REPLY TO MR. HAROLD J. WOLFE

[NOTE: This piece was published on the OP/ED page of the Tuesday, November 30, 2010 issue of the MetroWest Daily News (Framingham, MA) where it is entitled, "Answering an atheist's letter".]

“...yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.” (from Romans 3:4)

Mr. Harold J. Wolfe of Framingham had a letter published in the Wednesday, November 24, 2010 issue of the MetroWest Daily News entitled, “The Fraud of Religion”. I don’t know Harold Wolfe personally, but I’ve watched him on the local public access cable channel several times, and I’ve read some items he’s had published in the paper. Sometimes I’ve agreed with Mr. Wolfe’s political views, and sometimes I’ve disagreed. Twenty or thirty years ago, a letter such as Wolfe’s most recent would probably have made me quite angry. Today, I read it with thought, perplexity, and some sadness. I certainly do NOT advocate that America be turned into a theocracy. We have freedom of religion and freedom of speech in this country. I do celebrate and validate Mr. Wolfe’s right to express his views freely, and for others to agree or disagree.

There’s a quote I heard many years ago regarding the issue of intellectual conflicts between believers in God and unbelievers in God. It goes something like this: “For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.” With that in mind, I have no illusions of changing Mr. Wolfe’s mind, but I just want to share a few thoughts and observations:

Mr. Wolfe writes, “Each member of the clergy believe in the following: God created man, life after death and a vast infrastructure of Heaven and Hell...” In fact, you’d find a WIDE variety of theological and spiritual beliefs among the clergy of Framingham and of America. A number of clergy do not believe in an afterlife...in a Heaven or a Hell. I do, but many don’t. Some believe in a personal God as described in the Bible or other sacred books. Others believe in kind of a generic “higher power”.

Mr. Wolfe also states, “Framingham's clerical profession are fundamentally non-productive people who work tirelessly in misdirecting residents by suggesting we ignore the evidence we see before us, such as evolution. They are the true classic evolution deniers.” I guess it wouldn’t shock Wolfe that I don’t accept Darwinian evolution, but I’d guess at least half of Framingham’s clergy DO accept it. As for being “non-productive people” many of Framingham’s clergy work tirelessly for such causes as prevention of domestic violence, finding shelter and treatment for the homeless, aiding the poor, tutoring children, making Framingham a safer and better community...matters like that which I think most of Framingham’s citizens would consider quite important.

Mr. Wolfe’s letter states, “The carefully prepared weekly sermons by the Framingham clergy are chiefly used to facilitate the infection of idiocy, promote non-intellectual crime, and commit fraud in general on a large scale.” I am deeply saddened that because the church I pastored closed back in March, I’m no longer preparing sermons to deliver on Sunday mornings in Framingham. During all the years that I DID prepare sermons and deliver them, I never once had the goals that Wolfe claims clergy have!

I don’t mean to come across as trite. Honestly, when you’re a believer in God and in the Bible, there ARE challenging issues that you will probably struggle with from time to time. I remember graduating from Central Bible College back in 1979. Like so many young Bible school graduates, I had all the answers, and I was ready to save the world. When I meet a recent Bible College graduate today, I’m struck that they have the same idealism and starry-eyed look that I once had. My peers- my fellow “fifty-somethings” in ministry, conversely, often look tired. We’ve all experienced great miracles and seen God do mighty works. We’ve also had experiences of deep disappointment where our prayers (apparently) weren’t answered, where there was great pain for us and/or loved ones, and where it seemed like God did not care. Frankly, people like me need to be around idealistic Christian young people more...we need their faith and enthusiasm. But they need our life experience, too. Many kids just starting out in ministry will go on to have great lives serving God. Some, after becoming parents of severely disabled children, or being stricken with serious illness, or being fired by a church facing accusations they were not guilty of, will turn from God...their love for Him will grow cold.

Yes, I believe in miracles. As a very young child, my mother was stricken with spinal meningitis...the worst kind. Her devout Catholic parents were devastated. They prayed fervently for a miracle. And, they got one. To the doctors’ amazement, she miraculously recovered. I would not be alive if not for that miracle. Back in 2002, my tax accountant had cancer and was seriously ill. My sister Dianne and I laid hands on him and prayed for a miraculous healing. He was miraculously healed! He reminds me of that each year when I sit down in his office to have him do my taxes. But sometimes, things have not been so easy. My brother collapsed at work at age 27 back in 1883. He went into cardiac arrest and into a coma. He lived for ten days and died. We prayed, but there was no miracle. My mother died of cancer in August of 2000 just seven weeks after my father had died. I tried to bargain with God. I begged God to heal hear. That did not happen. I sat at her bedside when she passed, and I sobbed like a baby. I never, ever believed the little church I pastored, First Assembly of God of Framingham would close. I prayed and prayed. In March, the Assemblies of God closed it. For me, it’s been like a death. The loss has been devastating. I’ve shed a lot of tears, and I’ve asked God how He could allow that to happen. Yet, I have not lost my belief in God, nor have I given up my trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for my personal salvation. It’s ONLY because of my belief in God and the Bible that I’m able to get up and function each day.