Dear Sir,

I must say the writer who wrote his letter expressing some concern about losing friends because of his opinions about the madness in his view of those who pray and put their faith in Jesus Christ was most intriguing indeed, given his disdain for and repudiation of those who put their faith in the gospel that has been a global blessing in a fallen world.

He is entitled to his world view and need not worry too much about losing friends because he chooses not to believe in the son of God, Jesus Christ.

The term of madness for followers of Jesus is not new; in fact, it is quite old and is recorded in the Bible with the disciples and the apostle Paul, who took the gospel of repentance and faith in Christ to many in high political office and was told much learning had driven him mad.

Life is about choices and this also applies to what we choose to believe or reject. It is a fact that the mind will never accept what the heart has already rejected.

The historical evidence that Jesus did live and walk on this earth as the Son of God is very sound with eyewitnesses and written accounts of his birth, life, crucifixion and resurrection. The Roman practice of crucifixion by slow death on a cross is not a fable but a historical fact.

The letter writer throws cold water and derision on the practice of prayer as ineffective and meaningless. That is very wrong indeed. Just because you do not believe does not make the truth of God a non-event. In fact, truth is true even if people don’t acknowledge it — truth also is true even if no one knows it, admits it, agrees with it, follows it or even fully grasps it.

God answers prayer in more ways than this whole world dreams of. That does not mean every prayer is granted to our absolute satisfaction. The testimonials of answered prayers are innumerable all over this planet fraught with problems.

We live in a fallen world where morality is being redefined on a daily basis and same-gender intimacy and marriage are being warmly embraced, and those who hold to biblical morality are being marginalised and repudiated. Sexual sins are still iniquity, including sex before marriage, adultery and homosexual relations. If those who disagree with this can publicly say so in a Letter to the Editor, then we also have the right to our biblical position.

To the point of many conflicts being created by religious fervour, this is in fact true. But fervour, passion and radical behaviour are not the sole domain of religion, and I dare say that political differences have wreaked the most havoc everywhere on the globe.

This world has many more problems facing it than just black-and-white issues. If you are in doubt, turn on your flatscreen television and see men’s inhumanity to men everywhere, notwithstanding where the skin colour is the same.

In our little country, it appears that too many of us enjoy our bigotry and see every issue as based in race. This often scuttles our ability to see other causes for the challenges we face.

Do we still have racism in Bermuda? Of course, we do — and on both sides of the racial divide! The good news is we have come a long way. Mr Editor, there is a large community of Christian faith and we are not at all mindless droids devoid of reason who are being misled by the Church.

We need not fear losing friends because we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who loves us so much he died that we might live.

He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother to those who put their faith in Him for eternal salvation. This same Jesus is not only a friend, but also gave his life to be our eternal saviour.

That, Mr Editor, is good news.

WAYNE B. SCOTT

Smith’s