Letters

God’s Gift of Humor

Thank you for your wonderful sense of humor as exhibited by the Doug Marlette cartoon on the July 10 cover. Humor is as surely one of the gifts of God as any other we could list. When we take ourselves so seriously that we cannot laugh at ourselves, we are boxed in by our own self-imposed fences.

DAVID A. RASH

Accomac, Va.

I heartily protest the use of Marlette’s cartoon. He has filled many editions of the Charlotte Observer with anti-Christian, anti-God cartoons. I feel strongly that Christians everywhere should present a united front when dealing with such nonbelievers as the media. We should not assist them in any way—including using any of their nonoffensive material.

REV. B. W. KERRICK

Kingsport, Tenn.

A tax on stupidity?

I appreciated Charles Colson’s comments about lotteries in the July 10 issue. As he said, far from being as harmless as proponents claim, a lottery really is insidious. It puts the state in the business of promoting gambling, creating a whole new clientele of gamblers or “suckers.” I understand Texas Monthly called the lottery “a tax on stupidity.” Last year on “60 Minutes,” Andy Rooney said the news media likes to publicize the winners of various state lotteries. But then he said he thought it would be a good idea if they also had to print the names of all the losers. As he said, it would be a long list.

REV. TOM WILBANKS

First Presbyterian Church

Mesquite, Tex.

Humbled by failure

I was distressed by the report of Gordon MacDonald’s adulterous affair and subsequent resignation from IVCF [News, July 10]. What he did was wrong; he admits it and we all know it. And yet, what he did in bed with a woman who was not his wife, I do in my mind when I read Playboy or watch a sensuous video. Who will listen to my temptations? Who will hear my confessions? Who will help me overcome?

I feel terrific about the times I’ve succeeded in resisting temptation; I’m humbled by my failures. I want to fear God and do what’s right, but I’m exactly where Gordon was: weary, alone, and not in a relationship of accountability with anyone.

REV. SANDY WILLIAMS

First Baptist Church of Freeport

Freeport, Maine

Might the Lord have permitted Gordon MacDonald’s fall to contrast his response with that of Jim Bakker? MacDonald seems convincingly sincere in his repentance, and clearly says he wants to minister again, but recognizes that restoration is of the Lord and involves applying biblical discipline to the offender. On the other hand, Bakker’s actions have clouded his claim of repentance, and his overriding concern appears to be the regaining of his former ministry without the inconvenience of any applied discipline.

REV. GARY BERNARD PHAUP

The Congregational Christian Church

Albermarle, N.C.

Gordon MacDonald has ministered to me and to others, and I am sure I am not alone in sharing the pain this experience has brought him and his family. I have experienced the same temptation and know how seductive it can be, even to a man who deeply loves his wife. I am concerned about the message his resignation transmits. If, having sinned, one must resign from a position of Christian leadership, the church must seek her leadership among the perfect or the dishonest: those who deny their own sin. Or, there is a hierarchy of sin, and pride or avarice or gluttony or selfishness or … are acceptable in Christian leaders, but sexual sin is a disqualifier.

God has gifted Gordon MacDonald, and Satan wants his gifts out of commission. Right now, he has what he wants.

LEW FLAGG

Milford, Mass.

MacDonald’s writings have lifted and blessed me in times when I sorely needed the voice of God, which came to me through this brother. Nothing can change this fact, and I do not plan to discard any of his works from my library and files.

ROGER HEIDELBERG

Memphis, Tenn.

On the decline

Alas, it is not so. We are with the mainline denominations in continuing membership decline. Your July 10 News report [North American Scene] lists the Reformed Church in America with those denominations experiencing membership increases. Our continuing problem is yearly decreases.

REV. TOM STARK

University Reformed Church

East Lansing, Mich.

Look Out, Enquirer

While standing in a grocery store line recently, a bold tabloid headline caught my attention: PREDICTIONS FOR 1988. I eagerly turned to the inside, only to find some zany prognostications about Martian invasions and John F. Kennedy’s ghost.

I decided it was time for a Christian to provide sound, reliable predictions for the coming year.

Since no one else was stepping forth, I figured I was the man. So here’s my list of sure bets for the next several months:

• Chuck Swindoll will author a best-selling book.
• Significant church-state issues will be debated in the nation’s courts.
• The head of a major parachurch group will name a family member to succeed him.
• A leading television evangelist will appeal for money.

• A new, “finally accessible” version of the Bible will be published.
• A presidential candidate will try to curry favor among Christians.

