Published: January 31, 2008 10:03 pm            

Letters to the editor - Friday, Feb. 1, 2008

Churches must start teaching the Word

Where are the anointed, dedicated clergy that used to preach the Word “as it is written?”

Could it be that the clergy has forgotten, or didn’t know to begin with, the purpose of their calling?

They are so focused on “numbers” and the monetary aspect of their ministry that they are oblivious to the real answers people are desperately searching for.

Since legalism and secularism has seeped into our churches, it means that an everything-is-all-right, don’t-cause-any-waves, must-be-P.-C.-or-someone-might-be-offended message is the norm.

After all the entertainment and announcements of coming conventions, seminars, fundraisers, bazaars, etc., the Sunday worship service is “short and sweet,” so that everyone can arrive at their favorite restaurant before the crowd. Sound familiar?

Most people don’t read and study their Bible, so they don’t know if what they are hearing from the pulpit is the truth or not, but ... they accept it anyway.

That is why the “headship” of most churches needs to revert back to the inspired Word of God instead of their inept translation of rules and regulations, which turn people off instead of on!

Is it any wonder that people are so confused and looking for other spiritual paths?

Jean Grant, Kokomo

Fibromyalgia isn’t something to mock

I was offended by the first paragraph in Karen Heller’s Jan. 21, 2008, article entitled, “They do the drugs, the rest of us pay.” She stated fibromyalgia might not be real. I have fibromyalgia and it is a very real, chronic condition causing great pain in the connective tissue between muscle and bone.

I was an athlete. I am not a baby about pain. After having back surgery, I developed the symptoms of fibromyalgia. I ached all over and because of the pain, I couldn’t get my proper sleep. Depression becomes a very real problem. I felt like dying. I couldn’t get off of the floor when I tried to clean an area and tore my rotator cuff resulting in surgery.

It took a while before I was properly diagnosed and got the medications that I was physically able to take without side effects. I wish a nonbeliever could live in my body for a week. Fibromyalgia alters your life forever.

Many people go for years before being properly diagnosed, and some people may think they are hypochondriacs. Believe me, they are not.

There isn’t a cure for fibromyalgia, and the medications can’t make you feel like your old self. Fatigue still catches up with you, but you are thankful for the quality of life you now have even though you’ll never be the same.

Karen Heller should check out her facts before she goes out on a limb and cuts it off.

Becky S. Foust, Kokomo

Why take our money in the first place?

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., says, “The stimulus package will put money in the hands of hard-working Americans.” Since this is such a good idea, why did they take the money away from hard-working Americans in the first place?

In spite of her rhetoric, Democratic leaders continue to propose allowing the current tax cuts to expire and effectively passing on a massive tax increase to American taxpayers.

Why is it good to return taxes now to hard-working Americans but bad to not take money away from hard-working Americans in the first place?

I suspect it is because it would make hard-working Americans less subservient to the government and reduce the need for this kind of political grandstanding.

Charles A. Layne, Bunker Hill

        

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