Letters to the Editor 09-30-2005
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
- Life Chain - Biblical Meaning - Red Light Cameras
Life Chain
Editor, Times-Union:Every pro-life person has a great opportunity to take just one hour and make a difference. The 18th annual National Life Chain will take place Sunday on Center Street from 2 to 3 p.m. This is a time for quiet reflection and prayer while holding a sign with a pro-life message.
Last year, approximately 200 people attended this event in Warsaw. While that is commendable, it represents only an average of 1.25 people per church in our county! Let's do better than that! Grab your families, friends and fellow parishioners and join us on Center Street this Sunday to stand up and make a difference. Signs can be picked up in the parking lot of the Warsaw First Brethren Church on the corner of Center and Bronson streets. See you there!
Ida List
Leesburg, via e-mail
Biblical Meaning
Editor, Times-Union:I would like to comment on a recent submission by a Mr. Robert Boggs. It seems that many are confused about Christian belief. This confusion needs to motivate Christians to offer clarity through true Biblical lifestyles.
Several truths, basic to Christian belief, are as follows: 1) The Bible is Divinely inspired; absolute. 2) The earth was created by a sovereign God. 3) Sin is any action or belief contrary to God's law. 4) Man was separated from God by sin. 5) God couldn't fellowship with sin but desired fellowship with man; therefore, He offered reconciliation through sacrifice. 6) Jesus, virgin born, is the supreme sacrifice. 7) There is no other name whereby we must be saved. 8) Hell is the eternal punishment awaiting those who refuse God's gift of reconciliation. 9) Heaven is a place of eternal joy for those who, by faith, have believed in Jesus for salvation from sin.
Biblical and practical teaching tells us that until the root of a problem is identified and fixed, it will remain with growing effect. Imagine going to a doctor and finding that that you have an operable tumor on your kidney. Is that doctor hateful because he identified a life-threatening problem and suggested removal? Could you ignore such a warning? Would you saw your right arm off to affect a cure?
Such things seem ridiculous but that's the type of logic we apply in the name of love, expression and being a good "Christian." While Mr. Boggs seems harsh, he is merely echoing warnings heard throughout the whole Bible. What most miss is that real Christians are the first to help those who want to find true hope. Why does God use the methods He does? Why do the righteous suffer with the wicked?
I don't know. He is sovereign and isn't obligated to give explanation. What I do know is that He offers reconciliation to all who really want it. Biblically, this means identifying our sins, confessing them and believing in Jesus for salvation. This yields true inner peace and lifestyle change. As I consider my past and the absence of peace before knowing Jesus, I am thankful for a present and a future with Him. If you experience the Lord's grace and see the positive change that a relationship with Jesus brings, you stop seeing Biblical warnings as hateful. Heaven is filled with those who heard a warning and did something about it; Hell is a sorrowful place for those who ignore God's warnings and charge ahead in prideful ignorance.
Lastly, I will challenge the "Christians" who are offended with my words to search the Scriptures. God doesn't accept sin as a person's right of expression. Do we really love if we look the other way when God's word specifically warns against homosexuality and promises punishment for it? If we don't really believe what God's word says about such things, let's not call ourselves "Christians" and confuse those who don't know the difference.
Joel Hidlebaugh
Warsaw, via e-mail
Red Light Cameras
Editor, Times-Union:In response to Ann Sweet's letter concerning red light cameras, I thought I would present a few statistics published by the Federal Highway Administration in a report called "Safety Evaluation of Red-Light Camera," FHWA-HRT-05-048.
In a study of seven jurisdictions they studied the changes in crash frequency with RLC and found right angle crashes down 24.6 percent and injuries down 15.7 percent. At the same time they found that rear-end crashes increased 14.9 percent and injuries up 24 percent.
Now I am not smart enough to know whether the trade off between one type of crash is worth the price of the other. But it seems obvious to me that it is not the answer by itself. People will still be killed or maimed in alarming numbers. I think Gary Gerard had better solutions. Increased policing, the addition of warning signals that tells a driver that the signal is turning red by the time they reach the intersection and possibly the cameras. Some truck drivers do not want to operate their trucks at a speed at which they can safely stop. We have to make it painful for them to ignore our traffic laws. I think that the speed limit for trucks should be 5 to 10 miles an hour less than for automobiles. They should also be restricted to the right lane and that should also be enforced strictly. I do not believe playing with a signals timing will give the desired result. A longer yellow will quickly be picked up by drivers and more vehicles will attempt to go through the intersection on yellow. All red might help a little but how long is enough? The truck driver convicted earlier this year saw at least 10 seconds of red before hitting his victim.
Yes, Ann Sweet, I know that the police cannot be everywhere all the time, but if Warsaw can develop a reputation for strict enforcement, maybe we can slow the trucks down and save a few lives. And the last I heard the RLCs resulted only in fines. An officer ticketing a truck driver for running a red light gets them a fine and points on their license, too many of which and they lose it.
