Dear Mr. Foster: Second Verse Same as the First

D L Henderson
2 min readOct 13, 2021

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Dear Mr. Foster and his Followers:

Mr. Foster has a huge following. While mine is negligible, nil, in fact. So, responses in his support and defense is not a huge surprise. Now, I found salvation in Jesus some 50 years ago. What does that mean? It means I “just didn’t fall off the turnip truck.” It means 50 years of learning things the hard way, 50 years of making mistakes, and 50 years of experiencing real life, in the real world, but having it rather cushy compared to many, probably most. It means, I understand why the young man in the last chapters of the Book of Job spoke stridently to his elders. (stridently — “forcefully, and in language that does not try to avoid upsetting other people,” Cambridge.com)

Being criticized for being judgmental can be a cop out — as in the difference between assessing essays and condemning someone, imprisoning them and throwing away the key, so to speak. “Judge” is defined by KJV Dictionary not only as a magistrate but also as this: “To compare facts or ideas, and perceive their agreement or disagreement, and thus to distinguish truth from falsehood.”

2 Timothy 3:16, NIV says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…” Someone said that we are all brothers. My response is, if I see my brother in trouble, shouldn’t I reach out my hand and come to his aid? Shouldn’t I holler as loud as I can if a train is coming down the tracks he’s walking on?

Finally, all online platforms lend themselves to misunderstandings. Also, some communicate in writing better than others, but that aside, online, there is no facial expression, neither is there inflexion, there is no real interaction in a timely sense as in sitting down together to yap over a cup of coffee. What is written is written, and the interpretation is left up to whatever filters the reader is using, correctly or incorrectly. While I apologize if I hurt anybody’s feelings, feelings are not that important in my view of eternity. I do not apologize for pointing out serious errors, especially when they are seeds broadly sown.

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D L Henderson

Born 1950; HS 1968; Born again 1972; Cornell ILR; Steward, Local President/Business Agent; Husband, father, grandfather; winner/loser/everything in between