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Letters to the Editor

Please send your letters to plain_truth.uk@wcg.org.uk
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Please explain!

I would be pleased if you could explain to me why Abraham is held in high esteem by Christians, Jews and Muslims.

I understand that he was an adulterer (Genesis 16) and a ‘child abuser’ (Genesis 22). If it was God’s fault, surely he should have changed his God!

Mr DB, Dorset

We are grateful to Mr DB for his challenging letter. It is true that Abraham was a flawed human being and the society to which he belonged was certainly flawed too.

However, Mr DB is being less than fair. In Genesis 16 it is at the express request of Sarah, Abraham’s wife, that he has intercourse with her slave girl. Sarah is afraid that otherwise Abraham may have no heir.

Subsequently Abraham and Sarah did have their own son, Isaac. He was immensely precious to them both, but in Genesis 22 Abraham was required to demonstrate that God’s call to him was even more important than the life of his own son – certainly not a case of child abuse, as we normally understand the term.

That call came to him in the words 'Through you I will bless all the nations' (Genesis 12:3), and for all his flaws Abraham was still the most remarkable man of his day, a fact recognised by three religions – Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

Marginalised

Your appeal ‘Strangers in a Christian land?’ really struck a chord with me. Both you and Lord Carey have got it absolutely right when you raise the alarm at Christianity being marginalised in our country and call for positive ‘fightback’. For too long Christians have stayed quiet while the ‘politically correct’ agenda has attacked both Christian consciences and the day-to-day living out of our faith.

This assault is now backed with legal sanctions thanks to so-called ‘human rights’ legislation. So often in the media Christians are mocked and derided in a tone that would never be used against those of other faiths.

Mr IC, Blackpool

Mr IC is responding to our recent appeal – sent to all those who financially support the work of The Plain Truth. (If you haven’t seen this letter and would like a copy then you can send a SAE to our usual address: PO Box 4421, Worthing, West Sussex BN14 8WQ.)

Many thanks for sending the copies of The Plain Truth [Spring 2010] which carried my article The gift of life. We have had a tremendous response from friends and other associates. As we have a guest house we have left copies of The Plain Truth in our reception for our guests to read. My article has been extremely helpful – sending copies to friends at home and abroad – especially as I am raising funds for Kidney Research and giving talks to raise donor registration awareness. So thank you for your valuable contribution in publishing the article.

Winston Wallace, Breezemount House, Coleraine, N Ireland.

As well as an interesting story for our readers, we’re glad that by publishing Winston’s story we’ve been able to support his campaign and fundraising efforts to raise awareness of donor registration and kidney research.

No technophobes!

We, though not very young people, have embraced ‘on-line’ forums such as Facebook, Twitter, etc and are very interested in the great debate, exploration and fantastic choices this gives us. The fact is, we do find the Christian forums and ‘blogs’ excellent ways to connect, debate, etc.

But the printed word, weekly Christian papers, monthly and quarterly periodicals are still very valid. Even in the age of ‘tweeting’ we feel The Plain Truth has a clear place and reason for being around now in 2010. But whether you have computer facilities or for those with no online access or interest, The Plain Truth has a clear role. Your articles are very thought-provoking and create discussion at home and online – discussing ideas that really do matter.

Mr & Mrs TM, Conwy

And for all you technophilians out there, you’ll be please to hear that The Plain Truth UK is now on Facebook. If you’d like to be a fan and enter into various discussions we are currently running and keep up to date with news between issues, then please visit us at: www.facebook.com/pages/Worthing-United-Kingdom/The-Plain-Truth-UK/125269924159517

Prayer ‘turn-off’?

The letter of Ms AW in the Spring 2010 issue comments on the article by Roy Lawrence, calling for the Lord’s Prayer to be said more thoughtfully.

Recently our pastor (who has the authority in our church) strongly discouraged us from reciting this in our meetings. An analogy is that my wife would begin to doubt my sincerity if I told her of my great love for her using the same words every morning. Our elders have seen that collectively reciting this ‘Lord’s Prayer’, however slowly and thoughtfully, is unhelpful. Which version shall we say anyway? That of Matthew is different from that of Luke. This way of praying turns us off and turns our children off.

Biblically, God waited for King Uzziah to die before revealing his glory to Isaiah. Isaiah 6:1 ‘In the year that King Uzziah died…’ 2 Chronicles 26 gives Uzziah’s story. How can God send his glory to fill his temple when we are trying to pray with strange fire? We must learn how to pray anew, as a little child using his own words.

Mr PG, Oldham

Roy Lawrence has kindly responded to Mr PG’s letter:

Though there are some slight differences between the versions of the Lord’s Prayer contained in Matthew 6:7-13 and Luke 11:1-4, both Gospels are in total agreement that praying the Lord’s Prayer is not just a suggestion which Jesus offered to his followers, but a command. The early church felt it had little option about the use of the Lord’s Prayer. In fact the ancient Christian document known as The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles recommends that all Christians should use this prayer three times every day.

We are free, of course, to use whatever translation seems most natural to us, or, if we are concerned about the possibility of what Matthew 6:7 calls ‘vain repetitions’, we could turn the sequence of thoughts in the Lord’s Prayer into words of our own. However, because this prayer is both a gift from Jesus and something which he specifically commands us to use, I would personally not dare nor wish to put it aside.

Could you leave a legacy for future Plain Truth readers?

The Plain Truth – like the majority of charities – is dependant upon the generous donations of its supporters for its very existence. But as well as regular donations in response to our appeals, there is another way in which you can support our work. And that’s through leaving a legacy to The Plain Truth.

If you’d like to know more about leaving a legacy to The Plain Truth, please write requesting our leaflet to:

The Plain Truth (Legacy), PO Box 4421, Worthing, West Sussex BN14 8WQ.