Dear Sir,

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 70, Issue 81, 13 June 1944, Page 4

Dear Sir,

Letters to the Editor must be clearly written on one side of the paper only and where a'nom-de-plume is used the name of the writer must be included for reference purposes. The Editor reserves the right to abridge* amend or withhold any letter or letters. CHRISTIANITY ' Sir, —The Sunday message column in your issue of May 26th gave me such a shock that I cannot resist the urge to reply to J. Ditchfield. . It is quite evident from J. Ditchfiekl's letter that he has always looked upon Christianity as; superstition* in which he does not believe, and has, therefore, never studied the subject in the light of reason, in which he does or claims' to, believe. I have examined his evidence and wish to point out that, as he cannot prove, by the word of God, that Divine Authority has been given for the persecutions he mentions, his indictment of Christianity is nofc only illogical. It is ridiculous, as I' will show. The term Christianity denotes a sincere .belief in the teachings of Christ, accompanied by a genuine effort to live accordingly. Persecution in any form whatsoever is in direct contravention of God's laws. Christianity is a manner of. living in which the first essential is a complete abnegation of self, the second, love of all God's creatures* A study of history will show that most persecution, and certainly the worst forms of persecution,. were> brought about by salfish lust for power, by unscrupulous men, and the use of religious superstitution to that end. I ask: "How can one little application, or one hundred big applications, of that 'Reason' in which J. Ditchfield so firmly believes, connect Christianity and persecution ? I must still claim that, as God and His Christ are the fountain head of all goodness, the right remains, irrefutable, to place the caption 'Christian' on all good things. If J. Ditchfield's enquiring mind will only lead him to enquire far enough into the true meaning of Christianity, he will discover as I have done, that, it is, in fact, the pe&k of perfection, the Alpha and Omega of all things. Hoping sincerely that this letter will help him in his search for knowledge. Yours etc., WM. I. WALLACE.