Vahan H. TOOTIKIAN

The best way to sum up Dr. Vahan Tootikian's latest collection of prose and verse titled My Vantage Point is to say that it is an unusual book written by that rarest of all beings: a dedicated Armenian patriot who does not deliver sermons on chauvinism, and a man of faith who does not rely on mystical insight or the Scriptures in order to make a point. Instead he relies on his common sense and allows the evidence to speak for itself.
A French philosopher (Alain) once said: "To think is to want." What Dr. Tootikian wants is to improve our understanding of the world and ourselves. As a moralist he prefers difficult questions to easy answers. He knows that only by enhancing uniqueness and complexity of a question we may reach a better awareness of reality and a higher consciousness of the self. His essays are not disguised sermons with a predictable rejection of sin, evil, and violence. As a member of a nation that has experienced oppression, terror, and genocide, he knows that the established order is not always right, and truth not always on the side of big battalions. One man's terrorist, he writes, may be another's freedom fighter, in the same way that one man's "sweet music" may be another's "pain and noise."
Every situation is unique because it represents the meeting of unique historic forces, social conditions, environmental factors, individual initiatives and projects. Every situation therefore demands its own assessment, approach, and resolution. To simplify is to distort and ultimately to deceive.
My Vantage Point is not a book written by a man of contemplation in love with metaphysical verities but a challenge to commonplace assumptions, accepted values and beliefs.
Individual freedom, authenticity, and self-reliance are three of Dr. Tootikian's favorite themes. In "Tension-Blessing or Curse" he dismisses the proliferation of self-help books and pseudo-psychological schools of thought that have nothing to offer but instant miracle cures. He writes: "There are tensions which are both good and necessary if we are to function as normal beings." And: "all progress grows of discontent with things as they are. No great social reform ever came from contented, self-satisfied, complacent people. Discontent and tension with things as they are brought into being our nation. Discontent with things as they were freed the slaves. Discontent with things as they were eliminated child labor." Elsewhere he explains that joining various religious cults is not the answer either because these cults "repress the individual person in favor of a cult."
On the subject of intermarriage he is willing to concede that in some cases it may indeed be a threat to our survival as a nation, but he is also eager to point out that not all mixed marriages "weaken the loyalty of the couple" to their respective heritage, past, traditions, and identity.
But there is more, much more, in these beautifully crafted essays and poems. Among the writers whose works Dr. Tootikian analyzes and assesses here are Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ambrose Bierce, Sherwood Anderson (who was a great influence on William Saroyan), Hemingway, Steinbeck, Albert Camus, and Rollo May, etc.
As for the poems, they are as accessible as good prose.
Life needs a mountain A much higher plane A summit to reach for A point to attain.
My Vantage Point speaks of summits and invites us to reach them.
ARA BALIOZIAN
Kitchener, Ontario
March 25, 1988

PREFACE

Under the gracious auspices of the Armenian Heritage Committee, I am pleased to present this, my sixth book. One of the goals of the Committee is to further the maintenance of Armenian culture, encouraging all Armenians to express themselves in a meaningful way in order to preserve the unique perspective which represents Armenian thought. In addition to their work in building an Armenian Library and encouraging young people to study their culture through a Saturday Armenian School, the Committee sponsors projects such as this which they feel express the unique qualities which Armenians possess.
I am grateful to Ara Baliozian and Antranik Chalabian for writing the introductions of the book, and to Marion Artinian for proofreading the last printed draft of the manuscript.
My thanks to Louise Monacelli for her assistance in preparing the manuscript. I would like to thank Ann Marie Nickel for her assistance in the editing of the essays and poems in English.
This volume offers "my vantage point" as an Armenian/American, and as one ministering in both cultures. It represents a panorama of many aspects of my thoughts and concerns about modern life, plus some considerations of the work of contemporary authors and how their writings have influenced me. The English and Armenian sections are separate, offering different essays. In the Armenian section I offer my thoughts on those who have influenced my life, plus my perspective on various aspects of Armenian culture, language and social customs. These are my observations, offered with the hope that they will spark thoughtful reactions on the part of my readers. May they be a source of inspiration to you!
VAHAN H. TOOTIKIAN
Easter, 1988

