Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1183404
19 LETTERS & EDITORIAL maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 NOVEMBER 2019 Mikiel Galea Letters & Clarifications Solid faith THE letter "Divine mercy" was John Guillaumier's periodic rhetoric on this thorny subject. But that wasn't an isolated incident. 'God ordered the execution of every Egyptian first-born, He flooded the world and killed untold thousands of people, etc…' That sounds more like a violent and brutal God than a loving one. I have previously replied to his claim but this time my response is more ori- entated towards Christian faith. "Human faith can go as far as this: If faith never encounters doubt, if truth never struggles with error, if good never struggles with evil, how can faith know its own power? In my own pilgrimage, if I have to choose between a faith that has stared doubt in the eye and made it blink, or a naive faith that has never known the firing line of doubt, I will choose the former every time" (Gary Parker, The Gift Of Doubt). If we are familiar with the Psalms, we like to focus on the upbeat ones but sixty per cent are laments, with people screaming out "God where are you?" Normal faith can lead you to beat on God's chest and complain. Christian faith is different. You can have great faith in a thin layer of ice and drown and you can have a little faith in a thick layer of ice and be safe. Christian faith is the latter. The important and indispensable factor is to pin your faith on something being solid. When our world is rocked, phi- losophy or theology are not as much needed as faith in the reality of Christ who truly entered human history and was honest enough to tell us we'd have trials, disasters, tragedies etc. It is to our benefit that we nurture this faith and see it grow. At the midnight of our ignorance on this conundrum, there are a lot of stars in the sky. At noontime there's only one and that's Jesus Christ. John Azzopardi, Żabbar Shocking decisions on Gozo developments WIRT Għawdex is deeply worried by the shocking decisions being taken by the Planning Authority where ODZ land in Gozo is concerned, as well as the insensitivity being shown towards buildings of heritage value. Within just a few days the Planning Authority has given the green light for two separate developments which spell disaster on Gozo: the Qala villa on unspoilt rural land and the Sannat apartments within the Urban Conser- vation Area of that village, ironically belonging to the same developer. While the NGO positively receives Joseph Portelli's very recent decision to renounce the Qala permit, following public outrage, it urges the Planning Authority to immediately revoke the permit. Unless this is done straighta- way, the permit remains legally valid. With regards to the Sannat permit, Wirt Għawdex had heavily objected to this development, outlining the impor- tance of the British-period building in the core of the village. Urban Conservation Areas are desig- nated precisely to protect the buildings which they hold but, as happens very often, this house fell at the mercy of greedy developers who unscrupulously meander their way through all possible loopholes in planning conditions and regulations. The NGO notes that the Planning Authority is setting very dangerous precedents where development in Gozo is concerned; this is not what the island deserves. Wirt Għawdex urges all those in power and in influential positions to act with conscience, re- spect and sensitivity. We are losing our natural and cultural heritage at an alarming rate and cannot afford the situation to remain as is. Committee, Wirt Għawdex