The same love

We owe a great debt to those affected by Hurricane Katrina. They received just a small taste of the wrath of God as a warning to us all that unless we repent, we "will all likewise perish." God is too loving to send such tragedy willy-nilly, nor is He schizophrenic, lashing out to inflict gratuitous pain then reaching out in compassion to save and protect. The same love that now rescues and saves through His people sent the storm. -David Weaver; Birmingham, Ala.

We as a nation have responded to Katrina with many churches and organizations helping our fellow citizens in times of disaster and need, just as Christians should. Many have jumped on the bandwagon in blaming the federal government for what it did or did not do, but the federal government cannot produce miracles. -David Massee; Germantown, Tenn.

We had a mandatory evacuation for Hurricane Floyd and our mayor sent city buses, filled with MREs and water, to provide evacuation transportation for the inner-city poor to temporary arrangements in nearby towns. The plan included hospitals and nursing homes. Who did the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of Louisiana think were going to execute an evacuation plan? The president of the United States? Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin were not ready and now our tax monies will be spent there for years to pay for their carelessness. -Amy R. Martin; Savannah, Ga.

Our reaction to disasters always seems to be to throw money at them and try to swim our way out. God wants us to bow, to acknowledge our national and personal sin, and to return to the God of the Bible. -Doug Pruiett; Sandy Hook, Va.

We should withhold no resources in our response to Katrina. Thus, we need to spend our resources on levees for the people of New Orleans and on restoring Mississippi River traffic and the petroleum industry. Political pork for the personal advantage of congressmen is an insult to us all. -Bob Whitney; Yakima, Wash.

Katrina's price

I'm concerned about how high gas prices are going ("Slower but steady," Sept. 10), but that isn't the real problem; Americans will continue to buy gas and drive SUVs. As the cost of gas rises, the price of many items will rise as well because most are transported across the country using gasoline. As oil companies get richer, the economy is going to pay the biggest price. -Nathan Vieth; Martell, Neb.

Wolves as wolves

Thank you for "Faithful and true?" (Sept. 10). As parents of two "poor, right-wing Christian children," we have decided to send our children to a large secular university where there is a strong front-line church and student group for support. At least there the wolves look like wolves. -Matt & Beth Folkert; Bradenton, Fla.

Gene Edward Veith's article on the secularization of Christian colleges really resonated with my family. Back in the '50s my parents sacrificed to send my sister and me to Baptist colleges. Shocked by aggressively skeptical professors and the moral climate, I dropped out for several years, eventually finishing at a state university. My younger sister persevered at the "Christian" university and graduated an agnostic; she eventually returned to the faith of our fathers. We both sent our children and grandchildren to state universities where they encountered agnostics and atheists, but at least they didn't claim to be Christian. -Kathryn Presley, Ph.D.; College Station, Texas

Some professors do have a heart for guiding students in a Christian worldview. Mr. Mohler's practice of checking out everything from resumés to church responsibilities to marriage/family commitments in every faculty hire is a critical element in being faithful and true. -Cheryl Hemphill; Westminster, Colo.

Privatize it all

While the stated purpose of tenure is to protect academic freedom, tenure isn't granted to those who would rock the boat ("Free to agree," Sept. 10). Even our local community college has a tenure examination period that several good Christian teachers have failed lately. If, as a society, we want schools to produce caring, moral, law-abiding citizens, then perhaps it is time to privatize all education, from preschool to doctorates. Yes, you're going to see the "Mother Earth School," and the "I'm OK, You're OK School," but at least my tax money won't be going to support them. -Molly Crocker; Ferndale, Wash.

Seeing decay

I enjoyed Mr. Olasky's column on Princeton cemetery ("From Jonathan Edwards to 9/11," Sept. 10). I visited that cemetery in the summer of 2000 and still cherish my pictures of the gravestones of Jonathan Edwards and David Brainerd. It is sad that both of these gravestones are now nearly illegible from decades of decay. Although much of American evangelical Christianity reveres these men, no one is interested in preserving their gravestones. -Robert Hayton; St. Paul, Minn.

The image of God

Mr. Veith makes too much of the distinction between visual and verbal media ("Message movies," Sept. 3). He wrote that "God chose to reveal Himself not by means of a tangible image," but that is precisely what God did in Christ, who "is the image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15). Further, the illiterate can know God through faith in Christ. -Russell Board; Saitama City, Japan

Champion integrity

Regarding "Here come the strings" (Sept. 3): The man pictured with the homeschoolers visiting his kennel is champion musher Martin Buser. We studied the Iditarod with several homeschoolers earlier this year, and Mr. Buser was one of our favorite competitors because of his personal integrity and compassion for the dogs. -Lisa Tucker; Chrisman, Ill.

Extraordinary

As missionaries to West Africa, we thoroughly enjoyed the series about the efforts in southern Africa by ordinary people empowered by an extraordinary God ("Go east, young man," Aug. 6). We have seen corrupt authorities drive air-conditioned SUVs past starving children in the streets; and we have seen the very real impact by individuals who live next door to those they are trying to help and give sacrificially that they might hear of Christ. Individual investment motivated by love is always more effective than throwing guilt-prompted money at the problem hoping it will go away. -Ken & Sarah Beckley; Dire, Mali