Readers write: April 16, 2012 issue

11 April 2012|Viewpoints|Volume 16 Issue 8

Pointless to teach anything other than Jesus and him crucified
Re: “No religion superior to another,” March 19, page 36.

I am very concerned after reading this article in Canadian Mennonite. While I agree that all religions are equal, they are equally lost. Christianity is a personal relationship with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”

Why would Mennonite Central Committee and Canadian Mennonite University even attempt to promote anything else, especially something as contrary to Scripture as an event like this? The central mission of the church and, by extension, its related arms, is to teach Jesus and him crucified. Anything else is pointless.

Jesus wasn’t kidding when he said it would be better for a millstone to be tied to our necks and us thrown into the deep, than to lead any of his little ones astray.

Ernie Reesor, Listowel, Ont.

Reader saddened that young believer doesn’t feel welcome in church
Re: “Why I hate religion, but love Jesus,” March 19, page 35.

I was saddened when I read that Tamara Dueckman “believes that not many congregations would welcome some of the things she believes are in line with Jesus’ teachings,” including accepting other faiths, drinking alcohol and gay marriage. It is unfortunate that, just as she reaches the age of serious discernment, she feels that she is at least somewhat an enemy of her church, or perhaps she sees her church as her enemy.

But what does this being religious mean? Being Christian, of course, is being a follower of Christ. Being religious is participating in the behaviours common within your own faith community; different denominations have different ways of being religious. So being religious does not consist of divinely commanded behaviour, but of practising one’s denominational religio-cultural behaviour. Or, to put it slightly differently, religious behaviour comes from our church’s culture. It is historical, not divine.

Within Canadian society, which experiences many cultures on a daily basis, it is reasonable that our young people, who were born into this new multicultural culture, would question faith cultures as well as societal cultures in search of their own answers.

And it behoves us all to honour and respect those who explore their personal faith in this manner. Troubling though we may find their answers, they are their answers and they are not being imposed upon us, so let’s not inflict our answers on them. Let’s welcome them into our worship life, hopeful that their new yeast may leaven anew our old dough of faith.

Bill Bryson, Toronto

MCC Canada should seek independence from government funding
Re: “On shaky ground,” March 5, page 20.

This article, which describes the “hardship” imposed on Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) by the recent treatment of them by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), makes a lot of sense of the concept of “separation of church and state.”

CIDA is an instrument of the state and, therefore, can be expected to behave according to the whims—wise or otherwise—of those empowered at any particular point in time to direct the affairs of state, including CIDA’s priorities.

While it may be tempting for NGOs like MCC, Kairos and others to seek funding from the state, in order to increase their influence or good works, total independence from any political impact on what they do seems to me a worthwhile goal. So instead of asking the government for funding for their worthwhile causes, why not ask government to “get out of the way” and reduce taxes so that genuine supporters can afford to contribute more? Just wondering.

John Hildebrand, Mississauga, Ont.

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