Letters to the Editor may not reflect the views or opinions of the Witness. Letters may be mailed, faxed or submitted using our online form. Only letters marked clearly for publication, signed with address will be considered for use. Letters are subject to editing. Please limit letters to 250 words.

TERRI SHIAVO

Don’t pressure judge

In my opinion, your editorial appearing in the Sept. 4 issue of the Witness, "Starving a woman to death," is deplorable. We are blessed to live in a nation under "The Rule of Law." In my opinion, neither you or the Governor has any right to make an effort to incense the public toward putting pressure on a sitting judge who is fulfilling his sworn duty to apply the facts of a specific case to the applicable laws of the State of Florida.

You encouraged "thousands of other Floridians" to apply pressure by writing letters to the Honorable Judge George W. Greer. If Judge Greer bowed to such type of pressure, the title Honorable would have to be removed.

I challenge you to find a more dedicated, Christian judge in the State of Florida; and I am sure he has prayed over this matter many more times than you or I. I believe you owe Judge Greer an apology.

Elwood Hogan, Jr.
Clearwater

Editor's note: I do not engage lightly a matter of this magnitude, but I believe that a critical principle regarding the sanctity of human life is at stake in the Schiavo case and that Christians have an obligation to be "salt" and "light" (Matt. 5:13-16) in our culture — including our courts.

I regret that Mr. Hogan seemingly fails to see the ethical significance of this case. I, too, value the "Rule of Law," but that does not mean that judges are exempt from having their decisions questioned by the people they serve. Since I did not question Judge Greer's professional conduct, or his Christian character, I do not believe that I owe him an apology (any more than Mr. Hogan owes me an apology for disagreeing with my views).

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Lazzara declined Oct. 10 to issue an injunction requested by Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, clearing the way for the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube on Oct. 15, as scheduled by Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer. Experts predict that Schiavo will not live longer than 10-15 days without the feeding tube.

JAS

WORSHIP

Focus not on Word of God

Having just read the article, "Worship Expo puts focus on ‘Master of the music,’" (Oct. 2), I was struck with the fact that we seem to have suddenly turned to the musicians to lead and define worship. Most of these musicians have little or no theological training and yet are seen as authorities in worship. We even call them "Ministers of Worship" now.

The central focus of worship needs to be the preaching of the Word of God not music and drama. The Expo featured worship services that seemed to center on entertainers. The article also seemed to credit the speakers with saying that spirit-worship is about stirring the emotions.

Then to top it all, this quote: "God is so huge that you cannot reduce Him to a musical style." Suddenly musical style is about us, not God. This is an "anything-goes" philosophy where the end justifies the means. I call this pseudo-conservative, existential Christianity. If we do not think style matters to God who is holy, maybe we need a fresh look at God through the book of Leviticus.

Our church defines worship as, "Boldly responding to our God and Lord, Jesus Christ, in reverence and humility as He reveals to us who He is and what is His will through His Word." Music has its place in giving praise to God, but it is hardly to be the central point of true biblical worship.

William Long
Jacksonville

COOPERATIVE PROGRAM

SBC too ‘big’?

I am Southern Baptist through and through. I am proud of what we stand for and for the priority and passion we place on global evangelization.

At the same time I am a little concerned about the recent headlines of IMB and Cooperative Program fund monies being in crises. Around the house and around my local church, financial strains are not always a bad thing. Many times during the days of plenty ministries, equipment, departments, staff, etc, are added. Please do not get me wrong; these things are not bad, they may just not be the most important things. Sometimes at my church we have to re-analyze and re-prioritize our spending and emphasis. This helps us stay on track with what is truly the most vital in reaching our goal of leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. It helps us cut out the fluff.

Many times I wonder, has the SBC become too big of a bureaucracy? Does too little of our money go to international missions? Are there sacred cows we are afraid to grind up into burgers? As a convention, we must focus on our mission– reaching the world for Christ. We must begin to determine if we are spending God’s money on the very most important thing– reaching the world! Let’s quit making pens, stress balls, calendars, etc., if it takes away from keeping the main thing the main thing.

I believe that the day of Christ’s returning is so close. Time is wasting. Let’s be sure that when we stand before God, He will say to all of us, "Well done thy good and faithful servant."

I, as a Southern Baptist church member and minister, believe we should give more. At the same time, you, as a convention staff, should find ways to spend less on things that are non-Kingdom building. Please be ever careful how we spend our money.

Eric King
Pensacola

COMMISSION MAGAZINE

Have we lost our vision?

In light of the International Mission Board’s announcement of the suspension of publication of The Commission, I would like to say it is a sorry state of affairs we are in when our denomination cannot afford to send out monthly missions magazines. Meanwhile I see daily Jehovah Witnesses and Mormon advertisements offering free materials and Bibles.

Have we lost our vision and monetary values to the wrong places? Would it not have been better to seek ways to continue the distribution of free mission magazine and free soul-winning tracks to the myriad of churches that cannot afford Bibles in every pew or free tracts to distribute?

We should be ashamed when say that we are evangelical when the Jehovah Witness and the Mormons are reaching more and more in our neighborhoods each week.

Wm. Nathan White
Mascotte