Dear Editor:
Re: Christian upset over billboard, The Record, Jan. 3, and Billboard a success - it's sparking debate, The Record, Jan. 8.
Thank you for the articles on both the billboard and the response.
I am a Christian. I am the minister at Queens Avenue United Church. And the billboard has not upset me.
What it has done is created an avenue for people to ask me questions, to voice their concerns and to engage in conversation about them.
As a Christian, believing in God is the way that I understand the world; it is not the only way, nor is it the "right" way, but it is my way. I am completely at ease with others who do not view the world in that way. If someone respects that I have a "belief system," it's only appropriate for me to respect theirs. If we respect each others' differences of belief, we can be, as the billboard says "all good."
The billboard is paid for by the Centre for Inquiry Canada, and their website says they work to: "Combat the harm of superstition, pseudoscience and religion by advancing the values of reason, science and secularism through education, activism and community."
Some areas of Christianity would say they do the exact same thing. When issues like this arise, it seems that there is only one view of religion, which is not the case. Religion is as varied and multifaceted as even a group like the Centre for Inquiry probably is!
I love these conversations! And I love them even more when they happen face-to-face as opposed to word vs. word.
Rev. Graham K. Brownmiller, Queens Avenue United Church, New Westminster
