Eutychus and His Kin: October 19, 1984

Election Day Meditation (Prayer Over Punch-Card Ballot)

The Solemnity of the Moment: As I stand, awkwardly, inside this undersized cubicle electing the most powerful servant in the land—not to mention at least 18 judges, city officials, and school directors I’ve never even heard of—please give me the wisdom needed to understand which end of the ballot is up, and to use the metal stylus and not the “write-in” pencil to punch out my selections. Help me ignore the fact that my infant son is screaming in the registrar’s arms, that my four-year-old is jumping from one booth to the next asking each citizen for gum, and that my spouse regards my presidential preference as a “wimp.”

The Significance of the Moment: Help me understand the awesomeness of the many decisions before me; that, contrary to popular opinion, You may indeed be a registered Independent; and that my single vote may help set the agenda for the next four years, not to mention send someone to the community college board of regents whose qualifications (whose name!) are known only to You.

Help me, when selecting a head of public works, a school district clerk, or a village omsbudsman, not to base my final decisions on what surname sounds like a “safer bet” (although an occasional “Johnson” or “Smith” would be appreciated).

And above all else, help me never lose sight of the fact that the clumsy punch card in front of me represents not just a two-minute exercise in manual dexterity, but a legacy of 200-plus years of freedom.

Amen.

EUTYCHUS

Too Many Deities!

Thank you for Elaine Herrin’s “Hello, Daddy God; Goodbye, Dignity” [Sept. 7]. Many of us in the evangelical world are beginning to realize that a distortion of God’s real person has developed from, and is being shaped by, a spirit of “I’ll think of God in any way I choose, and to give me the most pleasure and comfort possible.” The style of our music, the content of much public prayer, some versions of Scripture, and surely the architecture of most new church buildings reflect a view of God that suggests we may be worshiping several different deities.

Herrin’s article ought to be republished every two weeks or so!

DR. KENNETH A. MARKLEY

Camp Hill, Penn.

Needed: A New Vision of Heaven

Philip Yancey’s “Heaven Can’t Wait!” [Sept. 7] sounds a much-needed call. We Christians are neglecting a great motivation to prepare enthusiastically for participation in the eternal kingdom of our Savior.

It is true, as Yancey notes, that “older images of heaven … have lost their appeal”; but our present-day indifference more likely is due to “religious leaders” failing to grasp the significance of the images in Scripture rather than in their failure “to create … new images.” Periodical literature may lack articles on heaven—but some excellent books are available. Were religious leaders not so preoccupied with the flood of good, urgently needed literature on keeping Christian homes from falling apart, these books might attract their attention and stir a revival that would cause our view of heaven to eclipse for us anything this present world has to offer.

CHARLES NOTSON

Yakima, Wash.

Moon an Ally?

Although I am among the many Christians concerned over government encroachment into religious affairs, I believe it is a dreadful error for Tim LaHaye, Robert Grant, and others to consider Sun Myung Moon a “persecuted ally” [“With Their Leader in Prison, Moonies Pursue Legitimacy,” Sept. 7]. Since when may the people of God seek an ally in a false messiah? The nation of Israel was severely judged for entering into unholy alliances; we can ignore such lessons only at our peril.

LARRY PAVLICEK

Richfield, Minn.

Francis Schaeffer’s Legacy

Thanks to Steve Board for a fine tribute to Francis Schaeffer [“An Evangelical Thinker Who Left His Mark,” June 15]. Schaeffer was a mentor and friend of mine since 1959. More than any other person, his teaching and writing opened me up to the issues of Christianity and culture. My teaching and my writing were directly influenced by his keen insights and observations. My guess is that the same is true of many other Christian leaders of my generation. His presence will remain through those he helped to shape into constructive critics of evangelicalism and of culture.

ROBERT E. WEBBER

Wheaton College

Wheaton, Ill.

Today’s Children in Need

I have been so grateful to see two major articles on the plight of children in our culture in recent issues of CHRISTIANITY TODAY [“Vanishing Childhood,” May 18, June 15]. As one who ministers to children, this issue has captured my attention, and it pleases me to see others becoming aware of the crisis proportions of the problems children face. I think we have made some glaring wrong assumptions about our children’s ministries for too long. Now is the time to really begin caring for children when so few seem to care. I hope these issues will be raised again and again.

J. K. STEVENS

Lincoln, Ill.

