THIS is written to be shared and in the spirit of helpfulness. Free advice, if you like.
Today we received a letter, second class mail. It was correctly and very nicely addressed, in a good if I judge elderly hand, to our flat but there was no addressee. Not even an 'Occupier'.
I opened it and there were in it two items which, by chance, I read in the wrong order but I will correct that here.
The first said "Please don't throw away until you have read this very important message!" So here comes the first advice: If the recipient is unnamed and the sender is unknown subjective assessment of relative value can be insulting and is always presumptuous.
Moving on there was a second, more professionally printed note that was half the size of the envelope. It had two sides although which was front was not in anyway indicated.
I shall assume the one with the most assertive messaging was the key front. It informed me that the world was growing darker every day. Really? Ah well, opinions vary.
It then informed that GOD (their caps, nature of deity unstated and unknown) 'offers hope through salvation. It's as easy as...'
There followed three paragraphs helpfully categorised as A, B and C.
The first demanded that 'I ADMIT (their caps) I am a sinner.' Second piece of advice: Do not tell people that they are sinners when you not only do not know them but have not even named them. It is gratuitously insulting.
It goes on to quote some items from the book of Romans which, of all the books of the testament is the most likely to have been corrupted in translation. And is not necessarily accepted by all in our multicultural world as having much value at all.
The second demanded that I BELIEVE (their caps) Jesus is Lord. Second piece of advice; This comes in two parts:
Part one is that we live in a multicultural world. Your message will enrage its target if they turn out NOT to believe that Jesus is Lord of anything because they are of a different faith.
Part two is that being unknown to the recipient, and he/she/it being unknown to the sender this is again presumptuous in the extreme. As an atheist and a humanist I do not accept that Jesus even existed and I do not accept that anyone born 2,000 years ago was Lord of anything but the small world in which he may have existed. Incidentally I have the greatest respect for people of faith since I of course live by my faith in the scientific process.
In either case quotes from John (well he would say that wouldn't he) and Romans are of less vale than the sender thinks.
Finally we get to C of the A,B,C - CALL upon His name. Romans get another outing followed by Psalm 145 with its promise of action upon the call. The only advice I offer here is that the phrasing could be a little less stentorian.
But, and it is the biggest but of all, this message has a reverse side and it is here that I got really fired up and decided to write this. And, for the record I avoided reading more than a few lines for fear of rupturing something!
It demands that I accept there is a problem! What? Where? And then tells me again I am a sinner!
You might get away with this face to face, with someone you know and who knows you. But this is an anonymous letter through MY door! How dare you! I bin advertising tosh and this goes the same way!
