TRAGIC DESTINY

New Zealand Listener, Volume 30, Issue 765, 19 March 1954, Page 5

TRAGIC DESTINY

Sir,-in your issue of February 19 the letter of J. Malton Murray under this heading sounds pathetic in the extreme. He quotes from your editorial of February 5 the "tragic view of human destiny that support all religion and most philosophy," and then proceeds to reveal the fact that his own mind (like that of millions of others) has suffered from this tragic view of human destiny that has been foisted on to the world by most of the religious schools of thought over centuries of time. This stirs my soul to its depth, for to me it is extremely tragic that we have to. admit that in so many cases the churches in general have been guilty of presenting to the world a negative picture of God and His programme for His human family..It has been taught by many denominations, for centuries, that while God has graciously provided

a way of salvation that will work out to the eternal bliss of a very few, yet for the great majority of mankind He has. nothing better than eternal déath or eternal suffering. "Satan" has been preached and pfoclaimed as thé réal victor in this field of human tragedy in that he has managed to walk off int6 eternal suffering with many times the number of souls that God, through the wotk of Christ, will ever have on the side of perfection and eternal life. Because of this teaching millions of folk feel as Mr. Murray does that "God is trapped in tragedy, and all; His works are too." But this is not the truth at all, and I maintain that our Bible, when rightly understood and interpreted, does not uphold stich teaching, but rather the very reverse-that God is working out a plan of salvation that will eventually reach "all men." I cannot expect you to allow me space to expound this in detail, but I may say that after many yeats in the Christian ministry and: as a keen student of the Bible I am firmly convinced that this messagé of final Wic« tory for God and all that is good and the salvation of all men, is the real message of the Bible. When Jesus said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me," He stated His purpose of coming into this world, and we have every confidence that He will fulfil this purpose. There will. be no tragedy when all men are drawn to Him and every knee bows to Him and every tongue confesses that He is Lord (Phil., 2310): I would greatly appreciate the privilege of explaining this plan of universal salvation more fully to Mr. Murray: and any others who are. bowed down under the thought that God and all His works are "trapped in tragedy." At present we are not allowed on the air with this messagé of hope and confidence, but I wonder if there is any other way of-helping these "tragic destiny" class of people?

C. L.

SAUNDERS

‘New Plymouth).