SACRED OR SECULAR?

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 51, 1 June 1948, Page 4

SACRED OR SECULAR?

Sir, —The frequent emanations on questions of politics and economics from your correspondent, W. Bradshaw, leave me unmoved, but when he sees fit to take the Holy Bible and to deliberately misinterpret and to misread, and to misuse . it, it is surely time to object. I allude to his letter in the Beacon of 21.5:48 entitled “History Repeats Itself,” and which shows that he does not accept the Bible as the inspired Word of God, but something entirely man made, nor does he even accept the God revealed in Scripture as supreme, but only as a “tribal God” —one among many! One is prompted to use strong terms in a question such as this, but let Mr Bradshaw’s own lack of consistency speak for itself. In another recent letter of his, he boldly states: “You must put the teachings of Christ first?’ That certainly sounds as if Mr Bradshaw meant what he wrote. It seems that Mr Bradshaw should be challenged to abide by the teachings of Christ, and place them first, as he rightly says one should. If he did so he could not possibly write, as he has just written, regarding a passage from the writings of Moses, for it was Christ Himself who taught regarding the same writings of Moses: “For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me: for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe My words?” (John 5:46, 47). We must indeed put the teachings of Christ first and believe what Moses wrote, Mr Bradshaw notwithstanding. Mr Bradshaw would do well to recognise that while politics and economics may be quite all right in their own spheres, ordinary respect or reverence for the things of God leads one to recognise a line between the sacred and the secular which precludes any forcing of Scripture to support a pet theory. In thus endeavouring to interpret Scripture to suit his own ends, he is treading on dangerous ground. / Yours etc., CHRISTIAN.