Letters to the Editor - March/April 1999

Letters to the Editor March/April 1999

I have a novel idea. The Presbyterian Council for Military Chaplains are facing the budget ax. Everyone agrees this is an important group and that they do a good job; but its been determined that there is not enough money to fund their work. Even good work we all agree with needs to be cut these days. What I suggest is that they introduce some heretical elements into their ministry. Perhaps they could suggest that the military should become gender inclusive. They could reduce their commitment to traditional Christian doctrine. Post a web site with incriminating information. Mislead the GA about the size and scope of their work. Then ... wait to get caught! When they do, they can deny everything and suggest that the military is a diverse and marginalized group and that any problems are due to a lack of funding. They can march around GA, with a Sergeant chanting a mournful cadence. At that point, we’ll give them more money for staff and program resources. Problem solved. I know some of you may think this is far fetched and could never happen, but I think it could work. Al Sandalow, Battle Creek, MI The Presbyterian Council for Chaplains and Military Personnel web site I just read the piece concerning the continued funding for NNPCW. I can hardly believe it on the one hand; but on the other hand, I should not be surprised. I’m sure moderator Oldenburg is a fine, well-intentioned man but I question his leadership on this and other issues. Who is in the running for his post for the next GA? Is there not an electable person who has the backbone to say “NO” to the several interest groups whose agenda is contrary to Church doctrine? Jerry R. Witt, via e-mail Presbyterian Publishing Corporation would like to express its sympathy to Peachtree Presbyterian Church and the Harrington family upon the death of the Rev. W. Frank Harrington, our friend and respected colleague. Davis Perkins, Louisville, KY Note: In its November/December 1998 issue, The Presbyterian Layman featured the Peachtree Church, which had just hosted 2,000 Presbyterians for a missions conference. I am concerned about the National Network of Presbyterian College Women (NNPCW), a group that identifies itself as Christian but appears to advocate an “alternative theology” that is beyond the boundaries of Christian faith. Dealing with such groups requires us to show love while maintaining necessary doctrinal limits. Our traditions are built upon thousands of years of faith expressed by millions of God’s people. They should not be so lightly dismissed. Theological rebellion and a smug attitude towards our tradition is the result of seminaries that encourage students to embrace new ideas simply because they are new. Too frequently students are encouraged to find God within their own experience without a proper reference to the lessons of Scripture. This is not good scholarship and it is not likely to produce a healthy outcome. It is a mistake to translate the love of God into the approval of God for whatever choices we make. In our yearning for self affirmation, we often overlook God’s plan, which requires our repentance and personal change. We choose instead our own plan, a cozy recipe for short-term happiness at the expense of genuine spiritual growth. In our desire to validate who we are today, we reduce pressures which might forge a better person tomorrow. Each of us is in need of a spiritual and ethical revival, one that fashions from love a call to obedience and from obedience a call for courage and action. John Cowan, Cartersville, GA		I am pleased to learn that you will offer Presbyterian churches a confirmation class curriculum based on the catechism. I still have the intermediate catechism that I learned as a child in my Presbyterian Church. Through the years those questions and answers, faithfully memorized and recited each Sunday, have guided me. Though I am now a Methodist, (I married one) I still retain the teachings of those early years. My husband, a retired Methodist minister, says I will always be a Presbyterian! Dorothy Warden, Searcy, AR I would like to offer corrections and amplifications to Parker Williamson’s excellent article, “Returning to Zimbabwe.” Former Prime Minister Ian Smith was not a colonialist. Although he was white, he was a native born Rhodesian. The black population was not disenfranchised. Any Rhodesian, black or white, could vote if they were educated. Although some black people in Rhodesia took advantage of educational opportunities offered primarily by missionaries, the majority of the black population rejected formal education for cultural reasons. Since the majority of black Rhodesians were illiterate, they could not vote. Rhodesian blacks had the same rights as white Rhodesians. This country was close to a non-racial state. Mike Sanders, Lenexa, KS I am a layman and an alumnus of Princeton Theological Seminary. I am sending you a poster that I found displayed in the seminary’s MacKay Center and Speer Library during a visit there today. The poster is most lamentable since those who put it up presumably are headed for ordination in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Here is what it said: “Feeling alone because you are gay … lesbian … or bisexual??? Well, you don’t have to … there are plenty of other gays, lesbians and bisexuals here at Princeton and over a hundred faculty and student supporters … We meet monthly to … provide support as we seek to discern God’s call and have some fun. Confidential meeting … for this week’s meeting please call Carol Belles in the Chapel office at 497-7890, Laura at 279-9310 or Dr. AKMA Adam 497-7888.” Dr. Thomas Gillespie [Princeton Seminary President] must be distressed that these things are happening on this campus. Shouldn’t the Lay Committee try to get all seminary faculties and students to conform to the General Assembly’s standards? William McMillan Jr., Princeton, NJ Have you seen The Washington Post article about a presbytery that allows our ministers to perform same sex marriages as long as they call them “holy unions” instead of marriages? Sounds like what we have just witnessed between Capitol Hill and the White House. I hope Presbyterians will do something about this dishonest manipulation of words. Mike Gibson, Munford, TN The January/February issue of The Layman with its coverage of the World Council of Churches meeting in Zimbabwe is the best ever. I have read and re-read all of it. Your articles exposed the WCC for what it is, a leftist political organization, people using the church to accomplish a secular purpose. Mildred Coulter, San Antonio, TX


The Presbyterian Layman March/April 1999
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