Jim Martin
Leesburg, via e-mail
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- Life Chain - Biblical Meaning - Red Light Cameras
Life Chain
Editor, Times-Union:Every pro-life person has a great opportunity to take just one hour and make a difference. The 18th annual National Life Chain will take place Sunday on Center Street from 2 to 3 p.m. This is a time for quiet reflection and prayer while holding a sign with a pro-life message.
Last year, approximately 200 people attended this event in Warsaw. While that is commendable, it represents only an average of 1.25 people per church in our county! Let's do better than that! Grab your families, friends and fellow parishioners and join us on Center Street this Sunday to stand up and make a difference. Signs can be picked up in the parking lot of the Warsaw First Brethren Church on the corner of Center and Bronson streets. See you there!
Ida List
Leesburg, via e-mail
Biblical Meaning
Editor, Times-Union:I would like to comment on a recent submission by a Mr. Robert Boggs. It seems that many are confused about Christian belief. This confusion needs to motivate Christians to offer clarity through true Biblical lifestyles.
Several truths, basic to Christian belief, are as follows: 1) The Bible is Divinely inspired; absolute. 2) The earth was created by a sovereign God. 3) Sin is any action or belief contrary to God's law. 4) Man was separated from God by sin. 5) God couldn't fellowship with sin but desired fellowship with man; therefore, He offered reconciliation through sacrifice. 6) Jesus, virgin born, is the supreme sacrifice. 7) There is no other name whereby we must be saved. 8) Hell is the eternal punishment awaiting those who refuse God's gift of reconciliation. 9) Heaven is a place of eternal joy for those who, by faith, have believed in Jesus for salvation from sin.
Biblical and practical teaching tells us that until the root of a problem is identified and fixed, it will remain with growing effect. Imagine going to a doctor and finding that that you have an operable tumor on your kidney. Is that doctor hateful because he identified a life-threatening problem and suggested removal? Could you ignore such a warning? Would you saw your right arm off to affect a cure?
Such things seem ridiculous but that's the type of logic we apply in the name of love, expression and being a good "Christian." While Mr. Boggs seems harsh, he is merely echoing warnings heard throughout the whole Bible. What most miss is that real Christians are the first to help those who want to find true hope. Why does God use the methods He does? Why do the righteous suffer with the wicked?
I don't know. He is sovereign and isn't obligated to give explanation. What I do know is that He offers reconciliation to all who really want it. Biblically, this means identifying our sins, confessing them and believing in Jesus for salvation. This yields true inner peace and lifestyle change. As I consider my past and the absence of peace before knowing Jesus, I am thankful for a present and a future with Him. If you experience the Lord's grace and see the positive change that a relationship with Jesus brings, you stop seeing Biblical warnings as hateful. Heaven is filled with those who heard a warning and did something about it; Hell is a sorrowful place for those who ignore God's warnings and charge ahead in prideful ignorance.
Lastly, I will challenge the "Christians" who are offended with my words to search the Scriptures. God doesn't accept sin as a person's right of expression. Do we really love if we look the other way when God's word specifically warns against homosexuality and promises punishment for it? If we don't really believe what God's word says about such things, let's not call ourselves "Christians" and confuse those who don't know the difference.
Joel Hidlebaugh
Warsaw, via e-mail
Red Light Cameras
Editor, Times-Union:In response to Ann Sweet's letter concerning red light cameras, I thought I would present a few statistics published by the Federal Highway Administration in a report called "Safety Evaluation of Red-Light Camera," FHWA-HRT-05-048.
In a study of seven jurisdictions they studied the changes in crash frequency with RLC and found right angle crashes down 24.6 percent and injuries down 15.7 percent. At the same time they found that rear-end crashes increased 14.9 percent and injuries up 24 percent.
Now I am not smart enough to know whether the trade off between one type of crash is worth the price of the other. But it seems obvious to me that it is not the answer by itself. People will still be killed or maimed in alarming numbers. I think Gary Gerard had better solutions. Increased policing, the addition of warning signals that tells a driver that the signal is turning red by the time they reach the intersection and possibly the cameras. Some truck drivers do not want to operate their trucks at a speed at which they can safely stop. We have to make it painful for them to ignore our traffic laws. I think that the speed limit for trucks should be 5 to 10 miles an hour less than for automobiles. They should also be restricted to the right lane and that should also be enforced strictly. I do not believe playing with a signals timing will give the desired result. A longer yellow will quickly be picked up by drivers and more vehicles will attempt to go through the intersection on yellow. All red might help a little but how long is enough? The truck driver convicted earlier this year saw at least 10 seconds of red before hitting his victim.
Yes, Ann Sweet, I know that the police cannot be everywhere all the time, but if Warsaw can develop a reputation for strict enforcement, maybe we can slow the trucks down and save a few lives. And the last I heard the RLCs resulted only in fines. An officer ticketing a truck driver for running a red light gets them a fine and points on their license, too many of which and they lose it.
Jim Martin
Leesburg, via e-mail
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