More on Schuller

Thank you for the issue of CT that focused on the message and ministry of Robert Schuller [Aug. 10]. The articles and Schuller’s defense were insightful and thought-provoking. It is inevitable, in view of space limitations, that one need focus on points of contention.

To begin a theology with a concept of “self-esteem” is to begin with the self as foundational and pivotal for that theological system. Is this not very dangerous ground as Lewis pointed out in “The Poison of Subjectivism”? The creeds of the church do not begin with man but with God’s character, historical intervention, and continuing work in his church. To begin with the self is to be doomed to end with a sanctified solipsism that pursues happiness above holiness and gets neither. To begin with man, as Lewis points out, is not only to destroy Truth but also to destroy man.

REV. DAVID K. WEBER

Gamma Delta Campus Ministry

Montana State University

Bozeman, Mont.

Schuller says “stop” to the notion that his “self-esteem” could lead to self-exaltation, or the heresy of salvation by one’s “own merit.” But then, to his biblical credit, he adds, “I’m not happy with those words, I’d be delighted if someone could come up with better ones.…” Well, here are my offerings: “selfless-esteem” or “selfless-service.” Would the prefix “selfless” change Schuller’s definition of “self-worth”? Yes. It would: (1) define “worth” in terms of service for others rather than self; (2) eliminate his tortuous and questionable hermeneutics on self-worth and its accompanying paradox; (3) place his “esteem” well within Christ’s own nature, message method, and selfless works for man’s redemption.

LEO PETERS

Grand Rapids, Mich.

I found your treatment of Schuller to be shallow and petty, right down to the captions on the pictures. “Schuller’s old church” seems a picayune way to describe a beautiful and functional building that is today being used as fully as ever for the purpose it was designed for—education and caring ministries. If anything, this issue of CHRISTIANITY TODAY has given me a deeper appreciation for Schuller and his ministry.

REV. ARCHIE R. HOFFPAUIR

First Church of the Nazarene

Waco, Tex.

Your tough-questioned interview with Robert Schuller revealed even a tougher, hardened man whose gospel of secular shamanism has seduced some of the very elect of Christendom. It’s regrettable that someone of the caliber of Saint Paul was not with the esteemed members of the interviewing team.

WILLIAM H. CANTELON

Kirkland, Wash.

Thank you for a fair and surprisingly open look at Schuller. It is one which should help Christians rally around the central truths of the faith while gaining perspective on the unbelieving world around us.

JOHN MORRISON

Grace Theological Seminary

Winona Lake, Ind.

There is no question in my mind that Schuller is a modern-day apostle of humanism. He qualifies for verse 16 and fails verse 15 of 2 Timothy 2:15–16. His judgment is verse 17.

HUGH CANTELON

Bellingham, Wash.

We all have a lot to learn from Robert Schuller. The last time Christendom had a fund raiser this good, Pope Leo was building his not-so-crystal cathedral in Rome. Schuller offers self-esteem; back then they were hawking indulgences. Or is it vice versa? Either way, the best fund raisers may not be the best theologians.

REV. WILLIAM D. EISENHOSER

Hollister, Calif.

It was my inclination to believe Schuller to be a spiritual Cabbage Patch doll, and I welcomed your fine magazine’s courage to possibly prove this. But as I read, my unkind glee at finally exposing the man began to evaporate. I found his answers to be consistently disarming. He seems to have a simple, and very sincere, burden to bring what he has seen of the warmth and power of God to a hurting and dazed society.

Perhaps he is not complete in his message. Then, perhaps, we who have been led to see a broader picture should begin to complement rather than criticize the man.

REV. DAVID MCLAUGHLIN

Valley Bible Chapel

Neenah, Wis.

Maranatha’s Validity

The writer of CT’s article on Maranatha Campus Ministries [Aug. 10] needs to review Proverbs 5:16 and John 17:22. When God answered my prayers for my son through an outdoor campus meeting of MCM, it was the first I had ever heard of the group. I have since come to find the believers fervent for the Lord and his Word, their meetings joyful in exalting his name, and their study materials fresh and powerful.

DR. PATRICIA C. GORTON

Milwaukee, Wis.

Thank you for the excellent discussion on Maranatha. We hope this is to be followed from time to time by updates on the Maranatha situation—also by more frequent, timely reports on other heavy control groups.

K. SCHENK

Arlington Heights, Ill.

Letters are welcome; only a selection can be published. All are subject to condensation, and those of 100 to 150 words are preferred. Address letters to Eutychus and His Kin, CHRISTIANITY TODAY, 465 Gundersen Drive, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

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