Choosing my religion
Byron Brazier
Pastor, Apostolic Church of God
Chicago, Illinois
Dear Pastor Brazier:
I am not debating what you can do in your church.
If you choose to publicly shame a member and put her out of the church for marrying her same-sex partner, our civil laws allow you do to do that. My question for you is "Is that the loving thing to do?"
—1 John 4:8: "He who does not love does not know God. For God is love." We all have a problem with love, because we learn that love is conditional. God's love is unconditional.
—To get a glimpse of what unconditional love from God looks like, go to 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8: "Love is patient, love is kind. It is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrong. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." What say you, Pastor Brazier?
—Matthew 22:37: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind." What say you, Pastor Brazier?
—John 8:17: "He who is without sin among you, let him cast a stone at her." What say you, Pastor Brazier?
—Matthew 7: 1-3: "Judge not, that ye be not judged. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but consider not the beam that is in thine own eye? What say you, Pastor Brazier?
—Galatians 6:7: "Be not deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
I await your reply.
Sincerely,
Ruffin Robinson
A sinner saved by God's amazing grace
* * * * * *
It's time to discuss
To the editor:
As we all know, Chicago gun violence has become an epidemic and Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson made a very important point recently when he stated that "It takes everybody to step up. We need the alderman, elected officials, clergy, community residents, business owners, it doesn't matter who it is. Everybody has a vested interest in reducing crime."
In this spirit, we recently convened a meeting at the Chicago Bar Association ( CBA ) with the presidents of 19 Illinois bar associations and asked them if their members would meet with community representatives from neighborhoods afflicted by violence in order to provide them legal assistance to help address this crisis.
The lawyer associations responded immediately, enthusiastically and positively. The Decalogue Society, the Black Women Lawyers Association, the Cook County Bar Association, the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, the Seventh Federal Circuit Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, the Arab American Bar Association, the National Bar Association and many other lawyer bar associations have now committed to step up and help.
On Nov. 3, 20 representatives from communities across Chicago will meet with lawyers from the lawyers' bar associations in an unprecedented summit to be held at the CBA. The community representatives will ask the lawyers for specific legal assistance in the areas of mental health services, police-community relationships, faith-based community services and employment for high-risk men and women.
Hon. Thomas R. Mulroy
President, Chicago Bar Association
