Letters to the editor:
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And You Think We're Sarcastic...

Regarding the review of DiJons and the mail it elicited:

Congratulations, Metro Pulsers! You have discovered how to boil the blood of the mostly apathetic citizenry of K-Town....criticize their restaurants! Do you not know you are working and living in the restaurant capital of the country and that, 'round these parts, eating out is a fix akin to religious fanaticism? Preferred by 9 out of 10 over even sex...and that 10th person is only 14, so he doesn't count. Honey, let's load up the young'uns in our 10-mile-per-gallon SUV and take the 8-mile, 45-minute drive (and on the way let us remember to voice our lamentations for how our mountains are no longer visible due to that darned pollution!) to our fave fat farm! Hell, we haven't been there since last night!

And, hey, would you believe a guy at work today was telling me that the appeal of most restaurant food is the extremely high fat and caloric content? That, often, just one restaurant meal provides more fat and calories than should be consumed in one day...that, with small effort, we could prepare equally and/or better tasting and healthier meals for a fraction of the price? Hell, I didn't have time to fuss back or straighten him out, I only had a few minutes more of lunch hour to finish off my take-out triple bacon and suet-wrapped five-cheese-stuffed hunkaburger! But I did wave the leaf of lettuce at him!

So, Knoxvillians, I concede now I can't beat ya, so I guess I'll join ya! Tomorrow I'm gonna buy a big 'ol Yukon and I'll see ya every night at the local face feeder! By the way, that'll be my sound system rattling yer winders!

Richard York
Knoxville

Selective Fundamentalism

Though I enjoyed Barry Henderson's article about the fundamental unfairness of Christian fundamentalist teachings ["Women in the Pulpit: Praise Be," Vol. 10, No. 26], I cannot agree that a strictly literal approach to the Scriptures is wrong. We must keep in mind that those who hold the Holy Bible to be the revealed word of God have little choice in the matter when the meaning of the verse is clear. Whether a proscription, admonition, example, or command is politically correct, socially palatable, or personally difficult cannot be the concern of the person who wishes to honor God by faithfully following the eternal truths found within the Bible.

What is offensive about the fundamentalist movement is not the acceptance of the unfairness that is certainly found in Scripture, but the selective emphasis and application of the eternal truths literalists hold as sacred. Much has been discussed about God's expectations of a woman in marriage or in the Church, while other expectations have been largely ignored. For example, Paul denounces lawsuits between Christians. He claims that it would be better for a Christian to suffer the wrong than to seek redress from his fellow Christian in court (1 Cor. 6:7). And what of Jesus' teaching of giving all that one has to the poor, and storing up treasures in heaven (Luke 12:32,18:22)? Remember that Jesus praised the widow for giving all that she had (only two copper coins) to the temple treasury while noting that the rich gave just a portion of their riches (Mark 12: 41-44).

Furthermore, the Bible reveals that the early believers "believed with one heart and soul, and none of the group claimed a private possession, but held everything in common" (Acts 4:32). And perhaps most difficult of all for some politically conservative Christians, there is the statement by Paul that the Believer must obey and honor government authorities, whom he calls God's servants. He directs Christians to pay the taxes they owe so that these servants can carry out their assigned functions (Romans 13:1-7). Recall that Paul was that apostle who refused to charge money for preaching the gospel (1 Cor. 9:18).

There are many more examples which might give the fundamentalist Christian cause to pause and reconsider their strict literal interpretation. The denouncing of fancy hairstyles, expensive dresses and jewelry as outward beauty aids (1 Timothy 2:9, 1 Peter 3:3) comes to mind. But enough quotes. The fact is that few, if any, live even according to the Sermon on the Mount.

The Christianity that is practiced today is a diluted belief that allows for the desires, ambitions, and possessions blessed by our economic philosophy but condemned by the Scriptures. I am guilty too, but then, I am not a person proclaiming my adherence to the unchanging Word of God.

Buck Rutledge
Knoxville