Clip and save this column. By the end of next year it will be my mug on the front of those supermarket tabloids. And I’m not telling you how I did it.

EUTYCHUS

Reviving elder rule

Your report on the recent Consultation on Congregationalism is encouraging [News, July 10]. A serious study of the trend to establish “ruling elders” in churches with congregational polity is greatly needed. There probably always will be various opinions concerning the biblical model for local church leadership. “Ruling elders” seem, however, to be out of place in churches that cherish religious freedom and the priesthood of all believers. Hopefully, the Consultation on Congregationalism can lead to a new appreciation (among Baptists particularly) for the biblical support, as well as practical necessity, for congregational government with servant-leaders who are chosen by—and responsible to—the people of the congregation.

REV. WILLIAM P. HAMREN

First Baptist Church

Cincinnati, Ohio

I think elder rule is taught as the norm for the church; however, there is such a thing in the New Testament as a church without elders. The latter is to be viewed as a temporary condition in a young church until more mature believers arise to pastor the church.

I was surprised no reference was made to Alexander Strauch’s recent book Biblical Eldership. It is the only complete exposition of the concept of eldership and related items I know of.

THOMAS C. SORENSEN

Aurora, Colo.

Why caricature?

You are to be commended for reviewing the books of three very able scholars writing on capitalism: Michael Novak, Peter Berger, and Ronald Nash [Books, July 10]. The books are well argued, and for those who disagree, they are important books that are well worth arguing with.

But what in the world is a picture of Lee Iacocca standing next to his “racy Lamborghini” doing right in the middle of the review of Novak’s book? And what does the picture of Mary Kay Ashe in front of her Cadillac have to do with the arguments contained in the books by Peter Berger and Ronald Nash? It would have been better if you had provided us with negative reviews of their books than to caricature their ideas.

MIKE CROMARTIE

Ethics and Public Policy Center

Washington, D.C.

I hope the picture and caption of Lee Iacocca was intended as a joke or satire. It’s hard to defend capitalism with a New Testament perspective if the model for freed-up initiative and inventiveness is the creation of outrageously priced toys for the wealthy elite. If there is a creative Christian angle to the economic debate, shouldn’t it be about who can be most creative in meeting the needs of the poor? If the critics of liberation theology want integrity, shouldn’t they be as critical of the greedy and selfish excesses of capitalism?

EDGAR METZLER

Mennonite Board of Congregational Ministries

Elkhart, Ind.

I found both Clark H. Pinnock’s review and Michael Novak’s Will It Liberate? to be marred by a basic misunderstanding. There is a glaring lack of consensus among Latin American theologians about what specific form a “liberating” economy might assume; while many are certain some form of socialism will develop to fill the voids left by North American neocolonialist capitalism, others seem to lean toward some blend of capitalistic and socialistic elements. The primary point of a liberating economy (from the Latin American perspective) is to reduce the dependency of the poor upon the paternalistic handouts of those who control the power within the capitalist system. Additionally, no liberation theologian I have ever read has been willing to assume that an already existing, prepackaged economic system can be imposed upon a nation or a people. Hence, I find the assumption of both Novak and Pinnock that Latin American theologians “opt for some form of socialism that does not in reality lift up the poor and make them prosper” to be insidious.

WAYNE W. URFFER

Philadelphia, Pa.

Novak speaks of two experiments in Latin America and North America: Aristocracy there, democracy here—apparently due to Roman Catholicism there and Protestantism here. It is my opinion that church polity had more to do with the character of these two experiments than did theology proper. The North American experiment succeeded because congregational—democratic—polity allows room for plurality. It remains to be seen whether communism will ever allow this much latitude.

JOHN BRISTOL

Flint, Mich.

Speaking the truth in love

Byron Spradlin’s “We Can Love Israel Too Much” [Speaking Out, July 10] raised a red flag, demanding a critical reading. However, I found myself nodding in agreement as he expressed the concern that many evangelicals seem eager to win acceptance among Israelis by not speaking of Messiah Jesus.

My only criticism is of the title. It is not love that keeps us from sharing our faith with our Jewish friends. What Israel does not need, however, is an influx of insensitive evangelists who rub salt in the wounds of Christian-Jewish relations, still raw from centuries of unloving actions. “Speaking the truth in love” will go a long way toward building bridges of understanding with the people God uniquely calls his own.

WESLEY N. TABER

American Messianic Fellowship

Lansing, Ill.

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