A matter of faith July 2, 1985
Dear Mary Ann:
Well, we seem to be making progress. The latest issue of
Scrap Paper was recently read on syndicated radio in four states and five
cities: Washington DC, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.
The response was amazing – although some members of the
local religious community claim we went too far, whole those on the radical
left claim we did not go far enough.
The most interesting response came from a preacher in West
Virginia who thanked us for not being “too cruel.”
“It’s refreshing,” he wrote, “to see someone look at the
Bible with a critical eye. Something all Christians should do.”
He went on to say, “for there is nothing in our faith which
states that the Bible is infallible. Any good scholar would dispute that, and
the better Christian ones often do. Too many Christians today use the Bible as
a drug to cure themselves of reality, hiding under it as if a blanket, denying
that beyond the fabric there is another darker world. Too many lean upon its
words as a crutch, believing only as long as those words hold up. Faith is made
of better stuff. It is independent of such trickeries.”
The preacher pointed out the Job leaned upon no such book
but stood with faith in hand as God tested him again and again.”
“Faith untested is not faith; it is a delusion,” he said. ‘Faith
is believing without evidence, facing the limitations of the world and
something made thereof…”
Finally, he said after about a dozen more lines of such, “The
Bible, s you have somewhat bluntly pointed out in your pamphlet, is assuredly
flawed: how can it not be since it is touched by the hand of man! All that man
touches is flawed, even when divinely inspired.”
I’m not sure I agree with his assessment, but I thought you
might like to see it.
So much hell going on in our lives; too many issues to be
concerned with.
The only issues I’m truly concerned with are issues of Scrap
Paper with the next issue due in a couple of months on Alice in Wonderland.
I wanted one of your marvelous short stories for the current
issue, but I assume you were too busy with work and family. Anytime you want to
send something in the future, we’ll make room.
Meanwhile, the struggle goes on. A group of peace activists got
busted by the feds in Haledon for distributing anti-draft materials. Michael is
following up on that now and we should have story about it in our next issue.
The car you gave me is doing fine. The gas mileage is fantastic,
and it came just in time as my old machine sputtered into the shop for yet
another series of repairs. It is good to know that I won’t be paying the bills
on it as the new owner will.
Take care, friend, and keep faithful to yourself and the
basic values that have made you into the kind of person you are: tender, loving,
joyful and understand.
Keep safe, but more importantly, keep in touch.
Yours always
Al Sullivan
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