We are happy to welcome a new book of essays by the Rev. Dr. Vahan Tootikian. Dr. Tootikian is presently pastor of the Armenian Congregational Church of Greater Detroit. He is also currently the Moderator of the Armenian Evangelical Union of North America, a position which attests to the high esteem in which he is held by the clergy and people of his communion.
Dr. Tootikian has lived a rich and productive life. Born in Kessab, Syria, where he attended the Armenian elementary school, Vahan attended high school in Beirut, Lebanon. Returning to Aleppo to attend college, he afterward went back to Lebanon to attend the American University of Beirut (AUB). Thence, he enrolled in the Near East School of Theology, also in Beirut, to earn his diploma in theology.
Vahan Tootikian was called to the United States to attend the Hartford Seminary Foundation, where he was awarded a Master of Divinity degree with honors in 1966. Next he enrolled in Andover Newton Theological Seminary where he was awarded a Master of Sacred Theology degree in 1970. Finally, he was awarded a Doctor of Ministry degree by that same institution in 1973.
Vahan Tootikian's peregrinations reflect the checkered history of the Armenian people during the first half of this century. Torn from their homeland and dispersed first into the Middle East and from there all over the world by the Genocide of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, the Armenians have became a people who can claim no land for their very own. They have become as pilgrims in this world, moving from one place to another seeking asylum and a refuge wherein to build new lives.
It is a credit to Vahan Tootikian, and to the Armenian people in general, that they have not been embittered their character. They have become strong and self-contained, the price of survival, but not hard nor indifferent to others. By improving themselves, they are free to give to others in the hope of improving them, too. It is in this spirit that Vahan Tootikian lives his life and publishes his essays, as act of sharing his life, his experience and his learning, freely and without thought of recompense.
Dr. Tootikian's experience is rich enough to share. His first assignment was as the minister of the Armenian Evangelical Church in Damascus, Syria, where he was also the principal of the Evangelical school. From there he traveled to Cairo, Egypt, to minister to the flock in that city; and from Cairo he went to Watertown, MA; and from Watertown to Southfield, MI, where his present church is located.
While ministering to his congregation, Dr. Tootikian has also continued to teach in the classroom. He is a lecturer in the humanities at Lawrence Institute of Technology, in Southfield, and at The University of Michigan, in Dearborn. He has taught World Religions, Philosophy, The Bible as Literature (Old and New Testaments), History of Christian Thought, Contemporary Christian Thought and the modern Armenian language.
Among his many publications are Reflections of an Armenian (1980), The Armenian Evangelical Church (1982), Armenian Congregationalism: From Mission to Membership (1985), A Book of Essays (1986), and numerous articles in the Armenian and Armenian-American press and in The Armenian Review.
So, what shall we then find in the following pages? First, we see Dr. Tootikian's first experiment in the writing of poetry. The writing of poetry is as old as writing itself; in fact, poetical compositions probably precedes the invention of the written word. It was the way the ancients expressed themselves in relating important matters or telling important stories. Folk memory is first and foremost preserved in poetry. Poetry is also a way of trying to get the human mind to rise above the limitations of the physical world, the limitations of words, to see old thing made new, small things made large, and time extended into eternity. Thus, the Bible itself is filled with poetry.
The proper reading of poetry, or its recitations~for its was meant to be recited aloud—is an act which requires the words of the poet and the imagination of the listener. It is an active process. Dr. Tootikian's poetry is didactic; it is meant to teach as well as to inspire. It is an attempt to get important points across, points that might not be so readily received or understood if delivered in prose. We must read them to learn as well as for pleasure.
The book also contains essays, short pieces that elucidate an important point or principle. They are in a way a modern form of classical apologetics, that is attempting to make the Christian message understood in terms of secular learning, or using the wisdom of this world to help make God's wisdom more understood by the contemporary man. Thus Tootikian goes beyond biblical teaching, although biblical orthodoxy is the foundation oh his learning, to use the ideas of modern scholars and intellectuals to support the Christian faith.
Thus we can learn a great deal from his essays, a great deal about the Bible and its teachings and a great deal about contemporary social and philosophical thought. Tootikian makes the teaching of the church relevant to our present-day experience, since he relates them to the things around us including our physical, moral, and intellectual world. The spirit becomes alive and makes preternatural the mundane things around us. After all,is this not what true inspiration is all about?
So, I recommend the following poems and essays. I believe that they should be received in the kind and generous spirit in which they are offered, as a type of homiletic proffered by an experienced and learned Christian teacher reaching out to whomever wishes to become more intellectually and spiritually involved, to whomever is willing to accept a relationship that inevitably will bring them closer to an understanding of God and his purpose for us. These writings, as the man who wrote them, are a testimony to faith. They should comfort and inspire the faithful and give the doubter something serious to think about.

Dennis R. Papazian, Professor of History
Director of the Armenian Research Center University of Michigan
Southfield, Michigan
April, 1987

PREFACE

Much of the thanks for the creation and development of this book must go to the Armenian Heritage Committee, who, over the last 10 years, have sponsored the publication of 5 of my books. They have also been instrumental in the building of an Armenian Library, the sponsorship of a Saturday Armenian School and the development of other cultural activities which have encouraged the growth of our special Armenian culture.
I am grateful to Dennis Papazian and George Kadian for writing the introductions of the book, and to Hourig Jacobs and Harry Kaloogian for proofreading thr first printed draft of the manuscript.
My thanks to Louise Monacelli for her assistance in preparing the manuscript. I would like to thank M.L. Liebler, poet and Wayne State University instructor, for editing my poems and assisting in the editing of the essays written in English.
This present volume is actually two separate works: one in Armenian and the other in English. The material which I have included reflects several aspects of my writing ministry, including, for the first time, my poetry. Although I make no claim as a poet, I have found that this form gives a special feeling to some of my meditations. And this is what makes up this book - my meditations and thoughts on a wide variety of different topics. It is my hope that they will be a source of inspiration and uplift to those who read them, for it is my desire, above all, to serve in whatever way I can.
Easter, 1987
Vahan H. Tootikian