream.” Although that sermon had a powerful effect upon the nation, King did not see his dream come to pass. I realized that the dream A.H. Unruh and D.D. Klassen had around our kitchen table, had come to fruition in the formation of CMU, even though they also did not live to see it.

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of my father’s passing. We do well to remember our leaders and our teachers, and to stand for what they believed.

Paul Klassen,
Winnipeg, Man.

Who is my neighbour?

Re “The ‘out’ of reaching out” (Apr. 29). I totally agree that many people will never enter a church building. That does not mean that they are not my neighbours or that they are not searching.

I have often wrestled with the question of who is my neighbour? One day my wife suggested we have a birthday party. I love parties; it gives you a chance to discover who your neighbour is. We decided to ask our small group and we asked each one to bring an unbeliever if they could. There were bankers, real estate agents, journalists, etc. of various backgrounds. Someone discovered that I enjoy golf and brought me some golf balls as a present. (Not that I needed them since I never hit a ball far enough to lose a ball.) A friend of ours arranges a round of golf once a week for some of us senior citizens. We need the golf for exercise and to keep our mathematical skills intact. At the party one of the guests was asked to join us, which he did, enjoying the fun and camaraderie. Some time later he went to visit his homeland. Several months later he returned and announced he had become a Christian as a result of our acceptance of him. Shortly after, he had a stroke and has since passed on to be with Jesus.

My neighbour is needy, hungry, searching, waiting, expecting, always near, difficult to identify and comes from all walks of life. Keep on encouraging us to be good neighbours. It would also be interesting to hear how other people locate and love their neighbours. Who was my neighbour yesterday? Who will be my neighbour tomorrow?

I must wait, watch, pray and be ready. The day of revival meetings in the church is past; now the responsibility falls on the laity to bring people.

Jake Klippenstein,
Langley, B.C.