Stereophonic Witness
Thank you for printing Hugh Siefken’s article, “God of Wonders” [May/June 2008]. His perspective reinforces the valuable opportunity we have to synthesize the revelation of God in nature with the revelation of God in the Bible. Since God is author of both, together they reveal a ‘stereophonic’ witness of His nature, power and purpose. Thank the Lord for a church and a magazine that encourages people to think deeply about faith and contemporary issues. Young people in particular sometimes feel the pinch of faith when engaging in science. They sometimes feel the pinch of nature when studying the Bible. These provide opportunities to dig deeper and press further for understanding both the wonders of God and the God of wonders. Sometimes, it is through the study of nature that seekers are led to the God of the Bible. It is the only holy book that truly parallels the witness of the natural world and overtly demonstrates its message with its more than 20 harmonious, full-length creation passages. The Koran is its nearest competitor with three conflicting creation passages. To God be the glory!
Jim Reeverts
Churchville, NY
Desperation Begets Anxiety
I admit concern about the idea of “holy desperation” [“Holy Desperation,” May/June 2008]. As a Christian I am familiar with a sense of urgency as it relates to healing and social justice, both of which I consider part and parcel of my faith. It’s true that desperation can lead one to act in ways one might not have before, but a continual state of such a place can and will burn you out.
As a counselor I’ve witnessed the debilitating effects of long-term anxiety. It seems to me that the best way to develop a greater capacity for compassion and the invitation to healing lies not through a continual state of increased anxiety or desperation, but rather a calm centeredness in Christ that allows us to engage the urgencies of our world without fear. I understand holy urgency. I’m not sure I grasp “holy desperation.”
Evangelical Etchings
I am shocked and saddened at the many negative responses to the article “Why I Got a Tattoo” [January/February 2008]. As a pastor with several tattoos, I would like the church to know that I would not have changed a thing on my skin. My life and my journey are etched on my skin, and I have evangelized through my tattoos. I am committed to being a builder of God’s kingdom!
The question is not should Christians get a tattoo, but should I get a tattoo? Where do you minister, what culture, how has the Holy Spirit convicted you? There is a huge world out there, and many people with tattoos who need Jesus! There is the Christian Tattoo Association, Christian Tattoo Artist magazine and over 200 Christian tattoo shops in this country, which are doing awesome work for the kingdom, and “adding to our number daily.” Tattoos are not an issue of salvation, therefore should not be an issue for the church.
Pastor Ranay Brown
New Hope FMC
Canton, MI
More Agreeable Exegesis
I would like to respond to the two letters published in the May/June issue titled “How Ridiculous Can You Get?” and “Who’s Following Whom?” which took Light & Life to task for publishing the article “Why I Got a Tattoo.”
The authors of both letters seem to take it for granted that their view of tattoos as immoral is clearly in keeping with scriptural teaching. One of them references Leviticus 19:28 without comment, assuming that the mere mention of this verse is enough to make the point.
First, Leviticus 19:19 prohibits the wearing of clothing woven from two different kinds of thread, and Leviticus 19:27 prohibits the trimming of the hair at the temples as well as the trimming of beards. Are the above-referenced letter writers as incensed about those who wear cotton/polyester blends or those who trim their beards and sideburns? If not, why not?
Second, to equate getting a tattoo with “boozing it up at the local strip club” is, to borrow that writer’s own word, ridiculous. While the latter
clearly falls into well-established categories of destructive, immoral behavior as made clear in multiple Scripture passages in both Testaments,
the former is referred to exactly once in the entire Bible, in the single Leviticus verse mentioned above, where its context indicates that the prohibition isn’t about tattooing in general, but tattooing as practiced in pagan and occult religions.
In a day and age when our ability
to reach the world with the good
news of Jesus is often impeded by
the perception that Christians are
reactionary, arrogant and narrow-minded, we would do well to learn how to disagree more agreeably.
Scott Little
Penleton, OR
Tattoo or Not To Do?
Getting a tattoo is not on my “to-do” list, but if the Lord was leading [the pastor in the article “Why I Got a Tattoo”] to get a tattoo to lead the tattooist to the Lord, more power to him. Doesn’t the Word say when the one sheep was lost the shepherd left the 99 and went to find the lost one?
I am 76 years old and have ridden a motorcycle for 40+ years. A few years ago I got involved with CMA (Christian Motorcyclists Association). The motto of CMA is “One Heart at a Time.” We ride with a rough crowd at times. When they stop at a bar, we stop with them and have a coke or coffee. They know we care and eventually some will talk to us about life’s problems, which gives us a chance to witness and tell what Jesus can do. These guys will never step into a church, so we go where they are, and 99 percent of these guys have tattoos. It doesn’t mean I have to have one, but if Jesus said to get one, I would.
Chuck Stuermer
Roseburg, OR
If You Knew Him ...
After reading three scathing letters [“Letters to the Editor,” March/April 2008] regarding the article “Why I Got a Tattoo,” I am compelled to ask, “Are these Christian men who wrote these letters?” My heart breaks to think that anyone calling himself a Christian could compare the love of this pastor for the unsaved with the unthinkable examples the writers used.
Did they miss the part where Pastor Bob said, “God laid it on my heart ...”? Not only did he pray, he said that he went to his prayer team who prayed every Wednesday night. Then he said, “After six months, God answered our prayers.”
I know this pastor. This pastor knows God and has a working relationship with Him. He didn’t get a tattoo on a whim. He had divine guidance.
As for me and mine, we support Pastor Bob because we know that he is led by God. If this tattoo is not a problem with God, then it should not be a problem for me or anyone else.
Sharon R. Jensen
Ontario, OR
