Mailbag

‘Heartbreak Hill’

May 4 I love your magazine, but as a stay-at-home mom of four young girls I was a bit taken aback by the graphic cover photograph. While I was able to grasp the weight of this photo, my girls were not. It is my responsibility to shield my children as my husband and I see fit, but I also wonder about journalistic responsibility. —Jana Brown, Moore, Okla.

I saw a picture of the young bombing victim Martin Richard holding a Christ-centered banner on news reports shortly after he was killed. Later reports depicted him holding a poster with a peace symbol, but I was glad to see you published the former image. —Sharon Stewart, Miller, S.D.

As Bostonians, we have appreciated WORLD’s unique coverage of the bombing. —Marion & Jack Richardson, Boston, Mass.

‘Courtroom horror’

May 4 I am very grateful for WORLD’s investing in this trial with an on-the-scene reporter. Andrée Seu Peterson is doing a great job (as always) of communicating what is most important. —Shirley Baas, DeKalb, Ill.

The fact that prosecution witness Dr. Karen Feisullin performed clean, rare, and “safe” abortions doesn’t make her any less guilty than Gosnell himself. —Zach Jones, Birmingham, Ala.

Peterson did a fabulous job of showing the amazing hypocrisy and illogical thinking in our culture about abortion. It shows the blindness that evil can bring about. Hopefully Gosnell will go to prison, and perhaps there God will shine light into his heart and he will repent. It is so sad and unbelievable. —Shannon Vogt, Decatur, Ga.

Peterson does an amazing job of striking the balance between the trial’s gritty realities and her own barely restrained indignation. —Tom Zimmerman, Waukesha, Wis.

Thank you for re-sensitizing me to the horrors of abortion and reminding me that this is a battle that cannot be abandoned. I have been pro-life for more than 30 years, but I had grown weary in the battle. I can’t imagine that someone could perform that procedure even once, let alone hundreds of times. —David Madio, Sugar Land, Texas

‘How to decide to move’

May 4 The Christian life is not about being comfortable and secure, but in finding our mad mission and being the best witness for Christ we can be. My mad mission is homeschooling and serving as a pastor’s wife, in spite of Satan’s daily dose of discouraging whispers, but this encourages me to press on. —Laura Smith, Mishawaka, Ind.

Marvin Olasky summed up a huge question many Christians ask: Is this God’s will? Many times the answer is not wrapped up nice and neat with sound reasoning and agreement from well-meaning mature brothers and sisters in the faith. I so appreciated your effort to put into words something that often defies logic. —Neil Johnston, Grand Prairie, Texas

‘Schools of thought’

May 4 I am encouraged by the Romeike family, which fled Germany to escape persecution for homeschooling. They put the fear of God above the fear of man. A just government would gladly welcome a citizen who has his permanent dwelling in the life to come. I pray for asylum in the United States for this family, and that our own government will not continue down this path. —Jeanine Wilson, Rolette, N.D.

‘Worth a slow read’

May 4 I agree with your review of What Happened to Sophie Wilder. The portrayal of toggling between a secular and Christian life and the constant parallel presence of the supernatural in our world is something all Christians need to read. —Paul Conlin, Lake Zurich, Ill.

‘Shoe leather service’

May 4 Rep. Steve Pearce’s view of life and people provided the basis for his success. People in need found reason to trust and believe him, resulting in their voting for him again and again. Real demonstrations of caring have become a precious commodity in our impersonal, digitally driven society. —Thomas Sandlin, Liberty Hill, Texas

‘Spending habits’

May 4 I commend Mindy Belz for bringing to light the federal government’s 60-year practice of dumping American-grown food in the world’s “hunger hot spots,” undermining local economies. Fortunately our government is proposing instead to use aid dollars to buy food locally, thereby helping the hungry and the local economy. American farmers should not be subsidized and farmers in underdeveloped countries should not have to compete with “free.” —Ted Boers, Whitehall, Mich.

‘Broken beauty’

May 4 I enjoyed very much the article on the sculptor Allison Streett. What a wise Christian and a talented artist. She is a throwback to the Renaissance artists who portrayed the themes of Christianity so as to inspire and bring hope. —Genie Ragin, Cumming, Ga.

‘Line drills’

May 4 With all the obvious problems in this country, the biggest issue passengers in the Buffalo airport wanted the Leader of the Free World to address was long lines? Keep turning up the heat—the slow-boiling frogs are almost cooked. —Dan Hutchins, Somerville, Maine

‘In all the noise, sounds of silence’

April 20 I’m a first-year law student, and explaining my beliefs to those around me is certainly a challenge. Understanding God’s purposes for marriage—to reflect His nature in the world and the Church’s relationship to Christ—and that married couples do preserve society has helped me understand that the emotion-based arguments today clearly miss the point. I appreciate and deeply value WORLD’s position on this. —Sean McDivitt, Oklahoma City, Okla.

‘A work of art’

April 20 Edith Schaeffer’s legacy of defending the truth is so important right now as we face issues such as gay marriage. The Schaeffers are such good examples. —Audrey Grace Joyner, Sneads Ferry, N.C.

‘Countercultural warriors’

April 20 This article helped restore my confidence in the “millennial” generation. What a solid, courageous, willing-to-go-against-the-grain bunch of Christian activists working to maintain traditional marriage. It is easier for me at 58 to take a public stand on homosexuality, as a psychologist, because my career is established. These warriors are to be applauded. —Jeffrey C. Danco, Bridgewater, N.J.

‘Powerful obscurity’

April 6 I’ve seen the ad campaign described in this article, so I was startled to see WORLD praising one of the ad campaign’s creators, Robert Doar, a New York City official. Doar may believe in marriage, but in this extensive campaign only the ad quoted in the article comes close to favoring marriage. The others portray having a child out of wedlock as expensive and difficult. Doar can’t explain why, in a culture where abortion is common, an ad stating, ‘You can’t handle a child,’ isn’t an encouragement to abort. —Kate Van Wynen, Bronx, N.Y.

‘Journey of grace’

March 23 Rosaria Butterfield’s honesty with those church members was overwhelming: “Look I have to give up the girlfriend: What did you have to give up to be here?” All church attendees should be answering that question. Her experience is a beautiful display of grace. —Dave Dirksen, Iowa Falls, Iowa

Correction

Gosnell clinic worker Steven Massof testified against his former employer (“Horror in the court,” May 4, p. 7).

WORLD Around the World

Bucharest, Romania Submitted by Rebecca Johnson

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