Magyar Egyház, 2005 (84. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2005-01-01 / 1. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 5. oldal 5 January 2005 To All WARC Member Churches Dear friends, We wish you a Happy New Year. As we start this new Year, we join the millions of people in thirteen countries in the Indian ocean as they grieve the loss of life and deal with the devastation caused by the earthquake in Sumatra and the Tsunamis that have destroyed lives and properties bringing untold hardship in the region, especially in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. At the time of writing, the death toll is more than 150,000 and it continues to rise. Since last week Monday, I have been in correspondence with our member churches in these countries, and the feedback so far shows the devastation is greater even than as described by the media. I am grateful that our churches in these regions are already doing a lot to alleviate the grief and suffering. This is the time for us to be in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in these regions. I am grateful to note that some of our churches all over the world are already taking action in this regard. I have heard specifically from some churches in Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America. I have also noted what many Christian Aid agencies are doing. Thank you. I call on WARC member churches to continue the efforts of accompaniment in this time. 1 ask specifically for action in these areas. Please continue in prayer for families in all these countries - for those who have lost loved ones and for those who have lost homes, property and their communities. I am sure those who have the facility to respond directly to their partners in the region or through multilateral platforms available to them have already initiated such processes. Please continue in these efforts. For many churches who are either too small or do not have the facility for direct contribution, please set aside a Sunday in January during which you can take up a collection for the victims. Send this to us to the following bank accounts: Bank name and address: UEB (Switzerland), Quai des Bergues 15-17, 1211 Geneva 11, Switzerland CHF account: 2065556.001.000.756 IBAN : CH 3087769206555601756 SWIFT code : UEBGCHGP USD account: 2065556.001.000.840 IBAN : CH 22 87769206555603840 SWIFT code : UEBGCHGP Euro account: 2065556.001.000.978 IBAN : CH 45 87769206555604978 SWIFT code : UEBGCHGP We will ensure that your contributions reach their destination. (Please send us an email or a letter to indicate you have done so, so that we can follow this up.) Let us use this as an opportunity to pray that the world will rally around in love, responding to bring life where death reigns, and that world leaders will choose to put resources in rebuilding under such circumstances rather than investing in wars. May God bless you this year. Our President, Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, joins me in appreciating what you are doing in response to this devastation. Sincerely yours, Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi, WARC General Secretary Does evil exist ? The university professor challenged his students with this question. Did God create everything that exists ? A student bravely replied, "Yes, he did !" "God created everything ? The professor asked. "Yes sir", the student replied. The professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are, then God is evil". The student became quiet before such an answer. The professor was quite pleased with himself and boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth. Another student raised his hand and said, "Can I ask you a question professor ?" "Of course", replied the professor. The student stood up and asked, "Professor, does cold exist?" "What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?" The students snickered at the young man's question. The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-460 degrees F) is the total absence of heat; all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat." The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?" The professor responded, "Of course it does." The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is ? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present." Finally the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?" Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course as I have already said. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil." To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love that exist just as does light and heat. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light." The professor sat down. The young man's name was no one other than, Albert Einstein.
