Letters

Bob Clouse’s Victory

What a precise reflection by Bob Clouse on his heart transplant [“A Little Victory Over Death,” Mar. 18]! I am just a bit surprised, however, at his three theological reasons for favoring transplants. They are excellent and valid—but what about a fourth: God, the Creator, taking a rib from Adam to start a new life with Eve? That seems more difficult than continuing a life!

FRANK A. LAWRENCE

Lancaster, Pa.

I rejoice with Robert Clouse and his new-found “lease on life.” I noted with interest that the cost of the procedure in 1985 was around $100,000. This is fairly typical for cardiac transplantation.

In the article, the point is made that “organ transplantation will increasingly confront us with … tough questions.” Indeed, it already does. In this day of shrinking resources, where human beings across the globe and even in the U.S. are literally starving to death, it is questionable whether spending those amounts of money on one human being is appropriate from a Christian perspective. The amount of money spent on any organ transplantation patient could make a dramatic difference in the health of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of other human beings if it were distributed properly.

We must be careful about our glorified technology. Just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should do something.

JEREMY C. KLEIN, M.D.

Salem, W. Va.

Selling indulgences on TV

Thank you for the March 18 CT Institute section devoted to the subject of television evangelism [“The Great Transmission”]. I am surprised no one has yet drawn the comparison between the unscrupulous activity of some contemporary television evangelists with the practice of selling indulgences in sixteenth-century Europe. Recently, I switched on a religious broadcast. The camera came in close on the evangelist, who seemed to look me right in the eye as he said, “Do you need a miracle in your life? Friend, you can have that miracle by planting a seed today. Plant the seed for your miracle by sending your gift of $100, and let us pray for a miracle in your life.” He could have been John Tetzel raised from the dead selling his indulgences.

What the church needs is a modern-day Luther who will nail his theses to the 19-inch diagonal tube, proclaiming to the world that grace is not by works, nor can it be purchased with our “gifts,” but rather it is a gift from God himself.

LEON L. PINKERMAN

Greenville, S.C.

Pray By The Rules

Conversational prayer, I suppose, is here to stay. But if this spontaneous form is going to be a staple in our church diet, I think we need to do something to avoid some of the misunderstanding and confusion that creeps in when heads are bowed and eyes are closed. Consider a few basic rules:

1. Specify the acceptable length of individual prayers. (The number of minutes of scheduled prayer time divided by the number of participants equals the maximum length of individual prayers.)

2. When two people begin praying simultaneously, the pray-er on the left yields to the pray-er on the right by saying “excuse me” or quietly pretending to cough.

3. Count to 15 between prayers to make sure the previous person is finished (and not just pausing, stumped, or enraptured).

4. Clearly specify who is praying last. The clock chimed 11:00 at our last 7 p.m. prayer meeting before our leader realized that “Don” and “Ron” sound a lot alike—and Don and Ron were each waiting for the other to close the meeting.

There. Adding just a little organizational structure to this otherwise extemporaneous prayer style will help it go a lot more smoothly and predictably. Otherwise, we’ll have to depend solely on—ummm—inspiration to guide our conversational prayer.

EUTYCHUS

Your recent article about my television ministry was correct in that I do not receive any income from our televison or radio ministries, but incorrect in saying I received royalties from my books that are offered on the air. I receive no royalties on any of the thousands of my books given away. Though I could take both a salary and royalties, I chose to do neither so no one could say I was on television for the money I could get out of it. Sad to say, your article is the first to claim I made anything from our television ministry.

D. JAMES KENNEDY

Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Your institute left out a question about TV evangelism that interests me. As a Catholic, even I would object if some enterprising young priest were to slip a tape player behind one of the statues in his church, playing a tape: “I love you. Will you pray with me? And will you drop a little extra in the collection basket next Sunday so I could continue to pray for you?” But what is TV evangelism, if not a more sophisticated form of the statue-and-tape-player routine? The evangelist whose image appears on your screen may be dead; what you’re watching is the videotape of his performance in front of a camera that was taped hours, maybe months, ago.

DON SCHENK

Allentown, Pa.

Robert Schuller has indeed “paid his dues,” and a good deal more! His achievements continue to be phenomenal. He clearly understands the people he is trying to reach, and he is doing it better than most. Moreover, behind his message is solid theology and deep commitment to Jesus Christ. Let us celebrate this remarkable man and thank God for what he is doing.

REV. DONALD W. MORGAN

First Church of Christ

Wethersfield, Conn.

Holy mackerel?

Concerning Eutychus [“The First Church of the Fish Stick,” Mar. 18]: There is a dove-shaped church in the state of Washington. And there is a fishshaped church in Massachusetts (fondly known as the Holy Mackerel).

