An incomplete view
Mr. Ruud DuVall seems to be a learned man and probably has a good heart. However, I believe he consistently gives an incomplete view of God and Jesus. My God is a god of love and also of mercy, patience, justice, and wrath. These attributes of God are found in scripture. Mr. DuVall says that Jesus did not die for our sins. Jesus says, "for this is my blood of the covenant, which is to be shed on behalf of many for forgiveness of sins." If Jesus did not die for forgiveness of sin, then we have no way to approach the father to ask for forgiveness. We certainly cannot ask God for forgiveness by means of our own merit because none of us meet God's standard, which is no sin ever in our life.
John the Apostle states, "And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ, the righteous; and he himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." Propitiation means atoning sacrifice, to appease, to work to gain the favor of someone, in this case, the father. Jesus gained the favor of God for us sinners by his sacrifice on the cross. It is then our choice to accept the favor of God through Jesus or not.
Remember that Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the father but by me."
BRUCE MILLER
Rogers
Should help schools
During these extremely trying times all of us look at different ways to solve the tensions in our country, but we always overlook one obvious solution: our schools.
My Sunday school teacher, who is also an English teacher in a local school district, was discussing teaching summer school for students that had either failed a class and had to make it up or needed a class to graduate. She mentioned that she had numerous students that come to class without having anything for breakfast. She decided to make sure they had something to eat before class, so she bought Pop-Tarts for them out of her own pocket. Our Sunday School class then took up a donation; she told us last Sunday that not only was she able to buy Pop-Tarts for her class but for another class.
Last week as I was checking out at Wal-Mart, I noticed two young ladies with their carts overflowing with school supplies. I asked them about all the supplies and they said they were for their classes. I asked if they were reimbursed and they said they were for a certain amount but the remaining cost was out of their pocket. I gave each of them some money, but after I got in my car and was driving home, I could have kicked myself for not making up the difference myself. All of us know that our teachers do not make a huge salary, yet they sacrifice their funds to help young children.
We can help by making sure there is food available for those that need to be fed in the mornings, and either have private funding for school supplies or, better yet, instead of sending the billions of dollars to hostile foreign governments, spend that money here on our kids and make sure we give them the best opportunity to get an education and become contributing citizens of this great country.
CHARLIE HART
Little Rock
Quality's much better
Mr. Donald Trump should have his wife's speech writer write his speeches. When Michelle Obama is quoted, the speeches are much better.
BOB L. HUSTON
Holiday Island
Miseducation of Gitz
In response to Bradley R. Gitz's column, "White people to blame," according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the program, 40.2 percent of welfare recipients are white, and only 25.7 percent are black. Therefore, the "money" taken from well-to-do whites is actually going more so to less well-to-do whites.
As far as his comments on the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act, these acts were passed after years of oppression, lynchings, beatings, senseless killings of blacks by whites. Only after Dr. Martin Luther King's dedication, and increased pressure of the government to see blacks as equals. Because let's remember that for centuries blacks were seen as 3/5 of a man, simply because of the melanin in their skin. After "Bloody Sunday," where people (because blacks are people, readers, actual human beings, yes, they are) were brutally attacked by white policemen, trampled by horsemen. I don't need to explain the catastrophic events of this day because "Bloody Sunday" speaks for itself.
There clearly wouldn't have been a need for these acts to be implemented if whites (not all whites, but racist whites) would have clearly been following the Declaration of Independence where it states all men are created equal. This was the key philosophy behind the declaration.
I could go on and on, but I simply believe Gitz needs some real-life diversity training. Key words "real life," and not textbook.
This read was good food for thought.
KENYA VERNON
Sherwood
Proved dishonest man
I was not a Donald Trump backer. My wife and I voted for Ted Cruz. We listened to Cruz and thought he sounded honest, truthful and believable, but after his convention speech, we now find him to be petty, dishonest and untrustworthy.
The moniker used by Trump, "Lying Ted Cruz" proved to be accurate, as he apparently can't be trusted to keep his word. We as a family will never again support Cruz for anything, not even dogcatcher.
DANA L. WALL
Heber Springs
How to live our lives
If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there, did it make a sound? Of course, the answer is yes. Existence is not limited by human knowledge or experience.
A child who has always been locked in a room in a big castle only knows about that room. The interface between existence and knowledge is faith or hypothesis. On what principles should we live our lives and why?
MIKE BROWN
Redfield
Editorial on 07/26/2016