Saturday, January 3, 2026

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Opinion | 1000

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COMMENTARY

Bice misinterprets studies in his column

This letter is just to correlate with Rudy Bernard's excellent column "Scientists don't need to dismiss religion to be credible, accurate" (SN 3/14), which he wrote in response to John Bice's column, "Evolutionary theory, science needed to vaccinate irrational beliefs" (SN 2/16). Bice quotes from Elaine Ecklund's survey of 1,646 professors and drew the conclusion that "Natural science faculty were less likely to believe in God than social scientists." However, a careful reading of Ecklund's paper shows that isn't what she said.

COMMENTARY

Bible clearly implies Jesus, God are same

I am writing in response to Abdulahi Sufi's statement made in his column, "Wells Hall preachers don't consider what they say or who they judge" (SN 3/13), stating that Jesus never claimed to be God. Although Jesus never blatantly said "I am God" in the New Testament, his claims to be God are quite obvious. Sufi says John 10:30 is not a claim to Christ's deity but further study of the context makes it much clearer; "I and the Father are one." "Again, the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, 'I have shown you many great miracles from the Father.

COMMENTARY

Remembering Iraq

Sunday, this country will have another monumental anniversary, although it's doubtful we'll celebrate it.

COMMENTARY

Readers missed point in column; Bible not literally true, unchanging

Joshua Romero's recent letter, "Manuscripts support many Bible passages" (SN 3/02), contained some fictions. First, Romero mischaracterized my column "Truth of Bible can't be believed" (SN 2/21), making it appear that I was arguing something I wasn't. With regard to New Testament manuscripts, Romero claimed I had indefensibly asserted, "We can't know what the originals said." In reality, I wrote, "It's impossible to know with certainty what the original manuscripts said." Rephrasing a person's assertion to make it easier to attack is a popular and effective strategy, albeit intellectually dishonest. More annoying, however, was that Romero skirted my central point.

COMMENTARY

No more Canadian trash

Cleaning up after a party can be bad enough. Imagine being responsible for the waste of another country, plus 12 other states. That's a lot of trash.

COMMENTARY

Alternatives to DPPS trucks can be used

I am writing in the same spirit as Ashley Kennon, "New trucks don't help parking woes" (SN 3/14) and many others have written. As students with limited income, we deserve to be better served by MSU parking enforcement.

COMMENTARY

Long-awaited raise

The minimum wage hasn't been raised in nine years. That means people who make only $5.15 an hour have been getting roughly the same salary for almost a decade, although the cost of living has changed.

COMMENTARY

Helpful option from RHA

The Residence Halls Association should be your friend. And with its new e-mail system Helpdesk, it is now easier to develop a useful relationship. RHA introduced the e-mail system at the beginning of the semester as a place for students to send comments, questions and concerns about MSU-related issues.

COMMENTARY

Bible shows Jesus more than prophet

In Abdulahi Sufi's column "Wells Hall preachers don't consider what they say or who they judge" (SN 3/13), Sufi makes the assertion that "Jesus Christ and God Almighty are not the same," and attempts to show that Jesus was just a prophet and nothing more (which is the Muslim position on Jesus' identity). Regrettably, Sufi shows a fundamental lack of understanding regarding the teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures in general and the New Testament in particular. Although there are no passages in the Bible where Jesus states, "I am God," there is an abundance of evidence that demonstrates that Jesus taught others he was God and both his followers and his enemies understood his claim to deity. This evidence is in the form of the prerogatives that Jesus claimed, which his Jewish audience understood as belonging to God alone. These prerogatives included: being worshipped (Matt 28:9, 17; John 9:38; Luke 24:52; Revelation 5:11-14); existing before Abraham (John 8:58); coming from Heaven (John 3:13; 3:31; 6:38); being able to forgive sins (Luke 5:20-24; 7:48); ruling over his angels and the Kingdom of God (Matt 13:41); and declaring himself to be the Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:27-28). Would a mere man, even a prophet, truthfully claim to be "the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end" (Revelation 22:13)? There is no question that the various writers of the New Testament recognized Jesus as being God (John 1:1-3; Hebrews 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-17; Philippians 2:6-11; Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 1:1-3). What is equally, if not more informative, is the fact that the enemies of Jesus also recognized in his teachings the claim of being Deity (John 5:18; 10:33). In light of both his disciples and his enemies recognizing that Jesus the Messiah identified himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (John 8:58), the Muslim assertion that Jesus was merely a prophet, or a good teacher, simply cannot be sustained. Although one might claim that they are a follower of Christ and love him, the truth is that, by denying his eternal power and divine nature they are following a Jesus that exists only in their imagination. One can accept or reject his claims as being God and Savior, but one simply cannot call him a mere prophet.

COMMENTARY

Roberston doesn't represent Israelis

This letter is in response to the comments made by television evangelist Pat Robertson. Commenting on the war in Iraq and the recent unrest over the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in Europe, Robertson attempts to characterize all Muslims by stating that the recent outpouring of rage "just shows the kind of people we're dealing with. "These people are crazed fanatics, and I want to say it now: I believe it's motivated by demonic power.

COMMENTARY

New wage increase won't help economy

Recently, the Republican-controlled Michigan Senate gave in to Democratic pressure and agreed to a bill to raise the Michigan minimum wage to $6.95 by this fall and $7.40 an hour by July 2008.

COMMENTARY

Support appreciated for 'Monologues' play

As the producer and one of several co-directors of the first three large-scale "The Vagina Monologues" productions performed at MSU, I would like to express how delighted and proud I am that this show and the V-Day celebrations have continued and grown. In the first three years, we raised nearly $15,000 for local domestic violence shelters, such as MSU's Safe Place.

COMMENTARY

Speak your peace

During the past couple weeks, people have been talking about the Christian preachers near Wells Hall. They stand in the courtyard with signs and Bibles, yelling out religious scripture and sometimes yelling directly at students and people who pass by. The discussion about the preachers has centered around different aspects of their presence.

COMMENTARY

Religious preaching doesn't mean yelling

I understand that this is a public university and the public has a right to be on campus. I understand the preacher's right to be outside of Wells Hall. However, I do not understand how nothing can be done about it. He is not peacefully standing outside a classroom building.