Letters

Catholics fellow Christians

Many editorials by Jim Coggins have negative references to Catholics. The Sept. 13 editorial told of an "angry woman" (of Roman Catholic background) and her "Christian" neighbours. We agree with Dale Enns (Letters, Sept. 13): "Once again, Jim Coggins . . . has trotted out his simplistic assessment of Christians who might not have the same interpretation of the Bible as he." It would have been a true challenge for Coggins to focus on what unites Protestants and Catholics, not what divides "us" from "them".

Our experience has been that Catholics who practise their faith have "religious reality" in their lives. We share a belief in the same God and Christ, making Catholics fellow Christians.

We are starting to see an unfortunate attitude in our own congregation, where some speak openly of sending missionaries to "Catholic-dominated regions". On a positive note, thanks to Jim Pankratz ("In Praise of Beauty", Aug. 9) for demonstrating that we can have meaningful worship, even in a cathedral!

Joanne and Larry Kohut
Winnipeg, Man.

Quoting Scripture

I found the choice of articles in the Fall/Winter 1996 issue of Encounter particularly effective in drawing the reader to an encounter with Jesus Christ. I also appreciated the use of the easy-to-read Contemporary English Version wherever Scripture is quoted directly.

One technical point, however, needs to be raised regarding these quotations. The editor took the liberty to change the pronouns to a capitalized form whenever they referred to God or Christ (e.g., He, the One). Some people feel that it is a mark of reverence to do so. This is a common practice in Christian literature, but this is not the usual policy for Bible translations, at least not in recent decades for English.

Reference books on English style indicate that quotations from any source must be given verbatim--even to the point of reproducing errors (often marked by the editor with the Latin word "sic", meaning "thus"). Your staff should not have changed the spelling of pronouns in the quotations from the CEV.

Harold W. Fehderau,
Kitchener Ontario

In, not out of the world

I am in Japan teaching English and was very happy when the Herald showed up in my mailbox.

In the Aug. 9 issue Don Boddy quoted Arden Walde's June 14 letter: "I am concerned that the MB Conference is slowly becoming so interested in making salvation acceptable to the world that we have forgotten that God called us out of the world." The quote bothered me, so I got out my concordance and Bible to find the verse in which God calls us out of the world. I couldn't find it. Instead, Mark 16:15 (NRSV) says, "Go into all the world." In living out that Great Commission, we follow the example of Christ. John 3:17 tells us that God sent His Son "into the world". In John 8:23, Jesus says the Jews are of the world, but He is not.

We are to be like Jesus, in the world but from a different place. In Romans 12:2 we are called not to conform to this world, but to have a renewed mind, a different way of thinking and acting. In II Corinthians 10:2-3 we see that, even though "we live as human beings", we do not act "according to human standards". James 1:27 urges us to remain "unstained" by the world. I John 2:15 tells us not to love the world, and John 4:4 is a warning not to befriend the world. Yet, nowhere have I read "Christians, get out of the world." Instead, James 4:7 says, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and He will flee from you." By giving myself over to God, I gain the strength to resist the devil, to stand and fight for the Lord. I do not have to separate myself, for I will be given the strength to resist temptation. I am concerned that if I pull myself out of the world, I will fail to fight battles Christ intended me to fight.

Historically, Mennonites have been a separate people. Growing up, I always felt an "us versus them" situation. "Us" was the Mennonites, with whom I almost exclusively socialized. "Them" was pretty much everyone else. "They" were often into alcohol and dancing, and they were not the kind of people we should spend time with. Considering how many young people from among "us" chose to spend time with "them" and ended up following rather than witnessing, perhaps some distance between "us" and "them" was a good idea. But what disturbs me today is the apprehension I still feel about spending time with non-Christians. This fear has stopped me from forming relationships which could have given me an opportunity to witness. Have I separated myself too much? I must find the balance between spending time in the safety of my church and going into the world to preach the gospel. I need to learn to be in the world without being stained by it.

Cheryl Janzen,
Fukushima-ken, Japan

Sin not hierarchical

I was disturbed by Phil Dyck's sweeping comment (Letters, Oct. 25): "Sexual misconduct has graver consequences than smoking, alcohol, gluttony and laziness. Sexual problems involve someone else, whereas you may be an alcoholic on your own." This is wrong. I am an adult child of an alcoholic. My life and the lives of my entire family have been dramatically affected by the alcoholic nature of my parent. Nothing we do in life affects only us. When I lie, gossip, drink or smoke, it affects the lives of those around me. Sexual misconduct affects lives, but no more than any other sin. Categorizing sin into a hierarchy is dangerous.

Andrea Moses,
Winnipeg, Man.

Wiebe's writings appreciated

We appreciate the MB Herald, receiving many blessings as well as information on current issues. We especially enjoy articles by Katie Funk Wiebe. I have just read her latest books: Prayers of an Omega and Border Crossings. Both deal with the inner journey of aging; the humour and sadness of her reflections are inspirational to retirees. Her next book, The Storekeeper's Daughter, will be published in spring.

Velma L. Friesen,
St. Catharines, Ont.

Concern for the living and the dying

I have just became acquainted with the MB Herald while house-sitting for friends and have been blessed by its articles. One of these is the June 14 piece on the world's children by Richard Navarro.

My wife and I served in Africa for 37 years, and though we didn't encounter the worst kind of poverty, we saw enough to know what povery is. It's an issue which doesn't get enough attention from Christians, in light of God's commands to help the poor and needy.

Concern for children certainly involves concern for the unborn. Abortion is an outrage. However, I fail to understand why so many Christians who rightly express concern for the unborn seem to have so little concern for the "now born". How can we claim to be pro-life when we're content to live in luxury while 40,000 children a day die of hunger or treatable diseases? We haven't had much success at curbing abortion. But we could almost instantly save the lives of many of those 40,000.

If North American Christians had the will, we could send thousands of medical/relief workers to needy areas at home and overseas and back them with millions of dollars. How can we claim to be Bible believers when we ignore passages like I John 3:17 and James 2:14-16?

Abortion is sin. But is it any less a sin to allow a baby to be born, to live a day, week, month or even years in misery and then die of starvation? We abhor the killing caused by war and violence, but many of us who wouldn't think of shooting someone sit back and let 40,000 a day starve to death.

Thank God for individuals and organizations like MCC which are actively concerned for the needy, but they are so few compared to the need. What could we North American Christians do if we really did begin to "live simply so that others may simply live"?

Edwin R. Jones,
Kamloops, B.C.

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