NWA Letters to the Editor

Use brains, faith and trust in God

I agree with Art Hobson, to a point. Recently he objected to signage in schools and on U.S. money that says "In God We Trust" because, he says, not everyone trusts in God (he's right; not everyone trusts in God). He goes on to assert, "It seems our best response to issues of foreign policy, school shootings and so forth is to use our brains. Forget the religious ideologies and the political ideologies, follow the evidence, and rationally evaluate our goals and the best path to achieve them."

As a rationalist Hobson seems to assume that faith and reason are mutually exclusive. They're not. The classical definition of the term "theology" is "faith seeking understanding." Faith and reason are siblings; they don't always get along, but they shouldn't be separated. So to a person of faith it's not unreasonable or irrational to trust in a Supreme Being, all the while using his or her brains. As Hobson says, "If God exists, then he or she helped create the marvelous brains that are our defining feature and the chief reason for our biological survival." And, I would add, "God expects us to use our brains and is disappointed when we don't use them."

So, to Hobson's point, should our national motto be "In God We Trust?" As a believer I say yes, because we need to survive on more than a biological level. Popular dystopian movies like "Hunger Games" or "The Book of Eli" show us what biological survival can look like. We need more than that. The heroes of those stories have a secular deck stacked against them, but they survive -- not on brainpower and physical prowess alone, but also on soul power: they love, they care, they sacrifice. And just as faith and reason shouldn't be separated, neither should the brain and the soul. Animals have brains which are the reasons for their biological survival. Humans have both brain and soul. These two faculties together enable humans to bear the creative image of God and to survive more than merely biologically. Atheists may not agree, but believers will continue to think, trust in God and pray that our leaders do, whether the motto is on our coins or not.

Rev. David LeSieur

Rogers

Clowney got involved, steps up to seek office

Nicole Clowney, who is running for the Arkansas House in District 86, is not a typical candidate. She is young, the mother of two children, an experienced attorney and a faculty member at the University of Arkansas. While many of us sat around and bemoaned laws that brought guns into our classrooms, our churches and, so unbelievably, bars, Nicole Clowney started a local chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense, an organization devoted to promoting safe, sound principles of gun use in a modern, complex society. Nicole has been a strong advocate for improved health, education and safety of our children.

Nicole, like first-time candidates all over this country, quit complaining and began doing something about the world her children and family live in. Through her active involvement in our community, Nicole found that one of the most important steps a person can take to improve our community is to run for office. She did that and we are glad she did. Our past choices of candidates with experience simply have not gotten us where we need to be.

We need new, forward thinking, bold ideas about issues of gun safety, health, education and child safety. Please support Nicole Clowney for state representative on May 22.

Patsy and Dan Ferritor

Fayetteville

Commentary on 05/15/2018

Upcoming Events