THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 8, 1996 TAG: 9606070060
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Issues of Faith
SOURCE: Betsy Wright
LENGTH: 76 lines
Last Week's Issue of Faith: Syncretism: the blending of all religions into one faith.
This Week's Reader Responses:
From Brian Fountain of Norfolk: ``I have been a Baha'i for almost eight years now in the Norfolk community. . . . The first thing that attracted me to the Teachings of Baha'u'llah were his teachings on unity. He writes a great deal on this subject, and in my view, it is one of the central ideas to understanding The Faith.
``Nowhere do the Writings of The Faith speak of watering down the diversity of humanity to achieve these goals. On the contrary, we are bidden to `be as waves of one sea, flowers of one garden.' When you examine this aspect, it becomes obvious that we are not all led to be the same; rather, we are called to unify our hearts in the love of God. If all the flowers were the same, the garden would not be so beautiful.
`` `Syncretism,' as a word for which to define the Baha'i Faith, falls short. The goal of The Faith is not to blend the religions but bring people together in unity. The unity of God's Love and the recognition of His Creation. When humanity recognizes this, we may begin to see `peace on Earth.'
(Columnist's Note: I heard from several members of the Baha'i Faith who strongly objected to my labeling it a sycrenistic faith. Others outside the faith felt it was an apt description, as did many of the world religion source books I used for research. My only answer to this debate is that insiders of a faith often see themselves differently from outsiders. I meant no offense or harm and apologize if any was done.)
From David Smiley of Virginia Beach: ``Hans Kung has some valuable insights and I agree with him in the ideal he describes . . . (but) Houston Smith is so far out in left field, he can't see the dugout. The last thing the world needs is what Houston Smith thinks God should have done. `Let God be true and every man a liar!'
``The reason you weave all over the theological landscape like a lost mind-traveler is that you have not yet settled your own standard of truth. `The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;' `I am the light of the world;' `You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.' (These) are not hyperbole but the heart of the biblical world-view and a large part of the reason why the gates of hell will not prevail against the kingdom of God.
``Until you discover the critical importance of God's revelation in Jesus Christ, there is no danger of your column becoming `purely Christian.' . . .''
From Charles L. Holman, of Regent University School of Divinity in Virginia Beach: ``I believe that we who are Christians ought to respect the sincere beliefs of all peoples, as we learn what we can from each other.
``At the same time, when it comes to ultimate salvific (sic) issues, truth is too important not to be attended with loving and sensitive encouragement to others to respond to God's saving work in Jesus Christ. The question here must be: What is ultimately true? No other faith has a Resurrection of its founder, certified by the kind of evidence that has resulted in the transformation of millions upon millions of people who have become true followers of Jesus. If God has spoken, we must respond and then share the good news with all who will listen. I do agree with you that true followers of Jesus do not treat others `with hate and vengeance!' ''
From Robert Smith of Virginia Beach: ``The mission of the church, according to God's design, has not changed, although some may have changed their view. The church was never intended to be self-directed. It's vision must be based on the mission of the originator. . . . Does the church need a new vision of itself and its mission? It does if its adopted mission and vision is different from what the Head (CEO), Jesus, gave. The church must retain allegiance to its `original constitution,' the Bible and Jesus. It must not rely on modern-day written creeds; they fall short (and) hinder us from fulfilling the prayer of Jesus, `that the world might believe that God sent me.' ''
From Leora Harris of Norfolk: ``In response to your question in the June 1 edition of `Issues of Faith,' the answer can be found in St. Mark, chapter 12, verses 29-31.''
Correction: Several readers pointed out that I misspelled the word tenet (a point of doctrine or dogma) as tenant (one who rents space from another) in last week's column. File that error under ``I knew that but still goofed up!'' by CNB