A reasonable understanding of Isaiah 53:6

Davis Danizier's alternative interpretation (Faith and Values Letters, Oct. 3) of Isaiah 53:6 is not reasonable. Compare Isaiah's "the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all" with Danizier's "one person suffering for, or being wrongly accused of, and punished for, someone else's wrongs."

Notice what Danizier skips over; one, he ignores the fact that it is "the Lord" who acts here. Isaiah would never suggest a possible mistake by God.

Two, the Lord's action is the laying on of sins, not simply the infliction of suffering and punishment.

Three, the sins are "of us all," not merely of "someone else." This is a universal "laying on," made necessary because "we all, like sheep, have gone astray," as Isaiah writes in the same verse.

No, Danizier can bob and weave, but the meaning of Isaiah 53:6 stands clear: God has placed the iniquity of all of us on his suffering servant. Therefore, Danizier cannot reasonably claim that Paul invented the central Christian doctrine of sin transference. It makes much more sense to accept at face value the many New Testament identifications of Jesus as the subject of Isaiah 53. These I listed in my Aug. 29 letter, which Danizier obviously misrepresents.

Howard Killion

Oceanside

Stop tearing down Palin's character

If the people who dislike Sarah Palin would walk in her shoes for awhile and learn of her, and not through gossip, then I think so many of these people would think twice before trying to tear her down with their letters almost every day. After all, they do not have to vote for her.

We must remember, every one of us comes short of the glory of God as Romans 3-10 says, "There is none righteous, no not one." Not one of us is perfect.

In Sorab Ghandi's letter of Sept. 21, he tried his best to make fun of the way Sarah Palin worships God by her speaking in tongues and added that her religious beliefs can affect us. … If Sarah Palin chooses to speak in tongues to glorify God in her church, then she has the privilege to do so. If Sorab read the Holy Bible, he would see where Paul talked about speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 14 chapter and Acts 2, chapter, verse 1-20).

Our country was founded under God. Every man has a right to worship God as he pleases. I'd rather have a Christian leading my nation any day than a non-Christian. Here is a Scripture we all need to take note: "Keep a watch, o'Lord, before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips," Psalms 141:3.

Iola King

San Marcos

Not pro-life, she's simply anti-abortion

Sarah Palin is not pro-life. She is simply anti-abortion. A pro-life woman who chooses to keep a severely handicapped child makes a commitment to be there for that child as long as she lives. Gov. Palin knew in the first trimester that it would be a special-needs individual.

One man I met said he was the seventh and said, "I wouldn't be here if my parents believed in abortion!" I was the ninth. If I hadn't been born, I never would have known the difference. And the world would have proceeded just fine without me.

Billions of spontaneous abortions have occurred since time began. If you believe that the soul arrives at conception, what are you going to do? Go to heaven to be greeted by how many living souls who say, "Hi, Mom (or Dad). You never knew about me. I grew up in heaven." …

In the Biblical account, didn't God create Adam out of the dust of the Earth and breathe into his nostrils the breath of life? And man became a living soul? The short-lived Nuns for Choice studied the history of the Catholic Church and found that, at different times, there were different concepts. One was at birth, another at "quickening" and finally, at conception. Many people do not agree that a soul exists at conception.

Myrl MacKenzie

Escondido

What is the love of God?

What is love? Love is not sex, romance or caring for others. These are animal functions. The herd takes care of the herd. This is nature working. The love of Mind, or It-god, is allowing all others to responsibly express fully to all others what is in him that needs to be expressed from his soul-subconscious mind this time around. Listening is a gift by It-god-spirit in mind to individualized It-god-spirit in man's body in the material worlds of living.

In traditional language, Father God listens to individualized Gods (man) on Earth, and is Its demonstration of what true love is. True love is listening and allowing responsible expressions to be, eternally. The Mind of It is what we live in. It is a collector of all information from life for the sake of Its own life. Without It-Spirit individualizing Itself into man in the material worlds of living, there would be no life at all in It the Father.

It-God, man, and the cosmos are eternally one unit of three functions, perfectly synchronized for the sake of eternal life itself. This triune unit is an expression of true love.

Sex and romance are animal body functions, not love.

Armand

Archambeault

San Marcos

Will of the people doesn't matter

Peggy Stanley (Faith and Values Letters, Oct. 10) says that Proposition 8 would "protect our children from being taught in public schools that same-sex marriage is the same as traditional." This is untrue. The proposition does not contain one word about education, and the existing law allows parents to exempt their children from any instruction that violates their beliefs. Of course, "traditional" Bible-based marriage means one man with multiple, underage females from the same ethnic tribe, in arranged marriages.

The Supreme Court based its decision on the state constitution's prohibition against gender discrimination. Likewise, the California court banned laws against interracial marriage in 1948, 20 years before the U.S. Supreme Court caught up. The court can only interpret laws, not make them. When faced with two contradictory provisions, a statute mandating gender discrimination in choosing a spouse and a constitutional provision prohibiting that, the higher-ranking provision â€"â€" the Constitution â€"â€" takes precedence.

I can assure you that if 61 percent of the voters, or even 99 percent of the voters, passed a statute to outlaw the religious denomination Stanley adheres to, she would be the first one rushing to the courtroom to "overturn the will of the people."

Davis D. Danizier

Oceanside

Missionary alert

We as Christians cannot be so passive. Let's get out of our pews.

In many parts of the world, Christians of all stripes are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. A new attack has been going on in the Eastern Province of Orissa, in India. The majority are Hindus. This part of India has the caste system, which goes back to the Dark Ages. Christians are killed and chased out of their villages. Homes are burned and churches of all denominations set afire. They need your help.

Please e-mail the Indian government at USindiainfo.com. Tell them of your concern. India is in violation of their policy of freedom of religion. These Christians need protection. Like now!

Stanley Peterson

San Marcos