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Writer should doubt his sources
In ‘Have you ever considered doubting your doubts?’ (September), Alan Reynolds encourages Christians to question their faith. But I
think he should be a little more skeptical of his own source material.
He presents Columbus as a daring individual who courageously challenged the
contemporary belief that the earth was flat. But this is actually false ‘history,’ spread by Darwinians bent on discrediting the medieval church as an impediment
to the progress of science.
The scurrilous ‘flat earther’ charge against the church was initially promulgated by evolutionists John W.
Draper (History of the Conflict between Religion and Science, 1874) and Andrew Dickson White (A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom, 1896).
In truth, Columbus and his opponents agreed about the earth’s shape, but disagreed on other issues, such as how long it would take to sail
around the earth (and here, his opponents were closer to the truth!).
The earth’s sphericity, well-known to ancient Greeks such as Aristotle and Eratosthenes,
was reaffirmed by medieval churchmen including the Venerable Bede, Roger Bacon
and Thomas Aquinas.
Richard Peachey, Abbotsford
Be cautious about joining Rome
Regarding the recent invitation of Pope Benedict to discontented Anglicans,
inviting them to join the Roman Catholic Church:
These traditional Christians should be aware that, although their beliefs were
the same as the Catholics before the split in 1534, there have been many new
additions made by popes over the past three centuries, in which Anglicans have
had no part.
The additions include: prayers for the dead; veneration of saints and relics;
worship of the Virgin Mary; Purgatory; penance; holy water; celibacy of the
priesthood; the use of rosaries; the Inquisition; extreme unction; the
acceptance of tradition over scripture; and transubstantiation, where the
symbols of bread and wine are believed to become the actual flesh and blood of
Jesus during celebration of the Mass.
The greatest shock for the Anglican will be to discover that none of these
additions can be found in the King James Bible, which is the source of all
their beliefs. Much prayer will be needed, for the Lord’s guidance.
David Gale, Burnaby
Evolution a scientific fairy tale
Re Donald Chittick’s views (‘Evolution’s edifice will crumble, says chemist,’ September):
Among many books from which I could quote, I have chosen the following passage
from The Hidden Face of God: Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth by Gerald L. Schroeder.
This atomic physicist and Hebrew scholar writes: “It is hard not to be fooled by the foolish arguments when they originate from intelligent foolers.
Abraham Lincoln is quoted as having said: ‘While you can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people
some of the time, you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.’ The more knowledge one has, the harder it becomes to be fooled.
“Those diagrams that in 10 steps evolve from a random spread of lines into
people-like outlines, and in a few hundred steps simulate a light-sensitive
patch on skin evolving into an eye, once had me fooled. They are so
impressively convincing. Then I studied molecular biology!”
After that, he no longer accepted the theory of evolution.
Personally, I believe it is a scientific fairy tale.
G. MacKintosh, Port Coquitlam
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Harry Potter and the Holy Spirit
Re: ‘More spiritual warfare over Harry’ (Readers Forum, November):
I agree with Stanley Groothof. I would much rather have my pastors shield me
from harmful practices, rather then be a discerning Christian for myself. Yes,
learning to listen to the Holy Spirit is so hard these days.
I completely disagree with Julia Navarro Rojas. I understand the point that the
Bible does condemn such things as witchcraft.
However, I come to this paper’s defence, because they are in no way condoning or recommending these movies;
they are merely reporting on them.
And don’t tell me there are not Christians seeing them. After all, I went to the theatre
to see the first one; I wanted to see what the hoopla was all about.
Having said that, I think all this fuss points to a much deeper problem: in all
seriousness, this wouldn’t even be an issue if our churches had a genuine move of God’s Spirit. Lately, my experience in church is like spending time in a cemetery;
that’s the real problem.
Give people a touch of God’s power through the Holy Spirit, and they won’t give two hoots for Mr. Potter.
Earl Banks, North Vancouver
Politicians kowtowing to China
I was sentenced to six years in prison for ‘anti-revolutionary mobilization’ in 1990, simply because I wrote many letters to all levels of the Chinese
regime opposing the Tiananmen Massacre in 1989.
I fled China to live in Canada, a country I admire – where I can write letters without fear of being imprisoned for expressing my
views.
But I am shocked and saddened to see Canadian politicians kowtowing to the
communists. They believe they are pleasing Chinese voters – but they are not.
Recently, some politicians in Ottawa paid tribute to the 60th anniversary of the
communist regime. Shame on them.
China has a glorious 5,000 year history, not 60 years. The communist regime does
not represent China. Communist history is not China’s history. Couldn’t those few Canadian politicians figure it out?
In 1949, when the communists got power, they began to kill immediately – and they never stopped. They have killed more people (70 million) than Hitler
and Stalin combined.
Instead of praising the communists, Canadian politicians should be educating
themselves and the people they represent about the repressive and deceiving
nature of the Chinese communist regime.
Politicians praising this murderous regime are ‘useful idiots’ in the minds of the communist cadres.
Steven Shi, Ottawa, ON
December 2009
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