Good ones

I'll be 50 years old this month and I grew up reading and collecting comics ("Superheroes strike again," Aug. 6). As you pointed out, comics became so full of the occult, sex, and bad language that I quit buying the new ones years ago. I now buy reprints of '60s and '70s comics in the graphic novel section of bookstores or find some affordable originals on eBay. It's a great form of story telling and I too hope for a return to the good old days. To paraphrase a Larry Norman song, "Why should the devil have all the good comics?" -Matthew Chandler; Manassas, Va.

I am very glad to see Christians using comics to convey the gospel message. My prayer is that they stand strong in the Spirit and not yield to the very real temptation of putting entertainment first and Christ second. -Alec Stevens; Dover, N.J.

I attended Comic Con 2004 and met the author/artist of a comic called Ganglords of Chinatown, which is a retelling of the story of Gideon set in a sort of post-apocalyptic San Francisco. He said something to the effect that the weirdest stuff was taken straight from the Bible. I was disappointed at the end of the comic, when the author had Gideon make an idol, but reread the story of Gideon and, to my surprise, discovered that it was recorded in Scripture. Not often has a comic sent me back to the Scriptures to show me something I had completely missed. -John Hill; Vacaville, Calif.

Got it?

Thank you for Gene Edward Veith's column on Bono of U2 ("Salty dogma," Aug. 6). For two decades Christians have dismissed Bono because he doesn't act the way a Christian ought to act, but to me he is refreshingly authentic in the expression of his faith. I thank Mr. Veith for looking beyond the "notoriously bad language, liberal politics, and rock star antics" and showing where Bono stands in his comprehension of grace and the gospel. He "gets it." -Grace Bailey; Concord, N.C.

Mr. Veith should have exercised a bit more caution in his report on Bono. The long-term inconsistencies in Bono's life speak louder than his occasional references to God. -Paulette J. Buchanan; Colchester, Conn.

Bono has frequently frustrated and disappointed me with speech and comments unbecoming a believer, but his defense of the faith was both heady and bold. "Salty dogma" made me wish Bono was outspoken and vocal about his relationship with Christ as often as he is about social ills. It also reminded me that my own witness is lived out in my words and actions as well. -Rob Stanley; Fayetteville, Ark.

Living the prayer

As a Bible translator living about four miles from David Livingstone's original mission site in Botswana, I found "Livingstone's prayer" of great interest. In a land with one of the highest HIV rates in the world, we cannot work fast enough to bring hope to people in the language of their hearts as they die in front of us, yet maintaining a support base for this work becomes a greater effort each year. -Richard Cook; Thamaga, Botswana

Step up

I agree with Hugh Hewitt ("Disconnect," Aug. 6): Where are the patriotic films showing the heroism and sacrifice of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan? However, I don't blame the Hollywood liberal elites; I blame the Hollywood conservatives who support the president and this war for not stepping up to the plate. Movies about Iraq and Afghanistan will be made, but conservatives should not sit back and allow Oliver Stone or Michael Moore to be the ones to make them. -Edward Glenn; Miami Lakes, Fla.

Mr. Hewitt hit the nail on the head with Hollywood's attitude toward the United States and its mission in Iraq. I suspect that "pro-American" scripts are around but the liberal movie moguls are ignoring them-that would explain this summer's barrage of sequels and take-offs of bad TV shows. Just as The Passion of the Christ surprised the studios, I think a well-made "pro-America" war movie would do the same. -Chuck Hankinson; Eure, N.C.

Going green

Sometimes it seems that the debate over global warming ("Love thy neighbor, love the neighborhood," Aug. 6) is just a smokescreen for the real issue: American energy self-indulgence. Even if all the brouhaha about global warming is overreaction on the part of liberal environmentalists, we use far more than our fair share of resources, and perhaps more attention to the virtue of temperance is in order. -Mark Shumack; Detroit, Mich.

It's easy to be green at someone else's expense. The litany of global-warming warnings obscures the facts of global warming and the need to curb harmful emissions with distortions, hype, and outright lies. How sad that Christians abandon the Great Commission to take up the cause of a radical, inconsistent, and very corrupt movement. -Allen Brooks; Sheridan, Wyo.

Worthy inclusions

The addition of the "Money" column to WORLD is more than a worthy inclusion. Timothy Lamer has a succinct and unusual way of addressing the spiritual implications of our culture's view of money, an aspect of our society that is so often opposed to God's intentions yet so often ignored by Christians. -Peter Rosenberry; San Francisco, Calif.

We really appreciate the pointed cartoons in WORLD, especially those by Gary Varvel of The Indianapolis Star. -Jake & Dot Scheeres; Orlando, Fla.

Just fiction

As a fan of Harry Potter, I was a bit bothered by "Hogwarts horror" (July 30). We cannot engage culture when we can't tell the difference between a fun fictional book and the promotion of sorcery. -Jonathan Caspers; Lovettsville, Va.

I continue to be amazed at the church's ignorance and naïvete of the reality of sorcery in the United States today. As a veteran pastor and prison chaplain, I can testify that sorcery is not just fiction. -Mark Winslow; Tucson, Ariz.

Correction

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America had no official stand on same-sex unions when "Blessings and curses" (July 23, p. 22) was published; delegates to the denomination's annual convention in August subsequently defeated proposals to bless same-sex couples and ordain homosexual clergy.