RESPONSE: On burgers, religion

I love Paul Bunyan food and have for more than 40 years - their shakes are the best. I am stirred by the memory of the last large black raspberry shake and will probably need one by the end of the day. Many things stir us to action - differences of religious belief always stir up a community. Does a "My Turn" article headed with a picture of a local, historic family business lend more credence to the author's religious beliefs?

In almost every case religious discussions before the public lead to foolish bantering and ridicule. I am not saying that it is not important that we are able to give a reason for the hope we have (1 Peter 3: 15), but some reasoning is better than others.

The defender of the Mormon tenets quotes (Moroni 10: 4-5) from the book of Mormon, as his testimony, he states, "I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the Word (I think he means Christ here) did restore His church to the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith." I am sure he has a "sincere heart and has real intent," but is what he believes true? I can believe that we should worship pink cows and I could gather a following, but is that reasonable? Is the Mormon religion based on sound reasoning?

Every religion should be prepared to face strong opposition to their tenets and their reasoning tested. If you are curious about what Mormons believe check out the following website: http://www.mmoutreach.org/mormon/articles/facts_mormon_wont_tell.htm.

For the most part, religious editorials end up just being mudslinging contests rather than being helpful. With the right help, our communities would readily benefit having healthy discussions about the reason for our hope we have.

Truth seems to be up in the air these days, but what if we invited the scholars and theologians of the major religions to Coeur d'Alene for a debate at North Idaho College to discuss faith - who would attend?

Searching for truth is what these people do and they make it easier for we lay people who cannot interpret extant, or ancient, languages. This is called exegesis. They also help us with interpretation rules which lay people can use - this is called hermeneutics. Most lay people can understand hermeneutical rules for studying religious texts. Admittedly, whether you are an atheist or you believe in God, in the end, it does all come down to faith, but sound reasoning based on good research helps us make faith reasonable.

BOB HOLLIDAY

Post Falls