Second round of questions for the Outreach Pastor position

Good Morning, Pastor Mark. I hope this letter finds you well.

Let me say that I have enjoyed our discussion both as as a challenge to my thoughts and beliefs about my faith but also as an exercise in intellectual debate among friends. Yes it seems that we are of kindred spirit in most things concerning Jesus. And, I feel, the things where we differ are small and I'm sure we could agree to disagree without jeopardizing our effectiveness in spreading the Word.

Concerning the Old Testament, I did not effectively state my position. Yes the Old Testament is important and needs to be read, studied and understood. It puts things into context. Jesus was, after all, a Jew who lived the life of a Jew in Palestine. This meant living by the laws of God as interrupted by the Jewish leaders and implemented in secular life. He was renowned for His knowledge of the scriptures. He also rebelled against the Jewish leadership, and therefore Jewish law, when he advocated allowing the pagans and Gentiles into the temple to worship. Jesus' teachings on the Mount and in the Beatitudes is also an example of his contrary view of Old Testament lessons. So, it is true that an understanding of the contents of the Old Testament is necessary to fully understand the dynamics of Jesus' mission as the Messiah. To fully comprehend Jesus as God, however, we must accept that He rejected what had come to be the practice of using scripture as a way to oppress, reject and exclude the people of the time from God's love and promise.

I believe that God works in mysterious ways. I also firmly believe that nothing happens in God's world by accident. God doesn't make mistakes. So, in that context, I offer that He is revealing new and controversial material for us to ponder, as we are able to deal with it. Does this new material connote a new testament? No. Does it mean that what we have learned thus far is invalid? No. All it does do is to provide us with a new chance to explore our faith based on some new knowledge. Is all of this new information true and accurate? No. Is it inspired by God? Well, I don't know, do I. Until that is revealed to me I can only assume that God put it out there for a reason. Is this new information the products of some who would like to have me deny God and destroy my faith? Maybe. But I would be remiss if I didn't read it. So often I see people who have some information and determine that that is all they need to know. It's sad, really, to see people so entrenched in a flawed system and so unwilling to seek a remedy in new awareness. (I'm afraid my early Catholic experiences are surfacing)

Because I read everything that I can find about Jesus, His life, and His teachings, I can better form my beliefs about Him and His divinity. Knowledge is never bad or wrong. And the search for new knowledge is always helpful. The works of Prophet, Hassain & Levi, Thiering, and Butler-Bass contradict each other on every page. Each are committed to their research and beliefs. And each offers an opportunity for me to fine tune my faith by challenging what I know to be true. So what if we determine that Jesus was in fact an Essene Jew, dedicated to a communistic lifestyle, popular in His day. So what if it is proven that Jesus traveled to the East and studied and taught before His mission in Palestine. It doesn't matter. None of that takes away one iota of truth of His ministry documented in the New Testament.

That brings up the concept of the devil. There is much written about the devil, the ultimate antagonist in the drama of the world. Did he exist? Does he exist today? Or has his usefulness diminished since the arrival of Jesus. If we need a face of evil to make sense of some of the events in our world then the devil serves that purpose. It's easier to point to the devil as the cause of the tragedy in Haiti than to believe that God allows such things. But, I can't have it both ways. If I believe, as I do, that God is in total control of the world and nothing happens in God's world by accident, then I must accept that God is in charge of what I identify as evil, not the devil. And it is not my place to try to comprehend God's purpose. To paraphrase another Big Book I read and rely upon, “acceptance is the key”.

SIN: Sin is a very personal issue between God and me. God is the final judge concerning sin. I believe that no one other than the individual can determine if a certain behavior is sinful. There are some pretty strong argument against certain behaviors and thoughts. And some things are just inherently wrong; sinful in every case. We humans have a seemingly unlimited ability to rationalize our actions. We can, and do, justify almost everything to make us less guilty of sin.

Killing another human being for any reason is a sin. IT'S ONE OF THE BIG 10. However, I have killed people and felt justified in doing so, at the time. It was war, after all, and by definition, warfare involves killing people. Did I sin? Of course, no question about it. Was I wrong in committing those sins? Yes. Was it necessary, at the time, to do so? Well, that's something I have lived with for 40 odd years and will do for the remainder of my life. I believe that I have been absolved of those sins. However, I'll find out later. I wait to see what weight God places on my behavior for when I meet Him.

Now for the news that is difficult for me to share. Although I would relish the chance to come to PEI and work with the immigrants, I can't. My wife is completely against moving to another country. She is adamant that the next move she makes will be back to the US, close to family. It could seem I have been selfish in using this as an opportunity to express my faith, I assure you that I did not intend this to be the case. But I will not deny that I have thoroughly enjoyed our dialogue. Best of luck finding the right person to fill this position. I wish it could be me. But, as always, my wife's needs come before mine.

My God bless you and guide you in your search. Bob