LETTERS: HAVING LAST WORD -- BUT WHICH ONE?

To the editor:

People want to have the last work whether in clothes, fashions, inventions or automobiles. It is only natural that the last work makes one feel superior.

Sometimes we are so convinced that we are right that we don't want to hear any contrary point of view. Only when the last word is found or real proof discovered and a QED stamp of approval that the answer is valid are we satisfied. Many times we accept the easy answer which seems to solve a problem but may not be the last word.

One soon tires of the person who always claims to have the ultimate truth or the final word on any question. In religion, this tends to become even more apparent.

I was invited to serve as an officer of the American Bible Society, which I did for 25 years. It was likewise interesting to serve on the British and Foreign Bible Society. There is excellent cooperation but not always total agreement.

The Bible is often referred to as the Word, which is intended to mean the Word of God. Still, there are many versions or interpretations of that Word in many translations and languages. One may find many variations. The same word may have an entirely different meaning in different countries or even in different parts of the same country. Scholars disagree on the meaning or definition.

In families or politics there is seldom total agreement as to the last word. One learns that the final word on many matters has yet to be spoken.

IVAN H. NOTHDURFT

Cape Girardeau