Too tough on the president

I enjoy your magazine and I am no apologist for President Clinton, but your recent cover story on the Los Alamos lab nuclear weapons scandal ("Remember Los Alamos," March 27) seems to me unfairly to lay too much of the blame on him. Granted, some of these secrets may have been smuggled to China during President Clinton's watch, but it also appears that technology may have been secreted to China during the watches of both President Bush and President Reagan. Your own story notes that suspected spy Wen Ho Lee has been working on the nuclear weapons program since 1979. This is not a problem unique to President Clinton or his administration. - Phil De Haan, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Waiting for a word

Cal Thomas hit the nail on the head ("Chinese carry-out," March 27). It would be great to hear a word of truth from the Clinton administration. I have lost count of how many scandals have engulfed our president. Hopefully the election in 2000 will put a man in the Oval Office who will have some decency. - Kyle Puelston, 16, Farmington, Minn.

Is it stealing?

We were among those who tried to do business with Great Christian Books during its demise ("We're all broke," March 27). We found it strange that they charged our orders to our credit cards before the orders were to be shipped. We were surprised and inconvenienced when those books didn't arrive on time, or ever. We were grieved that no one contacted us to explain the situation. We were shocked that they took our order even when the ship was sinking. Individuals are personally responsible for the money lost by GCB customers. They made the decisions that led to the company's demise. Is taking money for orders without sending the books lying and stealing, especially when it is known that the order may not be fulfilled? - Jim Newheiser, Dallas, Texas

An unsatisfied customer

I was dismayed at the attitude of Mr. Wallace, whose Great Christian Books business failed. Not only was I a customer, I often referred orders to them as well. I will in the future be more wary of so-called Christian businesses. At least I finally heard something, thanks to WORLD. - Rita Combs, Chardon, Ohio

Seemed like a good idea ...

We think it should be mentioned that at the time, it appeared that most of those decisions were in the best interests of the customers and all related parties. Unfortunately, in time it became clear that such was not the case. We are deeply grieved that many customers will not get the books they paid for, many vendors will not get paid, and other related parties will not receive what was due them. Such occasions do not bring glory to our Lord. We apologize for mistakes that we personally made over the years. Our prayer is that somehow the Lord will make it up, in one way or another. - Walter C. Hibbard, Founder Phillip C. Hibbard, President, Great Christian Books

Blind, but not cowardly

I agree with Mr. Belz about the horrors of abortion ("Cowards," March 27), and I know as well as anyone, and better than Mr. Belz, the pain and regret you carry with you for the rest of your life. But I object to Mr. Belz calling those involved with abortion cowards. I had an abortion when I was 21. You see, I have always believed in God, but at that time in my life I didn't know Him and I did not allow the light of His word to guide my choices. I chose to terminate my pregnancy because I loved my boyfriend more than I loved my baby and more than I loved God, so I did what my boyfriend wanted me to do instead of the right thing. I am not excusing the fact that I killed my child. But looking back I realize that I made wrong choices because I was blind to the truth. I see those involved in the abortion industry as also being blind to the truth. We must pray for them and find ways to reach them with God's love. - Anita J. Morton, Urbandale, Iowa

Voicing morals

I just wanted to applaud your article, "Cowards." You did a great job of intertwining the murderer philosophy of Eric Rudolph and the abortion clinics. The article was thought-provoking and well-written. Thank you for being a moral voice. - Michaelle Stirratt, Chicago, Ill.

No worse than usual

To suggest that the widespread use of windowing to solve computer date problems, such as Y2K, "could mean another heavily hyped techno-scare in a few decades" ("Pay me later," March 27) is groundless. Windowing is a perfectly legitimate data-compression algorithm. Even in the unlikely event that all the software now in use survives for decades, the worst we'll face is bugs scattered randomly over many years and across many systems. In other words, the same kind of computer problems we have faced every day for the last 30 years. - Norman M. Birkett, Montville, N.J.

More than four inches

I was surprised to see my picture in WORLD ("Meals for the millennium," April 3) and even more surprised to see that I was preparing for Y2K "as if for a big blizzard." No, I'm not. Evidently, WORLD relied on an erroneous local report picked up by the Associated Press, which splashed my photo all across the country. My view is much more nuanced than your four-inch caption allowed. Matthew 6:31-34, emphasizes God's care and provision for His people and warns believers against "worry about tomorrow." Although reasonable preparation is certainly prudent, I am more concerned about the ongoing hysteria that seems to be propagated by people claiming Christ, who are making huge amounts of money off of the fear they're creating, with outdated facts and unsubstantiated claims. - Terry Dawson, Eugene, Ore.

Siblings, step out

Ed Veith's article ("Fight or flight?" March 27) should be read by every Christian who is concerned about the spiritual state of our nation and of American Christians. I felt like standing up and applauding as I read it. For too long the church has allowed the enemy free reign within the arts and in our culture while taking a Pietist approach to encroaching secularism and relativism-separate yourself physically from sinners and culture and wait for Jesus' return. Siblings in Christ, please be the "salt and light" that we are called to be in the world! - Keith Bird, Marshall, Texas

Artists as leaders

Mr. Veith's article is the most concise, on-target observation I've read of the "culture problem" for Christians. Many believers either don't understand that a Bible-influenced culture could be any different or, more likely, would not like it to be different. Christian musicians, authors, and artists, and their publishers should lead their audiences, not follow them. It takes great faith to publish literature and music that communicates God's truth clearly and without compromise. - Steve White, Bloomington, Ind.

True worship

I was disturbed by a recent letter describing Christian concerts as "Baal worship" (Mailbag, April 3). True, some artists call themselves Christian and sell out to the secular market, but many are desiring to give glory to God. I am a teen from the MTV generation, but I refuse to compromise my mind and morals by listening to music that does not glorify my Lord and Savior. - Laurel Hall, Baxter, Minn.

OK so far

So far I don't really have any complaints about any of your articles. The reason I am writing is to tell you what a great magazine WORLD is. - Peter J. Formica, 14, Upper Darby, Pa.

Not shallow; condensed

In response to the cancellation letter from a reporter in Mailbag ("Shallow," April 3), I've been a journalist for more than 12 years, and I too was disappointed in what appeared to be shallow reporting when I first began reading WORLD last year. However, I have come to love WORLD's condensed, opinionated approach to journalism. WORLD fills a very important niche: providing insightful and concise reports on current events, politics, culture, and religion from a Christian perspective. And I can read it all in an hour a week. Keep up the good work! - John Carpenter, Dayton, Tenn.