Letters to the Editor

Heavenly Sports

I read with enjoyment David Holmquist’s “Will There Be Baseball in Heaven?” [Jan. 10]. His title reminded me of this good news/bad news story:

Two preachers loved to play baseball. They made an agreement. Whoever died first would come back in spirit form and tell the living preacher if baseball was played in heaven. One died. He came back and said, “The good news is that they do play baseball in heaven. The bad news is you are pitching Friday.”

Claude A. Frazier

Asheville, N.C.

Unfair review?

I was appalled by Edith Blumhofer’s review of Jack Deere’s Surprised by the Power of the Spirit [Jan. 10]. The title, “Dispensing with Scofield,” prejudices the reader to perceive the book in an iconoclastic light, as does the accompanying cartoon. Instead of reviewing the book, the reviewer devoted more than half the space to explaining differences between Scofieldian dispensationalism—with its cessationist view of miracles—and Wimberian Pentecostalism—with its belief that God still works miracles—and then insinuating that Deere seeks to substitute Wimber’s hermeneutic, which the reviewer finds unacceptable, for Scofield’s, which the reviewer finds equally appalling. This bias reaches a climax with the reviewer’s rhetorical question: “In laying aside Scofield’s grid, has Deere replaced it with another that is equally or more manipulative in its use of God’s Word?” This embodies a fallacious assumption and casts a false aspersion.

But Deere does not seek to develop a formal hermeneutic, as Scofield did. And he shows a deep reverence for and a scrupulous, thoughtful handling of God’s Word on every page.

John J. Hughes Whitefish, Mont.

Your review points to an issue that never arose in historic Christianity. Must we settle for either Scofieldism, or Pentecostalism, for that matter? Not at all. Even evangelical books like Why I Left Scofieldism, by William E. Cox, and A Search for Charismatic Reality, by Neil Babcox, point the way away from either alternative.

There has to be another, indeed a better, way.

Scott Robert Harrington Erie, Pa.

Compassion and reason

As a 30-year Southern California resident, I read with interest “The Alien in Our Midst” [News, Dec. 13]. Illegal immigration is a perplexing, paradoxical problem that compounds itself, particularly in a state that borders Mexico.

The notion presented here, of “compassion versus reason,” is often used to debate illegal immigration issues and other seemingly moral, controversial issues. But compassion and reason are not dichotomous, polar opposites. Rather, the most reasonable, rational, truthful response is always the most compassionate response. To dichotomize these terms is to further perpetuate and cloud the problem.

We cannot continue to think in terms of the most expedient action—usually considered the “compassionate” alternative, as with caring for and housing illegal immigrants—when the long-term result is a lie. This is not compassion, but an unwillingness to see to the heart of the matter—which is simply that no matter how badly we feel for our impoverished fellow man, our entire nation has suffered, economically, socially, and educationally, and will continue to do so when people are allowed rights and privileges without having to work for them.

LuAnn Craik

Yorba Linda, Calif.

“The Alien in Our Midst” rightly addresses the issue of immigration in the context of Christian compassion.

As an American, I am thankful the United States remains a desirable destination for immigrants. The CT article did not fully consider the worldwide scope of would-be immigrants to the United States, however. U.S. consular officials daily face long lines of visa applicants around the globe, most of whom would like to move permanently to the U.S., usually for financial reasons. Perhaps instead of working to bring new immigrants to America, U.S. Christians should seriously consider leaving the comforts of home to renew the “graying” ranks of missionaries and other Americans overseas who labor to improve the lives of persons where they live.

Russell P. Ingraham

American Embassy

Bucharest, Romania

Take Two Aspirin And Go To Church

For the most part, society has missed the role churches could play in solcing the health-care crisis. I’m not talking about applying theological principles to the social debate. I have in mind something more practical: All doctors should be encouraged to prescribe churches that can remedy parients of their ailments.

Instead of expensive physical theraoy for those recovering from knee sugery, for example, why not prescribe a church that specializes in genuflection? These services weekly should keep the joints flexible.

For those needing shoulder or arm exercise, a charismatic church is the way to go. Sinus trouble? A smells-and-bells Episcopal church should help clear things up. TMJ? Avoid those Methodist hymnsings, and try a silent Quaker tetreat.

Fighting insomnia? Instead of traquilizers, a church where the preaching is longer than it is good (and where the pews are padded) is just the antidote.

Blood pressure problems? Avoid potluck dinners and budger debates.

With this plan, people would ger healthier, and church attendance would increase. Who knows, maybe people would actually pray about their problems. Ah, now we’re talking about a real solution.

That Lutheran sex report

David Neff’s editorial about the report by the human sexuality task force of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America disheartened me [“How Lutherans Justify Sex,” Dec. 13]. Like so many others who have rushed to calm the furor caused by this report, he criticized the media for reporting on the controversial but missing the commendable portions of the statement. Have we sunk so low that orthodoxy is the “real” news?

I am glad Neff sees the value of the traditional gospel-centered approach to the Scriptures in Lutheranism. Unfortunately, among the neo-Lutherans in the ELCA, “Was Christum triebt” has become a principle for playing one Scripture off against another. Neff adeptly spotted examples of this in the task force report, but he attributed it to inherent weakness in the Christological, evangelical approach to Scripture. In truth, the faulty conclusions of the task force stem from the neo-Lutheran aberration of the traditional Lutheran approach.

Rev. Tim Oswald

Living Word Lutheran Church

Windom, Minn.

With all due respect, Neff did more to obscure the problem with the ELCA task force’s conclusions regarding homosexuality than to clarify them. The problem was not, as he asserted, that the task force considered the matter Christologically, but rather precisely that they did not consider the matter Christologically.

