Be willing to consider different view on deity

The May 8 edition of Your Views included a letter titled, "A thought exercise on prayer, deity." The Daily Herald must feel honored the writer chose your paper in which to question both the existence of God and the effectiveness of prayer. I don't pretend to comprehend all the intricacies of theology. To be honest, I sometimes revert to my childlike vision of God as a wise old man in the sky. (And the older I get, the older he has to get to maintain seniority!)

Grasping the depth, the wonder and, yes, the reality of God would seem to be a lifelong endeavor. I challenge the writer of that letter, however, to consider that he just might be wrong. You express feigned surprise that God's world isn't perfect. And yet he (she? it?) has given us all freedom to be so imperfect.

I am fond of the quote from James Fowler's Stages of Faith, "The opposite of faith ... is not doubt. Rather, the opposite of faith is nihilism." And, sir, you don't want to live your life like that.

Each issue of the Daily Herald includes its founder's words, "Our aim: To fear God, tell the truth and make money." I personally don't believe that God needs be feared as in our common use of that word. Quite the contrary, if he delves into it all a bit, that letter's writer may find a source of wisdom, comfort, direction and peace.

Bruce Bedingfield

Hoffman Estates