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Letters Received by Frontline About Pastor Benke's Appearance Rev. Benke, Your presence, along with all the other ministers, was crucial and a blessing to all. Unfortunately, your "Brothers in Christ" did not see it as such. You did what Jesus would have done. Did he not befriend the woman at the well and did he not go to the house of the tax collector? Being a Christian is to be a Follower of Christ and to do what he would do. Blessings to you and your ministry. Yours in Christ, Kimberley O'Connor + + + + + Pastor Benke -- I most strongly agree with you. LCMS is at best confused on this. If we can not stand up next to other denominations and religions to express our faith in a time of exceptional (or really at any time when appropriate) national tragedy, I have to ask myself whether this is the way Christ would have reacted. He even went down into Hell to face Satan as well as always dealt directly with sinners of the highest magnitude. We will add you to our prayers to allow your disappointment with some of your peers not effect a continuing strong relationship with your ministerial missions. Not all LCMS or other Christians feel as your distractors do. To be noted is I was forwarded the interview by a LCMS pastor friend of ours. Yours in Christ, + + + + + Dear FRONTLINE, As for my faith, it is as always a questing, questioning one but it is not in a God who allows or causes such things to happen. I believe that God was with those people as they fell, that God holds the grieveing hand and that there is indeed evil. It is manifested in the hearts and minds of those Missouri Synod Lutherans who condemned their faithful pastor for praying with others on that stage in Yankee Stadium. A lot of goodness died on Sept. 11 but the evil is still alive. But as your program pointed out, a lot more goodness still lives. May God show us the way to peace and love, Anne Burton + + + + + Dear FRONTLINE, After reading most of the responses posted here I see that most of the people are still concerned with there own agendas. That is not what this program was about. It was about all of us here on this earth as humans and how we respond to such tragedy. It does not mean that we have not counted all the past tragedies of history or that we think that they are less important. This is about what happened on Sept. 11 and how we all reacted. Not how a certain religion reacted but how the human race reacted. It is not what our religion is about or what it teaches. It is about all religions and all beliefs, about the human race. It lets us know that none of us are unique in the thoughts we have had during those terrible days. It shows that we are all connected is some way no matter what we believe or don't believe. What is my belief? I am Roman Catholic. I especially pray for the Lutheran Minister that is being kicked out by his own people. If those people keep up that frame of mind, one day they will be flying a plane into someone's building. gulf breeze, fl + + + + + Dear FRONTLINE, From my view Islam, a beautiful expression of faith, is at a point now in the Middle East where Christianity was in the Dark Ages. As a deeply spiritual Christian, I have always grappled with "There is no other way to the Father than through Me (Jesus)". Does this mean Gandhi is in hell? Does this mean Moses and Abraham are in hell? During my "quiet time" this week, it came to me: Who is Jesus? He IS the Father! He is the same God who all people of faith worship. Rather than commemmerate 9/11 as a patriotic day, I propose that 9/11 be called Unity Day. It is the day that the people of the World woke up and were shown that Religious division on cultural, denominational, and even basic theological grounds is at the root of Satan's master plan. If I could, I would be proud to hold hands and pray with my fellow believers on this day to show that through love, all evil can be conquered. Mike Smith + + + + + Dear Rev. Benke, This past summer I traveled with my family to Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Alberta, and I came away with a profound sense of the Creator. Never before had my studies of science (biology in particular) become so firmly enmeshed with my faith. I had always believed that God created the world, but, somehow, that seemed long ago. It was almost as if, after He created the world, He put in genetics and plate tectonics, and all the rest, to kind of keep things going. What I came away with, however, was not that God created the world, but that He is creating the world. I was literally awestruck by the timelessness and infinite patience that process evinces. If we know the author by his writings and the artist by his art, then there is much we can infer about God from His creation. One place we visited was an old growth cedar and hemlock forest. Walking among these stately trees was like walking in a fern-carpeted cathedral. At the stops along the way, I learned much and was particularly struck by the connectedness of God's creation. These huge trees, living on the west side of the continental divide, pump as much as 2000 gallons of water every day back into the atmosphere to water the wheat fields on the eastern side. Moreover, these trees, many 500 to 800 years old, rely for their very existence on the voles that live there, voles that live, at most, to only one year of age. Everywhere I looked, I saw God's creation living in community. When religion works, it works in community. We are each connected one to the other by faith. It is in community that we support one another and grow together. When Jesus died for our sins, He reconnected us to the Father. Sin and evil disconnect us, from each other and from God. I think Evil seduces people of faith using religion. He convinces us, in ways large and small, that what we are doing is "for God's glory," or "to preserve the true faith." We saw it on September 11, when "people of faith" crashed planes into the World Trade Center; we saw it in the Salem witch trials; we saw it in the Spanish inquisition; and I believe I saw it when you were charged with heresy. God joins and uplifts. Satan divides and puts down. In short, in today's parlance of "What would Jesus do?", I firmly believe that our Lord, friend of those relegated to the 'outside' by the church of His day, would have done exactly what you did at the prayer service following 9-11. In fact, I am sure that He was there with you: "Where two or more are gathered together in my name, there will I be also." May the God of healing and might grant you peace and strength. In His Service, + + + + + Dear Dr. Benke, I am not clergy. I am simply a person. But the Jesus I know loves ALL people. I'm sure you did what he would want. We are all children of god. How can we (as a world) ever find peace if we cannot pray together - especially at a time like 911? I could go on and on but I won't. I just want to say thank you for what you did ... and for expressing your thoughts and feelings about what occurred after you prayed with others. I hope you are not still being sent hate mail. I want you to know that there are others out here appreciate what you did. You are not alone! I am praying for you ... and for the others ... Thank you, + + + + + Pastor Benke – thank you for your courage to participate in the Prayer for America and the courage to discuss in implications of your participation in the Frontline presentation, "Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero". God's grace is sufficient even when those who claim to be God's people are not very merciful. Pax. John Mundinger + + + + + Dear Reverend Benke, You are not a terrorist, which is ridiculous. It is the fear of the difference of others (who believe differently), which leads to self righteousness and a false sense of superiority, which leads to looking at others (who are different) as inferior, and eventually leads to hatred and evil. This sentiment, I believe, is what led to the fanaticism that created the hatred that spurred 9/11. What the world needs, especially at this moment in time, is to embrace all humanity and to celebrate our faiths and traditions without disrespecting other faiths/traditions, or judging them to be inferior. What you did was noble. I believe that the horrendous attacks of 9/11 triggered deep fear and anger in many of us, and can open people to the possibility of engaging in our own evil. Even profoundly spiritually people can be seduced into looking at others with hatred and contempt. I believe that the people who
criticized you, did so, because they were closer to the terrorist in their own hearts and minds than to the real message of Michelle Hughes + + + + + Dear Rev. Benke, You are a good man for your efforts and actions, post 911 and in no way shape I suspect you already knew these things but, I felt it wouldn't hurt for you to hear it from someone else. I also strongly suspect that Jesus approved of your actions. Who am I? I don't claim any particular denomination. Just a fellow human being and follower of the teachings of Christ; that wanted to express love and concern for you. I will say a prayer for you and those against your actions. We could all do with a bit more unity and openness to the beliefs of >others...even if they are not our own beliefs. Peace be with you. |
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