The notion that one can be a “homosexual” requires that a person be turned inward toward the self, giving definition to him- or herself in isolation. Christ, on the other hand, can only be understood to turn us away from ourselves, and therefore away from death and destruction, toward his own life. It is in turning toward God in Christ that we recognize who we are as human beings created in God’s image, male and female.

If it was Christology that led the ELCA task force to its conclusions, then it was a tragically impoverished Christology indeed.

Phillip M. Hofinga

Duke Divinity School

Durham, N.C.

The ELCA is one of several Lutheran bodies in the United States. Any doctrinal statements they publish represent their views, but not necessarily the views of all Lutheran churches in this country.

Doug Coup

Frazer, Pa.

The task force’s feeble position on the homosexual issue may have been due in large measure to the fact that there were two homosexuals, one male and one female, on the committee. This is revealed in an editorial by Edgar Trexler in the December issue of The Lutheran.

Gordon Ginn

Fortuna, Calif.

Good news

I read with interest the CT Institute article “Muslim Mission Breakthrough” [Dec. 13]. If even half the mission claims are true, it is still good news! However, I am uneasy about the so-called historic Assembly of God churches in southern Egypt sweeping “20,000 nominal Christians into the kingdom.” I smell a rat. Protestants have spent much time and money trying to “reconvert the converted” in Egypt. The Coptic Church has been there through centuries. Rather than trying to “convert” Christians, evangelicals should support and cooperate with the Copts, who trace their spiritual lineage to Saint Mark. They belong to the real historic church in Egypt.

Rev. Lyle H. Rasch

Cincinnati, Ohio

Secular education’s value-escapism

Thank you for Christina Hoff Sommers’s effort to expose and expel the value-escapism in the secular classroom, especially for its diminishing returns [“How to Teach Right & Wrong,” Dec. 13]. As one who has “done some time” in public schools, I have tried to get at the heart of the matter: how did this begin? It is surely a part of the larger social slide—from unquestioned majority standards, to emancipated personal choice, to moral anarchy—which parallels in the body-politic the transfer of focus from The Significant Other to (more-or-less) significant others, to the self. What began as a gloriously liberal experiment in America has degenerated into a morass of libertinism. In short, the individual has priority over the community, even in the classroom.

House-cleaning begins at home. The unredeemed community is not hearing a harmonious, saving summons from its Christian peers, much less its Master. If we who willingly follow his voice cannot meet him on the mountain and thunder down to the needy below his unalterable moral truths, who can? There is a fine line between being a fool and being a “fool for Christ.”

John Schwane

Broken Arrow, Okla.

“How to Teach Right & Wrong” was a major disappointment. I kept looking for the words God or Scripture but instead found only allusions to “learning from 2,000 years of civilization,” a traditional Jewish tale, moral common sense, and Aristotle. The critique of “moral dilemma” morals education was good, but, honestly, wouldn’t any secular magazine print this? What we have learned from 2,000 years of Western civilization is that there is no basis for morals and values apart from God.

Pastor Michael Sharrett

Fort Worth Presbyterian Church

Fort Worth, Tex.

The danger of Momentus

Thank you for your news article “Momentus Loses Momentum” [Dec. 13]. People need to be aware of this extremely dangerous movement. I have seen, firsthand, how Momentus has destroyed lives. The people who claim they are now closer to God have become very exclusive with whom they now dialog. Not once have I heard what makes this a Christ-centered, biblically orthodox program. Momentus started out as a scam, and it will continue to be a scam in whatever form it disguises itself.

Joachim Randeen

Palos Verdes, Calif.

My wife and I took the Momentus Training in May 1983, and since then have seen many blessings in our lives, as well as among our family and friends. I find myself praying more, reading the Scriptures more consistently, and thinking of others’ needs more often. I read Christian literature, including your magazine, and want to fellowship with other believers. I am praising the Lord and sharing God’s Word with others who would not have heard the gospel had it not been for the experience they had with the Holy Spirit during Momentus Training.

Dan Stockemer

Geyersville, Calif.

Clapp right on target

Thank you for Rodney Clapp’s “Let the Pagans Have the Holiday” [Dec. 13]. His point that Christmas is the ultimate Pelagian holy day is right on target. Would that evangelical churches with their singing trees and pageants galore would recognize not only the problem, but also the solution. Only when the church preaches the message of the Cross and stops scratching itching ears with consumer-speak will the matter change. Please, more articles like Clapp’s, less of the claptrap!

Pastor Thomas E. Troxell

Hope Presbyterian Church in America

Gilbert, Ariz.

Clapp says, “Paul nowhere speaks of Jesus’ birth.” But Galatians 4:4 states: “When the right time came, the time God decided on, he sent His Son, born of a woman, born as a Jew” (TLB).

Pastor Bufe Karraker

Northwest Church

Fresno, Calif.

Stephanou still Orthodox

In your December 13 news article “Unorthodox Behavior?” you incorrectly stated that Stephanou “considers himself retired and says his privately owned ministry functions independent of the Greek Orthodox Church hierarchy.” It is our Renewal Center of St. Symeon the New Theologian with its land and property that is privately owned, however, not my ministry, which is divinely owned, because it is divinely appointed. I remain formally part of the Greek Orthodox jurisdiction, despite the disfavor of the ruling hierarchy over the prophetic and evangelical nature of my renewal ministry.

Rev. Eusebius Stephanou

Orthodox Renewal Center of St. Symeon

Destin, Fla.

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