Some deserve honor

I very much appreciate your year-end issue ("News of the year," Dec. 30/Jan. 6), and all the other ones too. Your many pages of obituaries offer great material for reflection on the reality that "Man knows not his time," but the sheer numbers are a little intimidating. Obviously, some of these people deserve honor and some do not, and I find myself trying to get through the alphabet faster and faster. Don't ask me who died in the Z's! -William Schuler; Mendota, Ill.

Hoping against hate

I liked "Any new recipes?" (Dec. 30/Jan. 6). It's time someone spoke up asking for some concrete suggestions instead of just criticizing the Bush administration for its incompetence. The trouble is that there probably is no solution that will work well. The unstable conditions in that part of the world seem to be interminable. Hate rules and has its own bad consequences, but we might just hope that some good comes out of our presence in Iraq. -Joy Janssen; Pella, Iowa

I really appreciated "Any new recipes?" I am deeply frustrated that so many people take potshots and criticize everything pertaining to the Bush administration. Now we have the drive-by media up in arms about how Saddam was treated just before he was executed, despite the fact that under his dictatorship many people were slaughtered, including many of his own family members. None of them were able to mount the kind of defense team that Saddam was entitled to and neither were any of the villagers whose families and children were gassed to death in 1988. -Joseph M. Gates; Mount Prospect, Ill.

Fighting for

It is not difficult to understand why U.S. policy in Iraq has failed ("Wars and rumors of wars," Dec. 30/Jan. 6). Unlike ancient knights and even early American soldiers, current U.S. soldiers cannot fight for "their God and their country." On the other hand, radical Islamic forces can, and do, fight for both. -Richard Reising; Novi, Mich.

More than thousands

We live in Washington state and would like to point out that the wind storm caused major power failures involving more than just "thousands" of homes (The Buzz, Dec. 30/Jan. 6). We had over a million homes without power just in Washington after the storm and many waited five, seven, or even nine days to get their power back. Thankfully, local power crews, as well as crews from other states, sacrificed their holiday time with their own families to see that we could have a lit Christmas tree and a hot holiday feast. They were heroes. -Donna King; Burien, Wash.

Flirting with entertainment

Earlier we complained about movie reviews, but WORLD keeps flirting with the entertainment community. We will not renew our subscription. -Hank Kerkstra; Bakersfield, Calif.

Some people object to your cultural coverage, but our teenage daughter would never have picked up WORLD if it weren't for sections like The Buzz. In the beginning she would only read the music and movie section, but slowly she started reading the articles within. We discuss articles and stories and occasionally she will use some of the content in her discussions. WORLD is ministering to her in a way that we never could. -Susan Anderson; Glenwood City, Wis.

Dangerous

Isn't it dangerous in a "free" America that judges, because of cases brought by the ACLU, can tell schools what to teach ("Aped decision," Dec. 23)? -Jo Benzow; Sturgeon Bay, Wis.

Truly great

I appreciate the moral tone of your publication and agree with your "Daniels of the Year" award (Dec. 16). Archbishops Akinola and Orombi are truly great Christian men. -Wesley Wakefield; Oroville, Wash.

I was raised in the Episcopal Church and although I left it and now call myself a Presbyterian, I really appreciate your coverage of what is going on in the Episcopal Church. -Sheryl Nelson; Soldotna, Ark.

Eye-opening

In response to your eye-opening interview with Arthur Brooks ("Money, time, blood," Dec. 9), I read Who Really Cares and found it most revealing about who does or does not donate to charity, why people do or do not donate, and the benefit of charity to our society. Thank you. -Jerry Doyle; Sheboygan, Wis.

Free to receive

I agree with most of what Joel Belz said in "Over there" (Dec. 9) but see one more thing that is maybe the most important result of the war in Iraq: the number of Iraqis who now have the freedom to receive Jesus Christ. And because war is so terrifying, how many of our own service men and women have done so? -Shirley M. Fisher; Sidney, Neb.

Modern Mary

I take issue with some things in The Nativity Story ("What would Luke write?" Dec. 2). I dislike the way they portrayed Mary, especially her thought after her betrothal: "Why should I have to marry a man I do not love?" Talk about a modern attitude. I'm glad you pointed out that Hollywood does show through in some places, such as the Magi's jokes. For the story of the birth of Christ, they were too flippant, and the explanation for the star seemed like the writers were trying to explain away a miracle. All in all, I thought I'd wasted an afternoon. -Heather Smith, 17; Stockton, Mo.

Rejecting God

I was surprised that, among the many affected by Ted Haggard's sin, your article ("Out of the dark," Nov. 18) only mentioned men and women. Scripture tells us in regard to our sexual immorality that when we reject God's way, we are rejecting not man, but God. -Jim Keefer; Loveland, Colo.

Out of service

I find it fascinating that Wayne Grudem suggests women take their God-given gifts to teach, lead, and exhort out of God's service and use them in the secular world ("Dangerous first step," Nov. 25). If he's looking for someplace to lay the blame for the liberalization of America's churches, I suggest that women, who have often kept the church doors open when there was a lack of men willing to answer God's call, are not the place to start. -Laurie Gross; Leslie, Ark.

Neither the Assemblies of God, the Foursquare Gospel, nor the American Baptists have ever repudiated the inerrancy of Scripture, yet these and many others have been ordaining women to the ministry for years. John Wesley, Charles Finney, and other respected men of faith allowed women to freely pray and testify in public revival meetings. Clearly, they were not influenced by the modern-day feminist movement. -A.B. Durney; Basin, Wyo.

Internal threats

Marvin Olasky's essay ("What we owe to others," Nov. 4) about how we have an obligation to help the Iraqis gain freedom misses the point. The threat to Hungarian freedom in 1956 was more external, from Russia, than internal, as in Iraq. As Americans have learned, Mesopotamia is constantly seething with many internal conflicting forces. -Dave Mattes; Pacifica, Calif.

Three cheers

Three cheers for Lisa Thompson ("The abolitionist," Nov. 4). The woman richly deserves our prayers, support, and admiration. The fact that she was initially opposed by feminists came as no surprise to me. The fact that feminists have always turned a blind eye to sex slavery and the less-than-chattel status of women under Islam illustrates the principle that most advocacy groups do not use their power and resources to benefit their constituents; instead, they use their constituents to advance their own radical agendas. -Allen Brooks; Sheridan, Wyo.

Correction

The Indianapolis Colts' first two playoff victories this year were over Kansas City and Baltimore (Around the Horn, Jan. 27, p. 39).