THAYER S. WARSHAW

Andover, Maine

Suspect findings

I am disappointed in the article “Race and the Church: A Progress Report,” by Randall Frame [Mar. 4]. The article reports the results of a survey of approximately 65 CT readers as if it is representative of the magazine’s readership. Putting aside the small sample, the fact that you achieved only a 13 percent response rate with this survey makes the “findings” suspect.

I am a professional market researcher who would find it a compromise of my integrity to report these kinds of data as “findings” to the management of my company. I should add, however, that I find surveys of this kind quite informative and enlightening when I know I can trust the findings; so please don’t stop doing surveys—just be careful.

BOB COHEN

Sparta, N.J.

Black-and-white gospel

Thank God for men of conviction, courage, and vision like Flynn Johnson [“The Gospel in Black and White,” Mar. 4], Raleigh Washington and Glen Kehrein [“Fudge Ripple at the Rock”]. They have boldly chosen the gospel of Christ and the teaching of the Word of God over the gospel of statistical analysis and the teachings of church growth.

Truly these men are the pioneers of the next generation of church leadership. They are building homogeneous churches made up of members of only that chosen race and culture described in 1 Peter 2:9–10. I, too, am privileged to belong to such a church. Those who belong to “homogeneous” ethnic clique churches (white included) do not know what they are missing.

GEORGE H. MITCHELL

San Francisco, Calif.

There is one troubling aspect to the article “Fudge Ripple at the Rock.” Robert Kachur relates how the Rev. Mr. Washington had been in the army, but that due to undisclosed reasons, found himself having to leave “under unjust circumstances.” The paragraph implies he had to leave the service due to racial bigotry on the part of other officers and the army in general.

Since I do not know the circumstances of the case, obviously I cannot comment upon it. However, I would like to comment on Kachur’s inference that significant bigotry and racial prejudice exist in the army. This is simply not the case, and such implications may leave wrongful impressions with some of your readers. I believe the army is at the forefront of eliminating racial prejudice and affording equal opportunity for all.

LT. COL. MARK R. WELCH

U.S. Army Reserve

Albuquerque, N.M.

Barbara Thompson’s interview with Flynn Johnson was excellent. He said, “I believe culturally mixed congregations make a stronger statement to the world about the power of the gospel.” In this he is at odds with the missiology of Ralph Winter and Peter Wagner. But let’s move beyond church-growth debate and pragmatism: Underlying all discussion of racial disharmony is the issue of miscegenation. We are still in need of a biblical exposition on the subject from CT 20 years after the civil rights battle was won.

MICHAEL BRAY

Ray Brook, N.Y.

A confusing doctrine?

Cornelius Plantinga’s article “The Perfect Family” [Mar. 4] leaves the reader as confused as the Trinity doctrine itself is. When Jesus comes back, the Jews are going to recognize Jesus as their Lord (the Jews have always had one Lord—never a trinity), and crown him Lord of Lords, and in that day there will be one Lord and his name one. Where will the Trinity be then? Answer: the same place as it is today—nonexistent.

HAROLD VANGORDON

Upland, Ind.

Real evangelicals!

Just when I was about to think I wasn’t evangelical any more, Eutychus reassures me that I am truly evangelical [“Test Your EQ,” Mar. 4]. My answers to his questions were inerrant.

NANCY A. HARDESTY

Atlanta, Ga.

A clear picture of Islam

I was pleased to read Terry Muck’s article “The Mosque Next Door” [Feb. 19], especially as he endeavored to present a clear picture about the Islamic movement in the U.S. The information provided is very illuminating and should alert our Christian churches and organizations to the impact of this movement on our communities.

SAMUEL SHAHID, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Good News for the Crescent World, Inc.

Fair Haven, N.J.

The percentage of practicing Buddhists in the 10,000-member Vietnamese immigrant community in Chicago—cited as 80 percent—sounds much too high. The majority of Vietnamese are not practicing Buddhists. A province chief I visited in central Vietnam some years ago, in response to the question of what percentage were Buddhists in his province, answered 14 percent.

In our effort to share our Christian faith with these newly arrived people, we should emphasize that while we do not worship dead ancestors, we do respect them. God is the object of our worship through his incarnate Son, a concept readily understood by these responsive people.

REV. SPENCER T. SUTHERLAND

Vietnamese Theological College

Westminster, Calif.

As a teacher of international students, primarily Muslims, I appreciated the article. Having three different religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam—sitting side by side in a classroom and interacting with my Christianity, is quite challenging. Islam, of the three, is the strongest in the areas of sincerity, desire to convert, respect for laws and Allah, and moral conduct. For a long while, I struggled quietly over how to show a difference.

However, as Muck stated, the distinctive difference is the love that surrounds us and comes through everything we do. “The truth in love” is a powerful element that can soften barriers between Christianity and other religions.

MARILYN SCHULTIES

Newburgh, Ind.

Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here.